Unhealthy environments, unhealthy consequences: Experienced homonegativity and HIV infection risk among young men who have sex with men.

Unfavourable social environments can negatively affect the health of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). We described how experienced homonegativity - negative perceptions and treatment that MSM encounter due to their sexual orientations - can increase HIV vulnerability among young MSM. Participants (n = 44) were young MSM diagnosed with HIV infection during January 2006-June 2009. All participants completed questionnaires that assessed experienced homonegativity and related factors (e.g. internalised homonegativity). We focus this analysis on qualitative interviews in which a subset of participants (n = 28) described factors that they perceived to have placed them at risk for HIV infection. Inductive content analysis identified themes within qualitative interviews, and we determined the prevalence of homonegativity and related factors using questionnaires. In qualitative interviews, participants reported that young MSM commonly experienced homonegativity. They described how homonegativity generated internalised homonegativity, HIV stigma, silence around homosexuality, and forced housing displacement. These factors could promote HIV risk. Homonegative experiences were more common among young Black (vs. non-Black) MSM who completed questionnaires. Results illustrate multiple pathways through which experienced homonegativity may increase HIV vulnerability among young MSM. Interventions that target homonegativity might help to reduce the burden of HIV within this population.

HIV testing among sexually active Hispanic/Latino MSM in Miami-Dade County and New York City: opportunities for increasing acceptance and frequency of testing.

HIV testing behavior is important in understanding the high rates of undiagnosed infection among Hispanic/Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). Correlates of repeat/recent testing (within the past year and ≥5 tests during lifetime) and test avoidance (never or >5 years earlier) were examined among 608 sexually active Hispanic/Latino MSM (Miami-Dade County and New York City). Those who reported repeat/recent testing were more likely to have incomes over $30,000, speak English predominately, and have visited and disclosed same-sex behavior to a health care provider (HCP) in the past year. Those who were classified as test avoiders were less likely to have incomes over $10,000 and to have seen an HCP in the past year. The main reason for not testing (in both groups) was fear of HIV positivity; however, twice as many test avoiders considered this their main reason, and more test avoiders had confidentiality concerns. Results suggest that messages to encourage testing among Hispanic/Latino MSM may be most effective if past testing patterns and reasons for not testing are considered. HCPs can play an important role by consistently offering HIV tests to MSM and tailoring messages based on prior testing histories.

Unity in diversity: results of a randomized clinical culturally tailored pilot HIV prevention intervention trial in Baltimore, Maryland, for African American men who have sex with men.

Unity in Diversity was a randomized controlled trial of a culturally tailored HIV prevention intervention for African American men who have sex with men. The intervention condition was six group-based sessions and one individual session. The control condition was a single-session HIV prevention review. Participants were aged 18 years or older, identified as African American/Black race, reported having at least two sex partners in the prior 90 days (at least one of whom must be a male partner), unprotected anal sex with male partner in the prior 90 days, and willing to test for HIV. Retention exceeded 95% at 3-month follow-up. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for baseline risk, HIV status, and health insurance indicate intervention efficacy in decreasing the number of male sex partners and marginal effects on condom use with male partners and HIV-negative/unknown partners. Specifically, intervention condition was associated with increased odds of zero male sex partners (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26-7.28), condom use with male partners (AOR = 2.64, 95% CI = 0.95-7.36), and HIV-negative/unknown status partners (AOR = 3.19, 95% CI = 0.98-10.38) at follow-up. These results contribute to the limited number of culturally appropriate models of HIV prevention intervention that are urgently needed for African American men who have sex with men to address their persistently high rates of HIV.

Sexual risk behaviors among HIV-positive black men who have sex with women, with men, or with men and women: implications for intervention development.

OBJECTIVES: We compared demographics and sexual and drug risk behaviors among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with women only, with men only, or with men and women to assess differences among and between these groups. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Supplement to HIV and AIDS Surveillance Project for 2038 HIV-positive Black men who reported being sexually active. We classified the participants by their reported sexual behaviors in the past year: intercourse with women (n = 1186), with men (n = 741), or with men and women (n = 111). RESULTS: Respondents whose sexual partners were both men and women reported more noninjection drug use, sexual exchange, and sexual partners than did the other 2 groups. Bisexual respondents were also more likely than were heterosexuals to report unprotected intercourse with a steady female partner and were more likely than were both other groups to report having steady partners of unknown HIV serostatus and using drugs during their last sexual episode. CONCLUSIONS: HIV-positive Black men with both male and female sexual partners engaged in more sexual and drug risk behaviors than did their heterosexual and homosexual peers. More information concerning the prevention needs of behaviorally bisexual HIV-positive Black men is needed.

Correlates of risk patterns and race/ethnicity among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.

Behaviors related to HIV infection vary by race, with African American and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) more likely to report sex with women than are European-American MSM. The epidemic among African Americans, in particular, is growing rapidly among both men and women. Some have hypothesized that bisexually active men may be contributing to the epidemic among women. However, little is known about risk patterns among men of different races who are already infected. In this study of 456 HIV-seropositive MSM we found that, like HIV-negative MSM, African American MSM who are HIV-positive were less likely than European American men to identify as gay, more likely to report sex with women, and less comfortable discussing their MSM behavior with close friends and acquaintances. African American participants also exhibited higher levels of internalized homophobia, as well as lower self-efficacy for disclosing their HIV status to sex partners. Implications for interventions for this population are discussed.