1. Assessing HIV risk and the social and behavioural characteristics of gay and bisexual men who have recently migrated to Australia: an analysis of national, behavioural surveillance data 2019–2021
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Yu, Simin, Bavinton, Benjamin R., Chan, Curtis, Macgibbon, James, Mao, Limin, Vujcich, Daniel, Broady, Timothy R., and Holt, Martin
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Prevention ,Evaluation ,Health aspects ,HIV infections -- Prevention ,MSM (Men who have sex with men) -- Health aspects ,Health risk assessment -- Evaluation ,Sentinel surveillance ,Immigrants -- Health aspects ,Sentinel health events ,HIV infection -- Prevention - Abstract
INTRODUCTION In 2020, 29.8% of Australia's population was born overseas and over 7.6 million migrants were living in Australia [1]. In 2019, there were 2.43 million temporary migrants in Australia [...], : Introduction:: Overseas‐born gay and bisexual men (GBM) are overrepresented in HIV diagnoses in Australia. We assessed social and sexual behaviours, and the use of HIV prevention and testing, by region of birth and length of residence in Australia. We sought to identify similarities and differences between recently arrived and non‐recently arrived GBM from non‐English‐speaking countries to improve targeting and engagement with HIV testing and prevention. Methods:: Data were collected in national repeated, behavioural surveillance surveys conducted across Australia during 2019–2021. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that differentiated between recently arrived ( Results: Among 24,707 participants in 2019–21, 2811 (11.4%) were from high‐income English‐speaking countries, 714 (2.9%) were recently arrived overseas‐born GBM and 3833 (15.5%) were non‐recently arrived migrants. Recently arrived GBM were most likely to be born in Asia (36.1%) and Europe (21.1%). Compared with non‐recently arrived GBM, recently arrived GBM from non‐English‐speaking countries were younger (aOR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.94–0.96, p Conclusions: Recently arrived GBM from non‐English‐speaking countries reported similar levels of risk of HIV acquisition to longer‐term residents in Australia, but lower levels of PrEP awareness and use, and more reliance on HIV testing services which are free or low cost. It is necessary to enhance access to HIV testing and prevention among recently arrived GBM in Australia.
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- 2024
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