Bio-behavioural HIV and STI surveillance among men who have sex with men in Europe: the Sialon II protocols

BMC Public Health

Saulius Caplinskas¹  Nigel Sherriff²  Vincenza Regine³  Barbara Suligoi³  Ulrich Marcus⁴  Sandra Dudareva-Vizule⁴  Magdalena Rosińska⁵  Sharon Kühlmann-Berenzon⁶  Inga Velicko⁶  Christiana Nöstlinger⁷  Wim Vanden Berghe⁷  Igor Toskin⁸  Alexandra Montoliu⁹  Laia Ferrer⁹  Cinta Folch⁹  Sónia Dias^1,10  Danica Stanekova^1,11  Alexandru Rafila^1,12  Irena Klavs^1,13  Ivailo Alexiev^1,14  Martina Furegato^1,15  Michele Breveglieri^1,15  Lorenzo Gios^1,15  Massimo Mirandola^1,15 

[1] Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS;Centre for Health Research, University of Brighton;Centro Operativo AIDS, Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Parassitarie ed Immunomediate, Istituto Superiore di Sanità;Department for Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Robert Koch-Institute;Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Hygiene;Department of Monitoring and Evaluation, Public Health Agency of Sweden;Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine;Department of Reproductive Health & Research, World Health Organization;Institut Catala d’Oncologia (ICO), Centre for Epidemiological Studies on HIV/STI in Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Agencia de Salut Publica de Catalunya (ASPC), Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol;Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine & GHTM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;NRC for HIV/AIDS, Slovak Medical University;National Institute of Infectious Diseases Prof. Dr. Matei Bals;National Institute of Public Health;National Reference Laboratory of HIV, National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases;Veneto Region - Department of Health, CReMPE - Regional Coordination Centre for European Project Management, the Verona University Hospital;

关键词: HIV;    Surveillance;    MSM;    Time-location sampling;    Respondent-driven sampling;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-2783-9

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Globally, the HIV epidemic continues to represent a pressing public health issue in Europe and elsewhere. There is an emerging and progressively urgent need to harmonise HIV and STI behavioural surveillance among MSM across European countries through the adoption of common indicators, as well as the development of trend analysis in order to monitor the HIV-STI epidemic over time. The Sialon II project protocols have been elaborated for the purpose of implementing a large-scale bio-behavioural survey among MSM in Europe in line with a Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS) approach. Methods/Design Sialon II is a multi-centre biological and behavioural cross-sectional survey carried out across 13 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) in community settings. A total of 4,966 MSM were enrolled in the study (3,661 participants in the TLS survey, 1,305 participants in the RDS survey). Three distinct components are foreseen in the study protocols: first, a preliminary formative research in each participating country. Second, collection of primary data using two sampling methods designed specifically for ‘hard-to-reach’ populations, namely Time Location Sampling (TLS) and Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). Third, implementation of a targeted HIV/STI prevention campaign in the broader context of the data collection. Discussion Through the implementation of combined and targeted prevention complemented by meaningful surveillance among MSM, Sialon II represents a unique opportunity to pilot a bio-behavioural survey in community settings in line with the SGSS approach in a large number of EU countries. Data generated through this survey will not only provide a valuable snapshot of the HIV epidemic in MSM but will also offer an important trend analysis of the epidemiology of HIV and other STIs over time across Europe. Therefore, the Sialon II protocol and findings are likely to contribute significantly to increasing the comparability of data in EU countries through the use of common indicators and in contributing to the development of effective public health strategies and policies in areas of high need.

【 授权许可】

Unknown