This is a list of just some of the major research reports that inform the work that we do at ACON.

• Tracking Changes
• Falling through the cracks: the gap between evidence and policy in responding to depression in gay, lesbian and other homosexually active people in Australia
• Mapping HIV Outcomes
• Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey
• HIV Seroconversion Study
• HIV Futures
• Annual Report on Trends in Behaviours
• Annual Surveillance Report
• TOMS (Three or More Study)
• Private Lives
• You Shouldn’t Have to Hide to be Safe
• Writing Themselves In
• Health of Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Women in Sydney, The 2004 Sydney Women and Sexual Health survey
• TranZnation
• Double Trouble: the Health Needs of Culturally Diverse MSM
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Surveillance and Evaluation Report 2010

Tracking Changes

The Tracking Changes study, conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), showed that PLHIV rely on their doctors for information about antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

The study's key aim was to develop a deeper understanding of the experiences of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and HIV clinicians starting and switching antiretroviral treatment (ARV) fifteen years on from the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Download: Tracking Changes

Mapping HIV outcomes: geographical and clinical forecasts of numbers of people living with HIV in Australia

The population of people living with HIV is expected to change over the coming years. The population is expected to substantially shift in its age distribution, which will present challenges for health providers as age-related medical issues such as the incidence of cancers start to increase. As people living with HIV become more treatment-experienced, there will be clinical need to replace current therapies with new treatment options. Movement of people with HIV away from traditional centres will also require the HIV sector to accommodate people in non-metropolitan settings. These forecasts are valuable in planning for the needs of people living with HIV in Australia, particularly those requiring more complex case management in areas that currently do not have an established HIV service sector or referral pathways in place.

Download: Mapping HIV outcomes: geographical and clinical forecasts of numbers of people living with HIV in Australia (PDF)

Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey

The Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey is conducted by the National Centre in HIV Social Research (NCHSR) and The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR) in collaboration with ACON and Positive Life NSW, funded by NSW Health.

Twice a year since 1996, Sydney gay men have been asked a series of questions about the type of sex they’ve been having; who they’ve been having it with; their sexual health and their drug use over the preceding 6 months.

The information gathered forms a crucial part of New South Wale’s HIV response, enabling the government and ACON to measure the level of risk behaviour in the community every 6 months.

Download: Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey February 2011

Download: Gay Community Periodic Survey, Sydney, February 2010

Download: Town and Country: Gay Community Survey, Sydney and Regional NSW, August - November 2009

Find out more: National Centre in HIV Social Research

HIV Seroconversion Study

The Seroconversion Study forms a key component of the research activities in the Australian response to HIV and has helped identify more clearly the behavioural risk factors for HIV infection among gay men in Australia, and the specific concerns around negotiating ‘safe sex’ between sexual partners. This study in its various forms has been a particularly useful and informative research tool in the development of policy and programmatic responses to HIV prevention in Australia since its initial inception in the early 1990s. As a study of risk behaviours and experiences among those who have recently been diagnosed with HIV, the study has direct relevance to both national and state-based HIV strategies.

Download: HIV Seroconversion Study 2007-9 (PDF)

Download: HIV Seroconversion Study 2010 (PDF)

HIV Futures

The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University in Melbourne has been conducting a bi-annual survey of HIV positive people in Australia since 1997.

The study asks about health, treatments, work, and the financial situation of people with HIV. It aims to provide up to date information on what it's like at the moment living in Australia with HIV, to ensure that education and support services for positive people are the most effective they can be.

Download: HIV Futures 6 report (pdf)

Find out more: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society

Annual Report on Trends in Behaviours

This report contains a review of behavioural data relevant to the transmission of HIV, hepatitis and other STIs in Australia. It examines behavioural and attitudinal data relevant to the formation and evaluation of prevention strategies and to understanding individuals’ experiences of treatment of these infections.

Download: Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2011

Download: Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2010

Download: Annual Report of Trends in Behaviour 2009

Annual Surveillance Report

This report is the annual review of available surveillance data pertaining to the occurrence of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia.  It is intended to be a reference document for organisations and individuals interested in the occurrence of these infectious diseases in Australia, drawing together relevant data from many sources into a single comprehensive report.

Download: Annual Surveillance Report 2011

Download: Annual Surveillance Report 2010

Download: Annual Surveillance Report 2009

Find out more: National Centre in HIV Epidemiology & Clinical Research

TOMS (Three or More Study)

The major aim of the 2007-2008 Three or More Study (TOMS) project was to provide data on risk behaviour and condom negotiation in a cross-sectional sample of homosexually active men who engage in group sex. The study was conceived and designed in consultation with ACON, with funding from the New South Wales Department of Health for the NSW component of the study, and additional support from VAC and QAHC to enable the study to be extended to Victoria and Queensland respectively.

The study utilised a mixed-methods approach in collecting both qualitative (in-depth interviews) and quantitative data (short, self-administered survey questionnaire). The responses from 994 men were used in the analysis.

Download: 2007-2008 TOMS Report

Private Lives

The Private Lives study, carried out in early 2005, is one of the largest surveys of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people ever conducted. It aimed to document aspects of the health and wellbeing of a large sample of GLBTI people in Australia, to explore the impact of factors such as homophobia, discrimination, family and community connection on health and wellbeing, and to investigate aspects of health service use.

In all, 5476 people between 16 and 92 years of age (mean age 34) completed the on-line survey. This sample provides us with a detailed picture of the lives of GLBTI people in Australia in all their diversity and complexity.

Download: Private Lives 2 Report

Download: Private Lives Report

Find out more: Gay & Lesbian Health Victoria

You Shouldn’t Have to Hide to be Safe

In 2002 the NSW Attorney General’s Department, commissioned a study on homophobic hostilities and violence against gay men and lesbians in New South Wales. This study is the first major research project since NSW Police released ‘Out of the Blue’ in 1995. This study was conducted across NSW from March to August 2003, involving 670 survey respondents and focus group participants.

Download: You Shouldn’t Have to Hide to be Safe

Find out more: Lawlink

Writing Themselves In

This is the third national study of the sexual health and wellbeing of same sex attracted and gender questioning young people (SSAGQ).  This time, the major shift in research has been in the direction of equity, visibility and support for sexual difference among SSAGQ. The encouraging aspect of all the findings is the degree of supports for young people have noticeably improved, despite increases in homophobic violence.

Download: Writing Themselves In 3

Find out more: Gay & Lesbian Health Victoria

SWASH - Health of Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Women in Sydney, The 2004 Sydney Women and Sexual Health survey

In February 2004, women at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day and at other groups, venues and clinics in contact with gay, bisexual and lesbian communities completed a two-page self complete questionnaire. For this report, responses from the 440 women who identified as lesbian, bisexual, queer or ‘other’ have been analysed.

Download: The 2004 Sydney Women and Sexual Health Survey

TranZnation

This report compiles the findings from the 2007 online survey of 253 transgender people in Australia and New Zealand.  To capture the variation of identity and experience present in this population, a combination of quantitative and qualitative questions was used in the survey. Participants were given opportunity, throughout the survey, to give an account of their lives and experiences with health services, in their own way and in their own words and expression.

Download: TranZnation

Find out more: Gay & Lesbian Health Victoria

Double Trouble: the Health Needs of Culturally Diverse MSM

Double Trouble attempts to answer an important question - how do cultural diversity and same sex attraction interact to make CALD MSM in developed countries vulnerable to HIV acquisition and poorer sexual health outcomes?

Download: Double Trouble: the Health Needs of Culturally Diverse MSM

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Surveillance and Evaluation Report

This surveillance report provides information on the occurrence of bloodborne viral and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The report is published by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research for the purposes of stimulating and supporting discussion for minimising the transmission risk of bloodborne viruses and STIs as well as the personal and social consequences of these infections within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Download: Bloodborne viral and sexually transmitted infections in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Surveillance and Evaluation Report 2011

Download: Bloodborne viral and sexually transmitted infections in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Surveillance and Evaluation Report 2010

Find out more

Web: To access more research reports, please visit the GLHV Clearinghouse.

More info

Contact: ACON Research

Tel: (02) 9206 2000
Free Call: 1800 063 060
Hearing Impaired: (02) 9283 2088

Email: research@acon.org.au