ArticleAIDS (London, England)2015
Hidden from health: structural stigma, sexual orientation concealment, and HIV across 38 countries in the European MSM Internet Survey.
Article in AIDS (London, England), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 145 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
145 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 321 citations in OpenAlex.
- Structural Interventions for HIV Prevention and Care Among US Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Systematic Review of Evidence, Gaps, and Future Priorities.AIDS and behavior · 2021Pooled it
- The Legal Vulnerability Model for Same-Sex Parent Families: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review and Theoretical Integration.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Human rights protections and HIV prevalence among MSM who sell sex: Cross-country comparisons from a systematic review and meta-analysis.Global public health · 2018Pooled it
- Toward a mechanistic understanding of LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy: Testing treatment mediators in a randomized controlled trial with young gay and bisexual men.Behaviour research and therapy · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of a behavioural intervention delivered by text messages (safetxt) on sexually transmitted reinfections in people aged 16-24 years: randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Trial
- Coming out under fire: The role of minority stress and emotion regulation in sexual orientation disclosure.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Sexual dysfunction and health condition in Chinese doctor: prevalence and risk factors.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- A Mobile Counseling Program for Gay and Bisexual Men's Mental, Behavioral, and Sexual Health in Eastern Europe: A Randomized Controlled Trial.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Psychosocial and Behavioral Correlates of HIV Serostatus Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Examining Intrapersonal and Social Environment Factors Associated with Condom Use and HIV Testing Among Young Adult MSM Living in Beirut, Lebanon.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Homophobia, economic precarity and the well-being of sexual and gender diverse people in a 153-country survey.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Sense of Grip on Disease Among Persons Living with HIV: Insights from a Mixed-method Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kolkata, India.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Key Storytellers of Health Information Among Spanish-Speaking Latino Sexual Minority Men in the U.S.: Identifying Barriers and Facilitators to HIV Prevention and Care.Health communication · 2026Article
- Let Them Talk: Coping with PrEP-Related Stigma and Sustaining PrEP Persistence Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Tanga, Tanzania.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Association of demographics and psychological barriers with late presentation of HIV among men who have sex with men in Chengdu, China.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Psychosocial symptom networks and high-risk sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men: a network analysis.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- [Self-esteem differences based on sexual orientation in Germany : Changes over time].Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2025Article
- "No Man's Land": A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of Structural Stigma Among Bisexual Men Compared with Gay Men.LGBT health · 2025Article
- Sexual and Psychosocial Risk Burdens Associated With Online Sex Seeking Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSubstantial country-level variation exists in prejudiced attitudes towards male homosexuality and in the extent to which countries promote the unequal treatment of MSM through discriminatory laws. The impact and underlying mechanisms of country-level stigma on odds of diagnosed HIV, sexual opportunities, and experience of HIV-prevention services, needs and behaviours have rarely been examined, however.
designData come from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS), which was administered between June and August 2010 across 38 European countries (N = 174 209).
methodsCountry-level stigma was assessed using a combination of national laws and policies affecting sexual minorities and a measure of attitudes held by the citizens of each country. We also assessed concealment, HIV status, number of past 12-month male sex partners, and eight HIV-preventive services, knowledge, and behavioural outcomes.
resultsMSM living in countries with higher levels of stigma had reduced odds of diagnosed HIV and fewer partners but higher odds of sexual risk behaviour, unmet prevention needs, not using testing services, and not discussing their sexuality in testing services. Sexual orientation concealment mediated associations between country-level stigma and these outcomes.
conclusionCountry-level stigma may have historically limited HIV transmission opportunities among MSM, but by restricting MSM's public visibility, it also reduces MSM's ability to access HIV-preventive services, knowledge and precautionary behaviours. These findings suggest that MSM in European countries with high levels of stigma are vulnerable to HIV infection. Although they have less opportunity to identify and contact other MSM, this might change with emerging technologies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.