Participant Information

Eligible participants and purpose of study
You are invited to participate in a study of internet use and men’s social and sexual lives if you are male, aged 16 years or over, resident in Australia, and are gay, bisexual or same-sex-attracted, or have had sex with a man in the previous 5 years. The project investigates how internet use relates to different aspects of men’s social and sexual lives in order to better inform health promotion and HIV prevention activities.

Description of study and risks
Participating involves completing an anonymous, online survey that contains structured, multiple-choice questions and some open-ended responses. The survey contains items on sexual relationships, friendship networks, social life, and use of the internet. We’ll also ask you some questions about your background (i.e. your age, where you live), sexual identity and your involvement in gay community activities. Participation should take around 20 minutes.

It is unlikely that completing the survey will cause any distress. If, however, participation raises any issues about your sexuality you would like to discuss with a trained counsellor, we recommend you contact a local counselling service (details of local services are available here: www.glccs.org.au).

We cannot and do not guarantee or promise that you will receive any benefits from this study. Participating in the survey may benefit you indirectly, by helping to better inform HIV prevention and health promotion activities aimed at Australian men who have sex with men. There is an option to enter a prize draw at the end of the survey, although there is no guarantee that you will win if you enter.

Confidentiality and disclosure of information
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential, except as required by law. Only aggregate or anonymous data will be discussed or published. The primary audiences for our research findings will be other university researchers, policymakers and community organisations. In any publication, information will be provided in such a way that you cannot be identified.

Complaints
Complaints may be directed to the Ethics Secretariat, The University of New South Wales, SYDNEY 2052 AUSTRALIA (phone 02 9385 4234, fax 02 9385 6648, email ethics.sec@unsw.edu.au). Please quote the reference HREC 07160 in any correspondence. Any complaint you make will be investigated promptly and you will be informed of the outcome.

Feedback
We do not require you to give us any personally identifying information, although you may choose to supply an email address so we can inform you about the outcomes of the study. Email addresses will be stored completely separately from your survey answers. Alternatively, you may email the study team (e-malesurvey@unsw.edu.au) or check back at the survey website (www.e-male.com.au) or the National Centre in HIV Social Research website (http://nchsr.arts.unsw.edu.au) at a later date for news on the project. It is likely that study findings will also be published in gay community newspapers.

Your consent
Your decision whether or not to participate will not prejudice your future relations with the National Centre in HIV Social Research, the University of New South Wales or any of the organisations involved in the study. If you decide to participate by starting the survey, you are free to withdraw your consent and to stop at any time without prejudice.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us. You can contact the study team by email (e-malesurvey@unsw.edu.au). If you would rather speak to someone by phone, please call the National Centre in HIV Social Research on 02 9385 6776 (in Australia) and ask for Dr Martin Holt or Dr Patrick Rawstorne.

Please save or print a copy of this information for your records.