A new study has identified a gap in health promotion initiatives and suggests there needs to be more done to ensure the needs of Chinese and South Asian gay and bisexual men are met. The new research shows that Chinese and South Asian gay and bisexual men in New Zealand have a strong recall of HIV health promotion campaigns such as Love Your Condom, however are in line with other local demographics and are not always consistent with their condom use. The research, undertaken by Dr Jeff Adams of Massey University and Associate Professor Stephen Neville of Auckland University of Technology was funded by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and aimed to identify some of the ways Chinese and South Asian gay and bisexual men talk about and understand issues related to HIV/STI and health promotion, as well as highlighting some of this group’s health promoting behaviours. The study consisted of face-to-face interviews with 44 Chinese and South Asian gay and bisexual men living in Auckland and results show that the men interviewed had a good understanding of the benefits of using condoms for anal sex. “They also reported strong recall of the local HIV health promotion campaigns which seek to influence men’s behaviours through promotion of a single, unequivocal message to always use a condom for anal sex,” says Adams. He says a range of reasons why the men interviewed were not always wearing condoms were identified. The study also notes that among the men who discussed testing practices, regular testing was much more likely to have occurred in men who have lived in New Zealand for more than 5 years. “These results suggest that future health promotion initiatives should be tailored to ensure the needs of Chinese and South Asian MSM are appropriately addressed when promoting condom use for anal sex,” says Adams.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 28th May 2016 - 10:55am