Approximately one in six gay men either contemplate or attempt suicide every year, according to a survey conducted by the Community Based Research Centre in Vancouver.
"Gay men in Canada, despite the legal reforms over the last two decades, are still facing a lot of homophobia, stigma and marginalization that are really impacting their health and particularly their mental health," the centre's research education director Olivier Ferlatte said.
Ferlatte and his colleague David Le are visiting Prince George today to present their findings from the 2011 Sex Now survey. The national online questionnaire was filled out by more than8,600 gay men, giving the researchers clues as to the biggest health issues the community faces.
"Instead of just focusing on negative health outcomes, we're really trying to explore on the different factors which are shaping the health of gay men," Ferlatte said.
Depression and anxiety are among the mental health issues prevalent in the gay community, which Ferlatte attributes at least in part to ongoing harassment of gay men.
"Quite a large proportion have had an experience of gay bashing and this has a profound impact on the well-being of gay men," he said.
The full survey results will be discussed at a forum at 5:30 p.m. today in room 7-172 in the Bentley Centre at UNBC.
Local organizer Travis Shaw said the event is a great opportunity for members of the gay community as well as doctors and other medical professionals to come out and learn more about the health determinants for gay men.
"For them to come here it's amazing," he said. "I've been trying to get them to come here for so long."
The survey also found that gay men outside of large urban centes are less likely to tell their doctors that they're gay and less likely to participate in regular HIV screening.
Shaw has been advocating for more education for doctors and medical professionals in the north around gay health issues for years. He said it's important gay men can feel comfortable their physicians are qualified to deal with the unique health issues gay men face.
In the past Shaw said some medical professionals weren't gay friendly, but that mentality is changing.
"Now it's a lot better and a lot of openly gay doctors are coming up to train in Prince George as students and residents," he said.
In addition to presenting their findings, Ferlatte said the visit to Prince George serves a dual purpose in re-engaging with the gay community in the region as well as providing information about and seeking input for the 2014 edition of the survey.
"We're trying to get input from those [smaller] communities to make sure our surveys don't only reflect the issues of gay men living in major urban centres," he said.
