Injecting drug use and knowledge and self-report of hepatitis C among Australian gay and homosexually active men

The aim of this study was to examine gay and homosexually active men's knowledge of hepatitis C, drug use, injecting practices and testing for hepatitis C. The data were from 3039 men who participated in the Male Call 96 national telephone survey of Australian gay and homosexually active men. Altogether, 9.9% of the men had ever injected and 4.4% had injected in the 6 months prior to data collection. Injecting drug use was more common among gay identified men and gay community attached men. Among the injecting drug users, 73.4% had injected before 25 years of age. There was a fair amount of uncertainty about hepatitis C although 41.3% of the men reported having been tested (higher at 64.2% among those who had ever injected). Sixty-five men self-reported a hepatitis C diagnosis, 17 with HIV co-infection. In a multivariate model, self-report of hepatitis C diagnosis was associated with being in the 30-39 or 40-49 years of age brackets, better knowledge of hepatitis C, HIV positivity and injecting drug use. Needs identified include education and support for both younger and older gay and homosexually active men within a health promotion framework of partnership, harm minimisation and community development.