The internet survey of gay men breaks all records. Already 40,000 German participants. The survey runs until the end of August.
"Size matters!" - This is the slogan used by the researchers of the EMIS internet survey to encourage gay men to complete their questionnaire.
As many participants as possible should ensure meaningful results and emphasise the importance of gay health prevention.
One thing is already clear: the success is more than great. Never before have so many men provided information about their sexuality in a study.
On 25 June at 12 noon, three weeks after publication, the EMIS questionnaire had already been answered by over 106,000 men. More than 40,000 of them came from Germany, more than 4,000 from Berlin alone.
By way of comparison, a total of almost 10,000 participants completed the questionnaire for the study "Gay Men and AIDS" ("Bochow Study") in 2007.
The EMIS data therefore provides an excellent basis for making differentiated statements about the (safer) sex behaviour of gay men. Among other things, they are intended to help tailor health prevention for men who have sex with men as closely as possible to the needs of specific target groups.
The high level of participation is also a political signal: gay men across Europe are thus signalling their claim to have their sexuality and health needs taken seriously. In particularly homophobic countries, gay men do not have good access to prevention and HIV tests - for example in some Eastern European countries.
It is also known that discrimination can reduce the motivation to protect oneself against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections because self-esteem suffers as a result.
The EMIS-S study is taking place in 31 European countries and the questionnaire is available in 25 languages. It asks about sexual behaviour, relationships as well as knowledge and management of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Anyone who still wants to take part can do so until 31 August. The results will only be published after this date.
Incidentally, a counter at the top right of the EMIS website documents how many questionnaires have already been completed.
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To the questionnaire
