Although participants reported basic knowledge of HIV transmission and treatment, exposure to sexual identity and HIV-related stigma in their countries of birth meant they imagined a HIV diagnosis would be devastating. Men reported little knowledge of HIV prevention strategies outside of condom use prior to coming to Australia.
Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Men were excluded if they were living with HIV. Twenty-four gbMSM aged 20–30 years attending Melbourne Sexual Health Centre who were born in Asia and arrived in Australia in the preceding four years, participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews from 8th May 2019 and 23rd December 2019. Our aim was to explore experiences of Asian-born gbMSM newly arrived in Australia and attending a sexual health centre with regards to their knowledge of and preference for HIV prevention strategies. Asian-born gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) newly arrived in Australia are more than four times as likely than their Australian-born counterparts to be diagnosed with incident HIV.
