Gay men want sexually explicit internet-based health promotion information, US study finds

The largest-ever survey to assess the health promotion information that gay men who use the internet to meet sexual partners in the United States would like to see has found that sexually explicit materials are not only acceptable across a diverse range of demographics but are preferred to non-visual, non-explicit and technical communication when describing HIV risk between men.

The survey, recently published online in the journal, AIDS and Behavior, targeted more than 2,700 users of the US gay social networking site, gay.com, and also found that gay men also wanted information covering much broader topics than HIV prevention, encompassing diverse sexual and mental health concerns.

Even though a significant number of gay men are now using the internet to meet sexual partners, the concept of using internet-based approaches to HIV prevention with gay men is relatively new, and, accordingly there is little evidence-based information on which to base these interventions. (See this news report from the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto for a discussion of the various types of interventions that currently exist).


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