Typologies of alcohol and other drug-related risk among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans) and queer adults.

Introduction: Prevalence and patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among specific lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans) and queer (LGBTQ+) subpopulations are well established. However, patterns of substance-related risk have been less thoroughly explored. This study aimed to determine typologies AOD risk among LGBTQ+ adults in Australia.

Factors Associated With Experiences of Harassment or Abuse Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Asexual Young People With Disability in Australia.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and asexual (LGBTQA+) young people with disability are known to experience higher rates of harassment or abuse than LGBTQA+ young people without disability. This study focused on participants in Australia and identified factors associated with harassment or abuse among LGBTQA+ adolescents and young adults who reported a disability as well as associations with mental health outcomes. Analyses were conducted from a national survey that included 2,500 LGBTQA+ people who reported a disability and were aged 14 to 21 years.

Cervical screening among LGBTQ people: how affirming services may aid in achieving cervical cancer elimination targets.

To reach cervical cancer elimination targets it is necessary to increase screening rates among underserved populations such as LGBTQ communities. This paper examines rates of attendance and associated factors of cervical screening in LGBTQ communities. Data from 2,424 people aged 25 to 74 years and assigned female at birth were drawn from an online national Australian survey of LGBTQ adults.

The influence of care continuity and disclosure of sexual orientation in general practice on lesbian, bi+ and queer cisgender women's engagement with mental health services.

Background: Lesbian, bisexual+ and queer (LBQ+) cisgender women have considerable unmet mental health needs. The aims of this study were to examine LBQ+ cisgender women's prior engagement with general practitioners (GPs), and how this relationship shaped their mental health service use.

Method: Data from 2707 cisgender LBQ+ women were drawn from a national survey of adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer or questioning, asexual and other diverse sexuality and gender identities (LGBTIQA+) in Australia.

Affirming educational and workplace settings are associated with positive mental health and happiness outcomes for LGBTQA + youth in Australia.

Background: Affirming socio-cultural settings are essential for protecting the mental health and wellbeing of lesbian, bisexual or pansexual, trans and gender diverse, asexual and queer (LGBTQA +) youth. However, limited research has explored the role of affirming educational and workplace settings, as reported by LGBTQA + youth themselves, with respect to their mental health and wellbeing. Moreover, existing research maintains a focus on mitigating poor mental health outcomes, with little attention to positive wellbeing outcomes among LGBTQA + youth.

Factors associated with experiences of abuse among lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and asexual (LGBTQA+) adults with disability in Australia.

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and asexual (LGBTQA+) people with disability report greater levels of abuse than those without disability.

Objective: This study sought to further understand these experiences by examining factors associated with experiences of abuse among LGBTQA+ adults who reported a disability in Australia.

Methods: A national survey was conducted that included 2629 LGBTQA+ people who reported a disability aged 18 years and older, with data collected on experiences of verbal abuse, sexual assault, and social exclusion in the past 12 months as well as demographic characteristics.

Illicit drug use among lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, trans and gender diverse, queer and asexual young people in Australia: Intersections and associated outcomes.

Introduction: High rates of illicit drug use have been reported among gay and bisexual young men, however limited research has examined patterns of drug use among the broader population of lesbian, pansexual, trans and gender diverse, asexual and queer (LGBTQA) young people. We examined factors associated with illicit drug use in the past 6 months and lifetime experiences of self-reported concern with drug use among LGBTQA youth in Australia.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 6418 LGBTQA participants aged 14-21 years, 5914 of whom provided information relating to their use of illicit drugs.

Naming and Recognition of Intimate Partner Violence and Family of Origin Violence Among LGBTQ Communities in Australia.

Dominant framings of intimate partner violence (IPV) construct the experience as one where a cisgender man enacts violence against a cisgender woman. While often the case, this framing obfuscates the experiences of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender diverse, or queer (LGBTQ) and may challenge their ability to conceive of their relationship-based experiences as abusive or violent. The extent to which hostile experiences from family of origin violence (FOV) members are conceived or named as violence is also unclear.

Health intervention experiences and associated mental health outcomes in a sample of LGBTQ people with intersex variations in Australia.

People with intersex variation/s have sex characteristics determined by reproductive anatomy or chromosomal, gonadal, or hormonal expressions that are not typical of medical and societal norms for male or female bodies and are widely subjected to irreversible medical interventions at an early age to reinforce sex assignment. These interventions may be accompanied by experiences of lack of autonomy for the individual and, at times, lack of fully informed consent on the part of the individual or their parents/carers. People with intersex variations additionally experience high rates of mental health concerns relating to stigma, discrimination and poor healthcare experiences.

Alcohol and tobacco consumption among Australian sexual minority women: Patterns of use and service engagement.

Background: Sexual minority women consume both alcohol and tobacco at higher rates than heterosexual women. However, various sociodemographic and cultural factors associated with these practices among sexual minority women in Australia are not well understood, nor are the factors associated with seeking alcohol-related support.

Methods: This study utilised data from cisgender sexual minority women respondents of Private Lives 3: a national, online, cross-sectional survey of the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ adults in Australia aged 18+ conducted in 2019.

Experiences and challenges in sexual health service access among men who have sex with men in Kenya.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Kenya bear a heavy burden of HIV/STIs and are a priority population in the national HIV/AIDS response, yet remain criminalised and stigmatised within society. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) offers an opportunity to significantly impact the HIV epidemic, as does the concept of U = U, whereby those who are living with HIV and on treatment are uninfectious when their viral load has been suppressed so as to be undetectable. However, the value of such innovations will not be realised without sufficient understanding of, and respect for, the sexual health service provision needs of MSM.

Anxiety about HIV criminalisation among people living with HIV in Australia.

Many countries, including Australia, have laws that enable criminal prosecution of an individual based on reckless or intentional transmission of HIV to another person. Previous research has suggested that criminalisation of HIV may serve to hamper public health efforts by inhibiting HIV status disclosure or testing. Limited research to date has sought to examine the broader impact of criminalisation on the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV, which this paper aims to address.

Bisexual Men Living with HIV: Wellbeing, Connectedness and the Impact of Stigma.

Social research with people living with HIV (PLHIV) rarely distinguishes between gay men and bisexual men. However, bisexual men may have unique experiences of HIV-related stigma and distinct support needs. In this paper, findings are presented from a cross-sectional survey of Australian PLHIV, which included the Berger (HIV) stigma scale.

Association between sexually transmissible infection testing, numbers of partners and talking to partners and friends about sexual health: survey of young adults.

Unlabelled: Background Young adults, aged 18-30 years, comprise the largest proportion of sexually transmissible infection (STI) notifications in Australia compared with other age groups. Understanding the influence of partner and friendship networks on their STI testing practices may enhance health promotion efforts to increase testing for this group.

Method: Participants aged 21-30 years, living in Australia for ≥3 years, were recruited within nightlife precincts in Melbourne, Australia.

Stigma, gay men and biomedical prevention: the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing HIV prevention landscape.

Improvements in biomedical technologies, combined with changing social attitudes to sexual minorities, provide new opportunities for HIV prevention among gay and other men who have sex with men (GMSM). The potential of these new biomedical technologies (biotechnologies) to reduce HIV transmission and the impact of HIV among GMSM will depend, in part, on the degree to which they challenge prejudicial attitudes, practices and stigma directed against gay men and people living with HIV (PLHIV). At the structural level, stigma regarding gay men and HIV can influence the scale-up of new biotechnologies and negatively affect GMSM's access to and use of these technologies.

Investigating combination HIV prevention: isolated interventions or complex system.

Introduction: Treatment as prevention has mobilized new opportunities in preventing HIV transmission and has led to bold new UNAIDS targets in testing, treatment coverage and transmission reduction. These will require not only an increase in investment but also a deeper understanding of the dynamics of combining behavioural, biomedical and structural HIV prevention interventions. High-income countries are making substantial investments in combination HIV prevention, but is this investment leading to a deeper understanding of how to combine interventions? The combining of interventions involves complexity, with many strategies interacting with non-linear and multiplying rather than additive effects.

Essential components in developing public policy to control viral hepatitis: lessons from Taiwan.

Background: Over 500 million people are estimated to be infected with chronic viral hepatitis with an increasing burden resulting from the infections. In 2010, the World Health Organization recommended national governments develop effective strategies to reduce the global impact of viral hepatitis. Taiwan, to support the implementation of the world's first national vaccination program, developed the first of a series of 5-year national strategies in 1982.

Falling through the cracks: the gap between evidence and policy in responding to depression in gay, lesbian and other homosexually active people in Australia.

Objective: To examine the evidence for a national policy response to depression among gay, lesbian and other homosexually active people in Australia.

Methods: A literature review using database searches on depression among non-heterosexual people then a web-based search of national policy investigating how mental health needs in this population are addressed in Australia.

Results: The literature review found that non-heterosexual people experience depression at higher rates, but the literature on interventions was sparse.

Trends in the location of the HIV-positive population in Australia: implications for access to healthcare services and delivery.

Background: Examining existing and potential trends in the HIV-positive population in Australia is important for current and future healthcare service development and delivery.

Methods: A new analysis of existing data on this population from the HIV Futures 5 survey was based on linking a geographic breakdown of respondents based on 'area type'--capital city or inner suburban, outer suburban, regional centre and rural--with patterns of healthcare service access. In addition, the distance between the postcode of the respondent's residence and the postcode of the doctor seen for HIV-related treatment was calculated.