Health Policy and Management, 2014; 2:21–26. (ISSN1313-4981)
Authors: Emilia Naseva, Tonka Varleva, Petar Tsintsarski, Eva Papazova, Vyara Gancheva, Hristo Taskov
Abstract
The group of men who have sex with men (MSM), is the most affected by HIV, both in Western and Central European countries and in our country. Therefore, the European Commission has funded internet study of MSM community in 33 countries, covering the period from April 2009 to September 2011. The respondents from Bulgaria are 1036. The results of the study in our country showed that more than half of the involved subjects (52.3%) identified themselves as gay or homosexual, one in four (27.7%) considered themselves as bisexual, and 17.1% do not use any term to define their sexual behaviour. Those who claim to know their HIV status are only 68.5% of all respondents; the remaining 31.2% are not sure. It is a concern that a significant proportion (61.4%) of respondents who did not know their HIV status and are sure that they are HIV negative. The information from the survey could be used as a corrective to the already taken initiatives and as a supplement to the new prevention strategies when planning new activities for reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Bulgaria at national and regional level. [Article in Bulgarian]