By Julie Fortier
The largest survey of its kind in Canadian history is attempting to find out why HIV/AIDS is on the rise among gay and bisexual men in Ontario.
The survey links community groups with University of Toronto researchers in an attempt to update 10-year-old data on the sexual activities of men who are most at risk.
A University of Toronto study conducted last November found that the rates of infection for the first half of 2000 had risen 22 per cent in Ontario. In the Ottawa region alone, they had gone up almost eight per cent.
“The information [will tell us] where we are going and what needs to be done and how things change. The data we have is 10 years old and that which we do have is very little in Ontario,” says Professor Ted Meyers, the study’s lead investigator and director of the HIV unit in the University’s Faculty of Medicine.
The survey will question 5,000 gay and bisexual men in Ontario, 600 in the Ottawa region.
The survey asks a series of very personal questions, says Victor Gallant, survey coordinator for the Ottawa region. “Who they have sex with, where they are having sex, how frequently they are having sex. It asks very detailed and personal questions.”
The survey will be conducted with the help of gay and bisexual community groups like the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Organization and Pink Triangle Services in places where the participants feel most comfortable. This includes community centres, bars and bathhouses.
Along with personal questions, participants are also asked to take an HIV/AIDS test. Bruce Bursey, a member of the board of directors at Pink Triangle Services in Ottawa, says he believes this is a crucial aspect to the survey.
“It will provide current information and insight into the sexual behavior of men who are HIV positive and don’t know it. This is extremely important.”
The information will be used to better understand the rise in HIV/AIDS incidences, as well as develop new ways to fight it. “The results will go to policy makers and will aid a lot in helping organizations like the Aids Committee of Ottawa to develop programs and educational materials,” says Gallant.
Surveys will be handed out over the next few months. Reports about the results will be released in nine to 12 months. However, Meyers, who was the lead investigator for a similar survey 10 years ago, stresses this is just the first step in fighting the epidemic. “It’s going to leave as many questions unanswered as it will answer.”