Drug use among gay and bisexual men (GBM) is higher than most populations. The use of crystal methamphetamine, erectile dysfunction medication (EDM), and amyl nitrite have been associated with sexual risk behaviour and HIV infection among gay and bisexual men (GBM).
This paper describes an online prospective observational study of licit and illicit drug use among GBM and explores baseline prevalence of drug use in this sample. Capturing these data poses challenges as participants are required to disclose potentially illegal behaviours in a geographically dispersed country. To address this issue, an entirely online and study specific methodology was chosen.
Men living in Australia, aged 16.5 years of age or older, who identified as homosexual or bisexual or had sex with at least one man in the preceding 12 months were eligible to enrol.
Between September 2014 and July 2015, a total of 2250 participants completed the baseline questionnaire, of whom, 1710 (76.0%) consented to six-monthly follow-up. The majority (65.7%) were recruited through Facebook targeted advertising. At baseline, over half (50.5%) the men reported the use of any illicit drug in the previous six months, and 28.0% had used party drugs. In the six months prior to enrolment, 12.0% had used crystal methamphetamine, 21.8% had used EDM, and 32.1% had used amyl nitrite. Among the 1710 men enrolled into the cohort, 790 men had used none of these drugs.
Ease of entry and minimal research burden on participants helped ensure successful recruitment into this online cohort study. Study outcomes will include the initiation and cessation of drug use, associated risk behaviours, and health consequences, over time. Results will provide insights into the role gay community plays in patterns of drug use among GBM.
The International journal on drug policy. 2017 Jan 09 [Epub ahead of print]
Mohamed A Hammoud, Fengyi Jin, Louisa Degenhardt, Toby Lea, Lisa Maher, Jeffrey Grierson, Brent Mackie, Marcus Pastorelli, Colin Batrouney, Nicky Bath, Jack Bradley, Garrett P Prestage
The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: ., The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia., National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia., Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Australia, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia., Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge Campus, Cambridge CB1 1PT, United Kingdom., ACON NSW, 414 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia., Victorian AIDS Council, 6 Claremont St, South Yarra, VIC 3141, Australia., NSW Users and AIDS Association, 5, 414 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia.