Project

The European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS) is a joint project of academic, governmental, non-governmental, and social online media partners from 35 European countries (EU and neighbouring countries) to inform European prevention planning for a group highly affected by infections with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs): gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM).

A large network was built to create an online questionnaire to find answers to four research questions as stated below. Scientists who already had experience with Internet-based surveys for MSM, scientists who so far only had experience with print questionnaires, and activists from community-based NGOs have jointly prepared, pre-tested, and run the survey.

In summer 2010, an online questionnaire was run simultaneously in 25 different languages: Bulgarian (български език), Czech (Čeština), Danish (Dansk), German (Deutsch), Estonian (Eesti keel), Greek (Ελληνικά), English, Spanish (Español), French (Français), Italian (Italiano), Latvian (Latviešu valodam), Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba), Hungarian (Magyar nyelv), Dutch (Nederlands), Norwegian (Norsk), Polish (Polski), Portuguese (Português), Romanian (Română), Russian (Pусский язык), Slovenian (Slovenščina), Serbian (Srpski), Swedish (Svenska), Finnish (Suomi), Turkish (Türkçe), and Ukrainian (Yкраї́нська мо́ва). Potential respondents were invited through individual messages from online social networks, or through banners on (country-specific) websites.

The EMIS was designed to collect self-reported data from MSM across Europe. This data can be used to be included in national follow-up surveys for behavioural surveillance, but also for cross-sectional analyses – comparing different groups of MSM with different needs, comparing different countries or regions, etc.

EMIS is the first study in which a direct comparison of data on homosexuality, homosexual behaviour, STIs, performance of prevention interventions, homophobia, HIV-related discrimination, and sexual happiness among 38 countries can be undertaken. For some of the participating countries, it will generate the first empirical data on homosexuality.

EMIS results will inform the planning of prevention interventions for MSM by identifying prevention needs commonly unmet across MSM (priority aims), and subgroups of MSM for whom many prevention needs are also poorly met (priority target groups).