Vital Statistics - The Gay Men’s Sex Survey

Duration: April 1993 - April 2009

In 1993, Sigma Research carried out an on-the-spot survey of gay men at the London Lesbian and Gay Pride festival, instigating an annual survey that has grown to be the largest in the world and an institution on the UK summer gay scene. The National Gay Men’s Sex Survey (GMSS), also known as Vital Statistics, now recruits men via booklets distributed by 100 HIV health promotion agencies and via the internet.

The content of the survey is developed in collaboration with health promoters, within the framework of Making it Count. The questions cover a range of demographics, health indicators, sexual behaviours, HIV prevention needs, use of settings in which health promotion can occur and recognition of national interventions. The weight given to each area varies each year, and the data collected is treated as cumulative, building a detailed picture of gay men and bisexual men and HIV over time.

Method 1: The booklet distributed by research collaborators
The survey questionnaire is designed as a self-sealing, postage-paid, full-colour booklet which is offered to all health promoters working with gay and bisexual men across the United Kingdom. They distribute it across their local area. A data report on the booklet respondents, grouping them by the agency they got the booklet from, is prepared for collaborating agencies.

Method 2: On-line via http://www.sigmasurvey.org.uk
For three months every summer the survey is available for completion online. Its availability is promoted via gay commercial websites and via gay and bisexual community and health promotion websites.

Core results from the national sample are reported in the main annual survey report, published in the year following each survey.

Since 2001, detailed data reports, grouping men by their area of residence, have also been made available alongside the national reports.

Data about the performance of national interventions appears in specific CHAPS Evaluation Reports.

Findings from the survey have also been presented at a range of national and international conferences and in Journal articles.

Previous questionnaires are available in Questionnaires.

This survey is funded by Terrence Higgins Trust as part of CHAPS, a national HIV prevention initiative funded by the Department of Health.

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