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Further statistical reports for each region and locality can be
found here.
Smoking, alcohol and drugs:
- Two thirds of gay and bisexual men have smoked at some time in their life compared to half of men in general.
- For the full findings click here
General fitness and exercise:
- Over half of gay and bisexual men have a normal body mass index (BMI) compared to under a third of men in general. Just 44 per cent of gay and bisexual men are overweight or obese compared to 70 per cent of men in general.
- However, one in four gay and bisexual men report being in fair or bad health compared to one in six men in general.
- For the full findings click here
Mental health:
- In the last year, three per cent of gay men and five per cent of bisexual men have attempted to take their own life. Just 0.4 per cent of men in general attempted to take their own life in the same period.
- One in sixteen (six per cent) gay and bisexual men aged 16 to 24 have attempted to take their own life in the last year. Less than one per cent of men in general aged 16 to 24 have attempted to take their own life in the same period.
- For the full findings click here
Eating disorders and body image:
- Almost half of gay and bisexual men worry about the way they look and wish they could think about it less.
- One in five gay and bisexual men have had problems with their weight or eating at some time.
- For the full findings click here
Domestic Abuse:
- Half of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse from a family member or partner since the age of 16 compared to 17 per cent of men in general.
- More than a third of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse in a relationship with a man.
- For the full findings click here
Cancer and common male health problems:
- Just a third of gay and bisexual men check their testicles monthly as recommended as a preventative measure against testicular cancer.
- Just one in ten gay and bisexual men have ever discussed prostate or bowel cancer with a healthcare professional and only three per cent have ever discussed lung cancer.
- For the full findings click here
Sexual Health and HIV
- One in four gay and bisexual men have never been tested for any sexually transmitted infection.
- Three in ten gay and bisexual men have never had an HIV test in spite of early diagnosis now being a public health priority.
- For the full findings click here
Discrimination in healthcare
- A third of gay and bisexual men who have accessed healthcare services in the last year have had a negative experience related to their sexual orientation.
- A third of gay and bisexual men are not out to their GP or healthcare professionals. Gay and bisexual men are more likely to be out to their manager, work colleagues, family and friends than their GP.
- For the full findings click here
What good service looks like
- More than a quarter of gay and bisexual men said their healthcare professional acknowledged they were gay or bisexual after they had come out and just one in eight were told that their partner was welcome to be present during a consultation.
- Only a quarter of gay and bisexual men said that healthcare workers had given them information relevant to their sexual orientation
- For the full findings click here
Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Survey makes ten key recommendations for the NHS:
1. Understand the specific health needs of gay and bisexual men
Gay and bisexual men are more likely to attempt suicide, self-harm and have depression than their straight peers. They are more likely to take illegal drugs. Half have experienced domestic abuse, from a family member or partner, compared to 17 per cent of men in general.
Schools and universities teaching healthcare should cover the specific health needs of gay and bisexual men in their curricula.
2. Train staff:
Only a quarter of gay and bisexual men said their healthcare professional acknowledged they were gay or bisexual after they had come out and only one in eight said they were told that their partner was welcome to be present during a consultation.
Royal Colleges should update professional development programmes to include topics such as same-sex partner rights.
3. Don't make assumptions:
One in six gay and bisexual men said that in the last year healthcare professionals had assumed that they were straight.
Training for frontline healthcare staff should cover the importance of not assuming someone’s sexual orientation.
4. Explicit policies:
Just one in five gay and bisexual men said their GP surgery displayed a policy stating they would not discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation.
GP surgeries and hospitals should display non-discrimination policies that explicitly protect gay and bisexual people from discrimination.
5. Increase visibility:
Just one in eleven said their GP surgery was a welcoming environment for gay and bisexual men.
GP surgeries and hospitals should use posters, leaflets and information that include images of gay and bisexual men to help create a welcoming environment.
6. Encourage disclosure and make confidentiality policies clear:
One in three gay and bisexual men are not out to healthcare professionals, in spite of improvement on why being out is meant to be a good thing for their health. Just two in five said their GP had a clear policy on confidentiality.
Doctors and healthcare workers should encourage disclosure by asking open questions and having clear confidentiality policies.
7. Improve monitoring:
Just one in eleven gay and bisexual men said they were given the opportunity to come out.
The Department of Health should ensure sexual orientation is a field available on all confidential electronic patient record systems used by hospitals and GP surgeries.
8. Make complaints procedures clear:
A third of gay and bisexual men who have accessed healthcare services in the last year have had a negative experience in relation to their sexual orientation.
NHS complaints teams should make sure information on how people can complain includes information on sexual orientation discrimination.
9. Tell gay and bisexual men what they need to know:
Just a third of gay and bisexual men check their testicles monthly as a preventative measure against testicular cancer as recommended. One in four have never been tested for STIs and three in ten have never been tested for HIV, in spite of this being regarded as a Department of Health priority.
Schools and colleges should make sure they include the needs of gay and bisexual men in preventative healthcare and healthy lifestyle lessons.
10. Improve access to sexual health services:
One in four gay and bisexual men who haven’t had an HIV test said it’s because they’ve never been offered one. One in seven said it’s because they don’t know where to get a test.
Improving access to sexual health services for gay and bisexual men should be a public health priority for the Department of Health.