TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceptions towards condom use, sexual activity, and HIV disclosure among HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men
T2 - Implications for heterosexual transmission
AU - Harawa, Nina T.
AU - Williams, John K.
AU - Ramamurthi, Hema Codathi
AU - Bingham, Trista A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by Universitywide AIDS Research Program (AL04-CDREW-840) and the UCLA-Drew Project Export (NIH 1P20MD001148-01). The authors would like to thank the collaborating community-based organizations and their staff members for input into the study design, assistance with recruitment, and use of their facilities. These include The AmASSI Health and Cultural Center (Cleo Manago), JWCH Institute, Inc. (Sergio Avina), and Palms Residential Care Facility (Tony Wafford and Kevin Pickett). We also acknowledge William Cunningham, MD, MPH, of UCLA for his input into the development of the proposal and study design and Siri Sat Nam for facilitating the focus groups.
PY - 2006/7
Y1 - 2006/7
N2 - Disproportionately high HIV/AIDS rates and frequent non-gay identification (NGI) among African American men who have sex with men or with both men and women (MSM/W) highlight the importance of understanding how HIV-positive African American MSM/W perceive safer sex, experience living with HIV, and decide to disclose their HIV status. Thirty predominately seropositive and non-gay identifying African American MSM/W in Los Angeles participated in three semi-structured focus group interviews, and a constant comparison method was used to analyze responses regarding condom use, sexual activity after an HIV diagnosis, and HIV serostatus disclosure. Condom use themes included its protective role against disease and pregnancy, acceptability concerns pertaining to aesthetic factors and effectiveness, and situational influences such as exchange sex, substance use, and suspicions from female partners. Themes regarding the impact of HIV on sexual activity included rejection, decreased partner seeking, and isolation. Serostatus disclosure themes included disclosure to selective partners and personal responsibility. Comprehensive HIV risk-reduction strategies that build social support networks, condom self-efficacy, communication skills, and a sense of collective responsibility among NGI African American MSM/W while addressing HIV stigma in the African American community as a whole are suggested.
AB - Disproportionately high HIV/AIDS rates and frequent non-gay identification (NGI) among African American men who have sex with men or with both men and women (MSM/W) highlight the importance of understanding how HIV-positive African American MSM/W perceive safer sex, experience living with HIV, and decide to disclose their HIV status. Thirty predominately seropositive and non-gay identifying African American MSM/W in Los Angeles participated in three semi-structured focus group interviews, and a constant comparison method was used to analyze responses regarding condom use, sexual activity after an HIV diagnosis, and HIV serostatus disclosure. Condom use themes included its protective role against disease and pregnancy, acceptability concerns pertaining to aesthetic factors and effectiveness, and situational influences such as exchange sex, substance use, and suspicions from female partners. Themes regarding the impact of HIV on sexual activity included rejection, decreased partner seeking, and isolation. Serostatus disclosure themes included disclosure to selective partners and personal responsibility. Comprehensive HIV risk-reduction strategies that build social support networks, condom self-efficacy, communication skills, and a sense of collective responsibility among NGI African American MSM/W while addressing HIV stigma in the African American community as a whole are suggested.
KW - African American MSM
KW - Condom use
KW - HIV disclosure
KW - Non-gay identification
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U2 - 10.1007/s11524-006-9067-0
DO - 10.1007/s11524-006-9067-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 16736115
AN - SCOPUS:33748362212
VL - 83
SP - 682
EP - 694
JO - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
JF - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
SN - 1099-3460
IS - 4
ER -