Community-Based Prevalence Estimates of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infections Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in Montréal, Canada.

Background: Reported cases of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections are increasing among Canadian men. Estimates of community-based CT/NG prevalence are lacking among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM).

Methods: Respondent driven sampling was used to recruit GBM in Montréal, Canada between February 2017 and June 2018.

Use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among urban Canadian gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: a cross-sectional analysis of the Engage cohort study.

Background: In Canada, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) are disproportionately affected by HIV. Our objective was to describe access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and identify factors associated with not using PrEP among self-reported HIV-negative or HIV-unknown GBM.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of the Engage study cohort.

Characteristics of the HIV cascade of care and unsuppressed viral load among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men living with HIV across Canada's three largest cities.

Introduction: Treatment as prevention strategies have been variously applied across provinces in Canada. We estimated HIV care cascade indicators and correlates of unsuppressed viral load (VL) among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) recruited in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Methods: Sexually active GBM, aged ≥16 years, were recruited through respondent-driven sampling (RDS) from February 2017 to August 2019.

Who knows about U = U? Social positionality and knowledge about the (un)transmissibility of HIV from people with undetectable viral loads.

"U = U" is the principle that HIV is untransmittable from people living with an undetectable HIV viral-load. Wide-spread knowledge about U = U is believed to produce public health benefit by reducing HIV-related stigma - promoting wellbeing for people living with HIV. Therefore, we examined the diffusion of U = U with respect to the social position of sexual and gender minority men (SGMM).

Stepping Stones or Second Class Donors?: a qualitative analysis of gay, bisexual, and queer men's perspectives on plasma donation policy in Canada.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are not eligible to donate blood or plasma in Canada if they have had sex with another man in the last 3 months. This time-based deferment has reduced since 2013; from an initial lifetime ban, to five-years, one-year, and now three-months. Our previous research revealed that gay, bisexual, queer, and other MSM (GBM) supported making blood donation policies gender-neutral and behaviour-based.

COVID-19, promotion and provision of palliative care: reaching out, accounting for linguistic diversity.

The combined forces of economic globalization and international migration have resulted in specific challenges to palliative care systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has and is still greatly affecting elder populations as well as those across the age continuum living with long-standing chronic conditions or with pre-existing diverse unmet needs. While health promotion and palliative care may appear to be conceptually opposing fields, we argue that palliative care can and should fit under the umbrella of the health promotion continuum.

Health and well-being of trans and non-binary participants in a community-based survey of gay, bisexual, and queer men, and non-binary and Two-Spirit people across Canada.

There is a paucity of population health data on the experiences of transgender, non-binary, and other gender minority gay, bisexual, and queer men, and Two-Spirit people in Canada. To address this gap, this article presents a socio-demographic and health profile of trans and non-binary participants from the community-based bilingual 2018 Sex Now Survey. Participants were recruited in-person from Pride festivals in 15 communities to self-complete an anonymous paper-and-pen questionnaire.

Survey of Health Care Providers' Practices and Opinions Regarding Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Background: Rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to rise among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) globally. Testing and treatment can prevent morbidity and transmission. However, testing rates remain suboptimal.

Exploring nurse-led HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in a community health care clinic.

Objectives: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) are 131 times more likely to acquire HIV compared with other Canadian men. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV has the potential to reduce or eliminate disparities in HIV acquisition among key affected populations. This paper aims to discuss the feasibility and utility of a nurse-led PrEP program administered by the Cool Aid Community Health Centre (CACHC) in Victoria, British Columbia as a public health PrEP program was initiated.

Democratizing Access to Community-Based Survey Findings Through Dynamic Data Visualizations.

OurStats ( https://www.cbrc.net/ourstats ) is a data visualization dashboard developed by the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) to increase access to data from the Sex Now surveys-Canada's largest community-based surveillance study of gay and bisexual men.

: Canadian Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men's Willingness to Donate Blood If Eligible Despite Feelings of Policy Discrimination.

Blood donation policies governing men who have sex with men have shifted significantly over time in Canada-from an initial lifetime ban in the wake of the AIDS crisis to successive phases of time-based deferment requiring periods of sexual abstinence (5 years to 1 year to 3 months). We interviewed 39 HIV-negative gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual minority men (GBM) in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal to understand their willingness to donate blood if eligible. Transcripts were coded following inductive thematic analysis.

Community-Based Participatory Approaches to Knowledge Translation: HIV Prevention Case Study of the Investigaytors Program.

Approaches to knowledge translation (KT) that engage community stakeholders in the research cycle have been identified as particularly promising for addressing the "know-do" gap. Using the case study of a long-standing community-based participatory research (CBPR) project known as the "Investigaytors," this article describes the development and implementation of a KT intervention aimed at facilitating access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men in British Columbia, Canada, through a publicly funded program. In doing so, we offer a model of CBPR for KT that is highly participatory, driven by community members, and centered around capacity building.

Awareness of and intention to use an online sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection testing service among gay and bisexual men in British Columbia, two years after implementation.

Objectives: This study assessed gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men's (GBMSM) awareness of and intention to use GetCheckedOnline, an online sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) testing service.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted two years after launch among GBMSM > 18 years of age in British Columbia, Canada. Participants were recruited through community venues, clinics, websites, and apps.

Where boys don't dance, but women still thrive: using a development approach as a means of reconciling the right to health with the legitimization of cultural practices.

Human rights language has become a common method of internationally denouncing violent, discriminatory or otherwise harmful practices, notably by framing them as reprehensible violations of those fundamental rights we obtain by virtue of being human. While often effective, such women's rights discourse becomes delicate when used to challenge practices, which are of important cultural significance to the communities in which they are practiced. This paper analyses human rights language to challenge the gender disparity in access to health care and in overall health outcomes in certain countries where such disparities are influenced by important cultural values and practices.

Identifying Health Differences Between Transgender and Cisgender Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Using a Community-Based Approach.

In this article, we describe a community-based research (CBR) approach to making a national online survey of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) inclusive of transgender GBMSM by working with members of the transgender community at all stages of the research process. This collaboration resulted in 209 transgender GBMSM completing our survey and we contrasted their health experiences with 7439 cisgender GBMSM. We found that transgender GBMSM were less likely than cisgender GBMSM to report intercourse without a condom (AOR 0.

Prevalence of Exposure to Sexual Orientation Change Efforts and Associated Sociodemographic Characteristics and Psychosocial Health Outcomes among Canadian Sexual Minority Men.

Objective: Sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), or "conversion therapy," are pseudoscientific practices intended to suppress or deny sexual attraction to members of the same gender/sex. There are currently no data available to inform estimates of the prevalence of SOCE exposure in Canada. The objective of this study is therefore to describe the prevalence, social-demographic correlates, and health consequences of SOCE among Canadian sexual minority men.

Substance use patterns and awareness of biomedical HIV prevention strategies among sexual and gender minority men in Canada.

Sexual and gender minority men (SGMM) who use drugs are frequently cited as at-risk for HIV. Fortunately, biomedical prevention can greatly reduce transmission, provided individuals are aware of and interested in the uptake of these strategies. We examined associations between substance use patterns and biomedical prevention among SGMM in Canada.

Informing theoretical development of salutogenic, asset-based health improvement to reduce syndemics among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: Empirical evidence from secondary analysis of multi-national, online cross-sectional surveys.

Globally, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) experience an increased burden of poor sexual, mental and physical health. Syndemics theory provides a framework to understand comorbidities and health among marginalised populations. Syndemics theory attempts to account for the social, environmental, and other structural contexts that are driving and/or sustaining simultaneous multiple negative health outcomes, but has been widely critiqued.

Population-Level Sexual Mixing According to HIV Status and Preexposure Prophylaxis Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Montreal, Canada: Implications for HIV Prevention.

Using cross-sectional survey data (Engage, 2017-2018) from 1,137 men who have sex with men, ≥16 years old, in Montreal, we compared observed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroconcordance in previous-6-months' sexual partnerships with what would have been observed by chance if zero individuals serosorted. Of 5 recent partnerships where both individuals were HIV-negative, we compared observed concordance in preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use with the counterfactual if zero individuals selected partners based on PrEP use. We estimated the concordance by chance using a balancing-partnerships approach assuming proportionate mixing.

Community-Directed Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Interventions Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for an E-Delphi Study in Toronto, Canada.

Background: HIV-positive and HIV-negative (gay, bisexual, and other) men who have sex with men (MSM) have experienced a dramatic increase in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs)-syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. STI testing and treatment mitigate adverse health outcomes and substantially reduce transmission; yet, testing rates remain below recommended levels. Innovation is needed to produce the required increases in testing levels, frequency, and the use of appropriate testing technologies in ways that are engaging, nonstigmatizing, and acceptable to men.

Gay and bisexual men's views on reforming blood donation policy in Canada: a qualitative study.

Background: Researchers and activists have long called for changes to blood donation policies to end what is frequently framed as unjustified bans or deferral periods for men who have sex with men (MSM). Since 2016, in Canada, a man had to be abstinent from all sexual contact (anal or oral sex) with other men for at least 12 months in order to be an eligible blood donor. As of June 3, 2019, this deferral period was reduced to 3 months.

A Systematic Review of Characteristics of Nonprobability Community Venue Samples of Sexual Minority Individuals and Associated Methods for Assessing Selection Bias.

The majority of research on sexual minority individuals relies on nonprobability community venue samples. These samples are prone to selection bias; however, empirical syntheses of evidence of these biases are not available. We conducted, therefore, a systematic review of published sexual minority health research to summarize methods used to identify characteristics and health outcomes found to differ in nonprobability samples.