Stigma, discrimination impede engagement in HIV prevention and treatment
Stigma and discrimination, such as homophobia and racism, impede engagement in HIV prevention and use of biomedical tools for treatment in both HIV-negative and HIV-positive gay and bisexual men, according to a Rutgers study.
The paper, published in
AIDS and Behavior, examined the impact of stigma on HIV-related outcomes among gay and bisexual men in the U.S.
Despite recent advances in HIV prevention and treatment, and access to biomedical interventions that can hasten the end of the HIV epidemic, gay and bisexual men continue to be disproportionately affected by the virus.
Gay, Black and forced out onto the streets. Why COVID is leaving some men homeless in N.J.
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A participant walks under a large rainbow flag during the 2019 LBGTQ Pride march in New York.AP Photo/Craig Ruttle
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Nelix Joseph is 22 and a Black gay man living in New Jersey. And last year, he found himself in a homeless shelter in New Jersey.
His story is not unique, according to those who spoke to NJ Advance Media over the past few months. They have shared accounts of members of the LGBTQ+ community experiencing homelessness as a result of the coronavirus pandemic at a rate higher than other people in the Garden State. Because of cultural and religious reasons, they say, being gay and Black puts you at even greater risk of homelessness.
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Last week, Jamie Phifer, a Seattle-based family physician, did something she has done regularly for the past decade: She had an appointment with a patient seeking an abortion.
But this appointment was different from many of the others that came before, because it was virtual. The woman was in another state, sitting in her car in her driveway, while her kids were inside on virtual school, Phifer said. The two spoke by video call.
For the study in the journal
AIDS and Behavior, researchers surveyed 202 young sexual minority men and transgender women two high-priority populations for HIV prevention to better understand why some were more likely than others to take PrEP.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexual minority men are the community most affected by HIV, making up 69% of all new diagnoses in 2018, and transgender populations are disproportionately affected by HIV and prevention challenges.
While Black and Hispanic/Latinx populations are mostly likely to be newly diagnosed with HIV, PrEP users are more likely to be white.
The researchers, who are part of the Rutgers School of Public Health’s Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS), found that while 98% of the study’s participants were aware of PrEP, less than 25% were currently taking it.
Here’s the latest on how to get a COVID vaccine in N.J. (4/23/21)
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Registered Nurse E. Renee Cantwell, left, and Registered Nurse Therese Zeitz, right, prepare vaccines at the Rowan Medicine COVID-19 Vaccination Center at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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Coronavirus vaccines are available across New Jersey even as the distribution of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine remains paused throughout the United States.
This means that the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are currently the only vaccines available to the public, and are replacing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in all appointments for the foreseeable future.