Objectives

Ultimately, Mobilise! seeks to create the conditions that will lead to a significant reduction in HIV incidence among gbMSM in the coming years through a process of community mobilization aimed at achieving the objectives listed below.

Increase the use of prevention strategies

Mobilise! was initially set up to raise awareness of different prevention options among gbMSM, increase their ability to combine available options in an effective way, and increase their capacity to use health services. The project aims to:

• Produce and distribute information about combination prevention to diverse communities of gbMSM
• Foster discussions on knowledge and use of combination prevention among gbMSM
• Reduce barriers in access to prevention and health services for gbMSM in the greater Montreal area
• Develop a consensus on priorities for action and concerns to communicate to decision-makers in order to reduce the HIV epidemic

Optimize service offerings and access to health services

Mobilise! also aims to bring together community members, public health officials, researchers, clinicians, community organizations, and other stakeholders who provide services that can reduce vulnerability to HIV among gbMSM (addictions, mental health, etc.) in order to:

• Document and evaluate the accessibility of the prevention and health services currently available to gbMSM in the greater Montreal area, from the service user’s point of view;
• Foster collaboration among partners (community organizations, health system, agencies) to influence programs and policies;
• Strengthen the capacity of service providers, and the health system in general, to offer combination prevention services to gbMSM in a coordinated and integrated way.

Project activities were carried out through collaboration between COCQ-SIDA, the department of sexology at UQAM, and RÉZO collaborated on the implementation of project activities. Although the project was undertaken primarily in the Montreal area, participants from other regions of Quebec participated in some activities and certain results from the project may be useful in other regions and contexts.