title: Population Size Estimation of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Tbilisi, Georgia; Multiple Methods and Triangulation of Findings.
abstract: An accurate estimation of the population size of men who have sex with men (MSM) is critical to the success of HIV program planning and to monitoring of the response to epidemic as a whole, but is quite often missing. In this study, our aim was to estimate the population size of MSM in Tbilisi, Georgia and compare it with other estimates in the region.
  
  
  
  In the absence of a gold standard for estimating the population size of MSM, this study reports a range of methods, including network scale-up, mobile/web apps multiplier, service and unique object multiplier, network-based capture-recapture, Handcock RDS-based and Wisdom of Crowds methods. To apply all these methods, two surveys were conducted: first, a household survey among 1,015 adults from the general population, and second, a respondent driven sample of 210 MSM. We also conducted a literature review of MSM size estimation in Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
  
  
  
  The median population size of MSM generated from all previously mentioned methods was estimated to be 5,100 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 3,243~9,088). This corresponds to 1.42% (95%CI: 0.9%~2.53%) of the adult male population in Tbilisi.
  
  
  
  Our size estimates of the MSM population (1.42% (95%CI: 0.9%~2.53%) of the adult male population in Tbilisi) fall within ranges reported in other Eastern European and Central Asian countries. These estimates can provide valuable information for country level HIV prevention program planning and evaluation. Furthermore, we believe, that our results will narrow the gap in data availability on the estimates of the population size of MSM in the region.
authors.affiliation: Curatio International Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: Lela
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sulaberidze
authors.affiliation: Global Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.|Regional Knowledge Hub, and WHO Collaborating Centre for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirzazadeh
authors.affiliation: Curatio International Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: Ivdity
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chikovani
authors.affiliation: Curatio International Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: Natia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shengelia
authors.affiliation: Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health-Tanadgoma, Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: Nino
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsereteli
authors.affiliation: Curatio International Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gotsadze
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011156:Population Density; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult
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