Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Assessment of Sexual Behavior of Male Mice
Published on: March 5, 2020
Places and people: the perceptions of men who have sex with men concerning STI testing: a qualitative study
Jessica Datta1, David Reid1, Gwenda Hughes2
1Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Objectives:
To explore the experiences and views of men who have sex with men (MSM) on attending clinical sexual health services and their preferences regarding service characteristics in the context of the disproportionate burden of STIs experienced by this group. The wider study aim was to develop a risk assessment tool for use in sexual health clinics.
Methods:
Qualitative study comprising eight focus group discussions with 61 MSM in four English cities. Topics included: experience of attending sexual health services, perceptions of norms of attendance among MSM, knowledge of, and attitudes towards, STIs and views on 'being researched.' Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed and a thematic data analysis conducted.
Results:
Attending sexual health services for STI testing was described as embarrassing by some and some clinic procedures were thought to compromise confidentiality. Young men seeking STI testing were particularly sensitive to feelings of awkwardness and self-consciousness. Black and ethnic minority men were concerned about being exposed in their communities. The personal qualities of staff were seen as key features of sexual health services. Participants wanted staff to be friendly, professional, discreet, knowledgeable and non-judgemental.
Conclusions:
A range of opinion on the type of STI service men preferred was expressed with some favouring generic sexual and reproductive health clinics and others favouring specialist community-based services. There was consensus on the qualities they would like to see in healthcare staff. The knowledge, conduct and demeanour of staff could exacerbate or ameliorate unease associated with attending for STI testing.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Ethics in Research
Surveys
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Disorders of the Male Reproductive System
Prostate disorders are another major concern. These conditions can impair urinary flow due to the prostate's location around the urethra....
Testing a Claim about Population Proportion
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...

