ssh-chemsex-study-final-main-report

The most common drug (alcohol) and the three least
commonly used (LSD, crack and heroin) did not
significantly vary by HIV testing history. All other drugs
were significantly more common among men with
diagnosed HIV, as were injecting (steroids and other
drugs) and concern about drug use. The only indicator
higher among not-positive men was alcohol concern.
It is notable that two thirds (69%, 38/55) of men in LSL
who used crystal meth in the last 4 weeks had diagnosed
HIV and two thirds (64%, 25/39) of men in LSL who
injected (non-steroid) drugs in the last 12 months had
diagnosed HIV. Crystal meth use and injecting drug use
were very strongly but not exclusively associated with
living with diagnosed HIV infection .
3.7 USE OF GAY SETTINGS
Men were asked how recently they had visited each of
nine gay social settings in the country they live in. The
following table shows the proportion of men living in LSL
who had visited each setting within given time periods.
TABLE 3.7 Use of gay social settings among MSM living in LSL %
When was the last time you visited (cumulative proportion)
Men living in LSL (N = 1142)
A gay community centre, organisation
or social group
24 hours 7 days 4 weeks 6 months 12 months 5 years Ever
2.5 7.7 13.7 21.0 26.8 36.6 45.5
A gay cafe, bar or pub 8.6 33.4 54.5 70.9 79.5 87.1 90.2
A gay disco or nightclub 3.6 18.3 36.0 53.8 64.1 77.8 86.1
A back room of a bar, gay sex club, a
public gay sex party
1.1 5.1 11.5 20.8 27.1 38.5 46.2
A gay sex party in a private home 0.7 3.1 6.7 12.2 16.9 24.4 30.4
A gay sauna 1.2 5.8 13.6 25.8 33.9 46.7 54.1
A porn cinema 0.3 0.6 1.1 2.2 3.5 7.4 15.2
A cruising location where men meet
for sex
3.4 10.4 18.0 25.9 32.4 43.6 54.1
Any website for gay and bisexual men 79.5 94.4 97.2 98.3 98.9 99.2 99.3
Since these men were all recruited and surveyed on the
internet it is not surprising that gay websites are the
most commonly visited setting, with 80% having visited a
gay website within 24 hours prior to the survey and 94%
within the last 7 days.
However, gay cafes/bars are also still very popular
settings (with 33% having been in the last week and
55% in the last month) and disco/clubs (22% and 58%
respectively). For both cafe/bars and disco/clubs, these
data suggest that there are not two distinct groups (for
example on-scene, off-scene) whereby men either use
venues or they do not. Rather they suggest that the
majority of men use gay scene venues but with varying
degrees of frequency.
Outdoor cruising sites were as popular as saunas and gay
community centres and social groups were as popular as
backrooms and sex clubs. The following figure shows the
above data in a visual form.
The Chemsex Study | 3. DRUG USE SURVEY DATA FROM EMIS 25