768 research outputs found

    The Internet and HIV study: design and methods

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    BACKGROUND: The Internet provides a new meeting ground, especially for gay men, that did not exist in the early 1990s. Several studies have found increased levels of high risk sexual behaviour and sexually transmissible infections (STI) among gay men who seek sex on the Internet, although the underlying processes are not fully understood. Research funded by the UK Medical Research Council (2002ā€“2004) provided the opportunity to consider whether the Internet represents a new sexual risk environment for gay and bisexual men living in London. METHODS: The objectives of the Internet and HIV study are to: (i) measure the extent to which gay men living in London seek sexual partners on the Internet; (ii) compare the characteristics of London gay men who do and do not seek sex on the Internet; (iii) examine whether sex with Internet-partners is less safe than with other sexual partners; (iv) compare use of the Internet with other venues where men meet sexual partners; (v) establish whether gay men use the Internet to actively seek partners for unprotected anal intercourse; (vi) determine the potential for using the Internet for HIV prevention. These objectives have been explored using quantitative and qualitative research methods in four samples of London gay men recruited and interviewed both online and offline. The four samples were: (i) gay men recruited through Internet chat rooms and profiles; (ii) HIV positive gay men attending an NHS hospital outpatients clinic; (iii) gay men seeking an HIV test in an NHS HIV testing or sexual health clinic; (iv) gay men recruited in the community. RESULTS: Quantitative data were collected by means of confidential, anonymous self-administered questionnaires (n>4000) completed on-line by the Internet sample. Qualitative data were collected by means of one-to-one interviews (n = 128) conducted either face-to-face or on-line. CONCLUSION: The strength of the Internet and HIV study is its methodological plurality, drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research among online and offline samples, as well as taking advantage of recent advances in web survey design. The study's findings will help us better understand the role of the Internet in relation to gay men's sexual practic

    Sexually transmitted infection risk exposure among black and minority ethnic youth in northwest London: findings from a study translating a sexually transmitted infection risk-reduction intervention to the UK setting.

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    OBJECTIVES: Young black women are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the UK, but effective interventions to address this are lacking. The Young Brent Project explored the nature and context of sexual risk-taking in young people to inform the translation of an effective clinic-based STI reduction intervention (Project SAFE) from the USA to the UK. METHODS: One-to-one in-depth interviews (n = 37) and group discussions (n = 10) were conducted among men and women aged 15-27 years from different ethnic backgrounds recruited from youth and genitourinary medicine clinic settings in Brent, London. The interviews explored the context within which STI-related risks were assessed, experienced and avoided, the skills needed to recognise risk and the barriers to behaviour change. RESULTS: Concurrent sexual partnerships, mismatched perceptions and expectations, and barriers to condom use contributed to STI risk exposure and difficulties in implementing risk-reduction strategies. Women attempted to achieve monogamy, but experienced complex and fluid sexual relationships. Low risk awareness, flawed partner risk assessments, negative perceptions of condoms and lack of control hindered condom use. Whereas men made conscious decisions, women experienced persuasion, deceit and difficulty in requesting condom use, particularly with older partners. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of STI and condom use skills is not enough to equip young people with the means to reduce STI risk. Interventions with young women need to place greater emphasis on: entering and maintaining healthy relationships; awareness of risks attached to different forms of concurrency and how concurrency arises; skills to redress power imbalances and building self-esteem

    The Collapse of Atomically-Cooled Primordial Haloes. I. High Lyman-Werner Backgrounds

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    Pristine, atomically-cooled haloes are leading contenders for the sites of primordial quasar formation because atomic cooling triggers rapid baryon collapse that can create 104^4 - 105^5 MāŠ™_{\odot} black hole seeds. However, until now no numerical simulations with a wide range of halo spins and assembly histories have followed the collapse for the times required to form a black hole. We have now performed cosmological simulations of baryon collapse in atomically-cooled haloes for times that are sufficient for supermassive stars to form and die as direct-collapse black holes (DCBHs). Our simulations reveal that fragmentation of the accretion disk at the center of the halo after āˆ¼\sim 500 kyr is nearly ubiquitous and in most cases leads to the formation of binary or multiple supermassive stellar systems. They also confirm that rapid baryon collapse proceeds for the times required for these stars to form DCBHs. Our discovery raises the exciting possibility of detecting gravitational waves from DCBH mergers with LISA and tidal disruption events in the near infrared with the James Webb Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes in the coming decade.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRA

    Willingness to participate in future HIV prevention studies among gay and bisexual men in Scotland, UK: a challenge for intervention trials

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    This article examines willingness to participate in future HIV prevention research among gay and bisexual men in Scotland, UK. Anonymous, self-complete questionnaires and Orasure GĆ¤Ć³ oral fluid samples were collected in commercial gay venues. 1,320 men were eligible for inclusion. 78.2% reported willingness to participate in future HIV prevention research; 64.6% for an HIV vaccine, 57.4% for a behaviour change study, and 53.0% for a rectal microbicide. In multivariate analysis, for HIV vaccine research, greater age, minority ethnicity, and not providing an oral fluid sample were associated with lower willingness; heterosexual orientation and not providing an oral fluid sample were for microbicides; higher education and greater HIV treatment optimism were for behaviour change. STI testing remained associated with being more willing to participate in microbicide research and frequent gay scene use remained associated with being more willing to participate in behaviour change research. Having an STI in the past 12 months remained significantly associated with being willing to participate in all three study types. There were no associations between sexual risk behaviour and willingness. Although most men expressed willingness to participate in future research, recruitment of high-risk men, who have the potential to benefit most, is likely to be more challenging

    HIV in East London: ethnicity, gender and risk. Design and methods

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    BACKGROUND: While men who have sex with men remain the group at greatest risk of acquiring HIV infection in the UK, the number of new diagnoses among heterosexuals has risen steadily over the last five years. In the UK, three-quarters of heterosexual men and women diagnosed with HIV in 2004 probably acquired their infection in Africa. This changing epidemiological pattern is particularly pronounced in East London because of its ethnically diverse population. DESIGN AND METHODS: The objective of the study was to examine the social, economic and behavioural characteristics of patients with HIV infection currently receiving treatment and care in hospitals in East London. The research focused on ethnicity, gender, sexuality, education, employment, housing, HIV treatment, stigma, discrimination, religion, migration and sexual risk behaviour. People diagnosed with HIV infection attending outpatient treatment clinics at St Bartholomew's, the Royal London, Whipp's Cross, Homerton, Newham and Barking hospitals (all in East London) over a 4ā€“6 month period were invited to participate in the study in 2004ā€“2005. Those who agreed to participate completed a confidential, self-administered pen-and-paper questionnaire. During the study period, 2680 patients with HIV attended the outpatient clinics in the six participating hospitals, of whom 2299 were eligible for the study and 1687 completed a questionnaire. The response rate was 73% of eligible patients and 63% of all patients attending the clinics during the survey period. DISCUSSION: A clinic-based study has allowed us to survey nearly 1700 patients with HIV from diverse backgrounds receiving treatment and care in East London. The data collected in this study will provide valuable information for the planning and delivery of appropriate clinical care, social support and health promotion for people living with HIV not only in East London but in other parts of the capital as well as elsewhere in the UK
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