ArticleSexually transmitted infections2022
'Stay at home …': exploring the impact of the COVID-19 public health response on sexual behaviour and health service use among men who have sex with men: findings from a large online survey in the UK.
Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the HIV Care Continuum and Associated Factors in High-Income Nations: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.AIDS and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- The waiting room: Unmet sexual health service needs among men and gender-diverse individuals having sex with men in England, findings from an online, cross-sectional community survey in 2024.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2026Article
- HIV PrEP use and unmet need among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in London: An analysis of community cross-sectional surveys in England 2019-2022.HIV medicine · 2026Article
- PrEPped for COVID? The association between HIV-PrEP use and COVID-19 among men and gender diverse people who have sex with men: findings from three large online surveys in the United Kingdom.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Characteristics associated with frequent sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing in a community-based sample of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), United Kingdom, 2024.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Thinking beyond the tablet: Acceptability of different HIV-PrEP modalities among GBMSM and gender-diverse individuals having sex with men in the UK.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2026Article
- An evaluation of an online STI service across London: reviewing uptake, utility and outcomes over a 4-year period.Sexually transmitted infections · 2025Article
- Recruitment for Voluntary Video and Mobile HIV Testing on Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Article
- Sexually Transmitted Infections in Italian Young and Adult People: A Worrying Positive Trend Hidden by COVID-19 Epidemic.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Effects of COVID-19 measures on access to HIV/STI testing and condoms among adults in Sweden: a cross-sectional online survey.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2024Article
- Mpox Diagnosis, Behavioral Risk Modification, and Vaccination Uptake among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men, United Kingdom, 2022.Emerging infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Impact of national commissioning of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on equity of access in England: a PrEP-to-need ratio investigation.Sexually transmitted infections · 2024Article
- Knowledge, uptake and intention to use antibiotic post-exposure prophylaxis and meningococcal B vaccine (4CMenB) for gonorrhoea among a large, online community sample of men and gender-diverse individuals who have sex with men in the UK.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 epidemic on temporal pattern of new HIV diagnoses in Italy, 2021 database.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and its implementation in the PrEP Impact Trial in England: a pragmatic health technology assessment.The lancet. HIV · 2023Article
- Sexual behaviour, STI and HIV testing and testing need among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men recruited for online surveys pre/post-COVID-19 restrictions in the UK.Sexually transmitted infections · 2023Article
- Change of sexual behavior among men who have sex with men before, during and after COVID-19 pandemic in China: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Article
- Access to and quality of sexual and reproductive health services in Britain during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study of patient experiences.BMJ sexual & reproductive health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe first UK national lockdown began on 23 March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and led to reduced STI/HIV service provision in the UK. We investigated sexual behaviour, use and need for sexual healthcare during the pandemic.
methodsParticipants (N=2018), including men (cis/transgender), transwomen and gender-diverse people reporting sex with another man (cis/transgender) or non-binary person assigned male at birth, completed an online cross-sectional survey (23 June 2020-14 July 2020), in response to adverts on social media and dating apps.Sexual behaviour, service use and unmet need for STI testing (any new male and/or multiple condomless anal sex (CAS) partners without STI testing) in the 3 months since lockdown began were examined and compared using multivariable analyses with an equivalent 3-month period in a 2017 survey (N=1918), conducted by the same research team.
resultsSince lockdown began, 36.7% of participants reported one or more new partners, 17.3% reported CAS with multiple partners, 29.7% HIV testing (among 1815 of unknown/negative status), 24.9% STI testing and 15.4% using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).Since lockdown began, 25.3% of participants had unmet need for STI testing. This was more likely among Asian versus white participants (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.76, (1.14 to 2.72), p=0.01); for participants living in Scotland (aOR=2.02, (1.40 to 2.91), p<0.001) or Northern Ireland (aOR=1.93, (1.02-3.63), p=0.04) versus England; and for those living with HIV (aOR=1.83, (1.32 to 2.53), p<0.001).Compared to 2017, the equivalent 2020 subsample were less likely to report new male partners (46.8% vs 71.1%, p<0.001), multiple CAS partners (20.3% vs 30.8%, p<0.001) and have unmet need for STI testing (32.8% vs 42.5%, p<0.001) in the past 3 months.
conclusionsWe found potential for ongoing STI/HIV transmission among men who have sex with men during the initial UK lockdown, despite reduced sexual activity, and inequalities in service access. These findings will support public health planning to mitigate health risks during and after the COVID-19 response.
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