The health effects of homophobia

Gay and bisexual men living in European countries with strong attitudes and policies against homosexuality are far less likely to use HIV-prevention services, test for HIV, and discuss their sexuality with health providers, according to research led by Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). The study is published online in the journal AIDS. Attitudes about homosexuality vary greatly across Europe, noted YSPH associate professor and lead author John Pachankis and his colleagues. The research team wanted to investigate the impact of homophobia on gay and bisexual men's health - specifically their sexual behavior, use of HIV-prevention services, HIV status, and ability to cope with HIV. To conduct the study, the researchers used data from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS), a joint project of academic, governmental, non-governmental, and online media partners from 35 European countries. EMIS is a 25-language study that assessed HIV-related knowledge, behaviors, and health-service use among 174,000 gay and bisexual men. The researchers combined the EMIS data with a measure of country-level laws, policies, and social attitudes toward homosexuality.