As rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) continue to rise among gay and bisexual men in Australia and internationally, information is needed on the strategies they employ to prevent and manage infection and, overall, how men understand their sexual health and well-being. In June and July 2018, 35 gay and bisexual men living in New South Wales and aged 18–73 years old took part in an anonymous online forum through which they posted about a variety of topics, including previous STIs, testing practices, using condoms, and public sexual health campaign. Five forum participants were invited to take part in in-depth interviews to delve deeper into these topics as were four doctors who provided sexual health care.

Key recommendations

1. Health organisations and sexual health providers must continue to provide information to gay and bisexual men about all STI prevention and management options available to them while not appearing to preference one over others.
2. Efforts to implement STI PrEP must work with communities of gay and bisexual men to address concerns around the over-medicalisation of safer sex and the potential for antimicrobial resistance.
3. Implementation of future public sexual health campaigns by health organisations should include an explicit plan to evaluate their impact on STI prevention and management, including as it relates to their financial cost.
4. . Guidelines for treating individuals who present as STI contacts should be reviewed and revised for consistency between and within jurisdictions as well as between the various health contexts (e.g., sexual health clinics, general practice) in which STI treatments are administered.