‘Slamming’ among men who have sex with men accessing general drug services, in response to Schmidt, AJ et al., 2016, Illicit drug use among gay and bisexual men in 44 cities: Findings from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS)

Background Even in the presence of promising biomedical treatment as prevention, HIV incidence among men who have sex with men has not always decreased. Counseling interventions, therefore, continue to play an important role in reducing HIV sexual transmission behaviors among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men. The present study evaluated effects of a small-group counseling intervention on psychosocial outcomes and HIV sexual risk behavior. Method HIV-positive (HIV+) peer counselors administered seven 2-hour counseling sessions to groups of 5 to 8 HIV+ gay and bisexual men. The intervention employed information provision, motivational interviewing, and behavioral skills building to reduce sexual transmission risk behaviors. Results There was a significant reduction in condomless anal sex (CAS) with HIV-negative and unknown HIV-status partners, from 50.0% at baseline to 28.9% of the sample at 3-month follow-up. Findings were robust even when controlling for whether the participant had an undetectable viral load at baseline. Significant reductions were also found in the two secondary psychosocial outcomes, loneliness and sexual compulsivity. Conclusions The findings provide preliminary evidence that this intervention may offer an efficient way of concurrently reducing CAS and mental health problems, such as sexual compulsivity and loneliness, for HIV+ gay and bisexual men. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02546271

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Helping a Buddy Out

10.18574/nyu/9781479801091.003.0006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 141-157

Author(s):

Tony Silva

Keyword(s):

Sexual Identity ◽

Small Town ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Hooking Up ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Male Sex ◽

And Bisexual ◽

Sex With Men ◽

Three Components

The men interviewed interpreted sex with men as compatible with heterosexuality and masculinity. What the author calls “bud-sex” is the way rural and small-town, white, straight men interpret or engage in sex in ways that reinforce their heterosexuality and masculinity. While the sex these men have with other men involves acts similar to those between gay and bisexual men, the meanings they attach to these acts differ greatly. Bud-sex has three components. First is hooking up with other masculine, white, and straight or bisexual men. Second is having secretive, nonromantic sex. And third is interpreting male-male sex as largely unthreatening to masculinity, heterosexuality, or marriage. Bud-sex, with its unique understandings of gender and sexual identity, reflects and reinforces the men’s embeddedness in straight culture. Sexual identity and masculinity depend on what sex acts mean, rather than on mere mechanics. Consequently, interpretations of sexual practices, not sexual practices in and of themselves, are crucially important. For the straight men interviewed, their interpretations both reflected and reinforced their embeddedness in straight culture. Bud-sex allows straight men to enjoy male-male sex without threatening either their heterosexuality or their masculinity.

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Attitudes and Perceived Social Norms toward Drug Use among Gay and Bisexual Men in Australia

Substance Use & Misuse ◽

10.1080/10826084.2018.1552302 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (6) ◽

pp. 944-954 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Toby Lea ◽

Mohamed Hammoud ◽

Adam Bourne ◽

Lisa Maher ◽

Fengyi Jin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Social Norms ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Perceived Social Norms ◽

And Bisexual

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General practitioner awareness of sexual orientation among a community and internet sample of gay and bisexual men in New Zealand

Journal of Primary Health Care ◽

10.1071/hc15204 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 204 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Adrian Ludlam ◽

Peter Saxton ◽

Nigel Dickson ◽

Anthony Hughes

Keyword(s):

General Practice ◽

Sexual Orientation ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Anal Intercourse ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Transmitted Infection ◽

Missed Opportunities ◽

Hiv Test ◽

And Bisexual ◽

Sex With Men

INTRODUCTION: General practitioners (GPs) can improve HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening, vaccination and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) if they are aware of a patient?s sexual orientation. AIM: To estimate GP awareness of their GBM patients' sexual orientation and examine whether HIV and STI screening was associated with this. METHODS: We analysed anonymous, self-completed data from 3168 GBM who participated in the community-based Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey (GAPSS) and internet-based Gay men's Online Sex Survey (GOSS) in 2014. Participants were asked if their usual GP was aware of their sexual orientation or that they had sex with men. RESULTS: Half (50.5%) believed their usual GP was aware of their sexual orientation/behaviour, 17.0% were unsure, and 32.6% believed he/she was unaware. In multivariate analysis, GP awareness was significantly lower if the respondent was younger, Asian or an 'Other' ethnicity, bisexual-identified, had never had anal intercourse or had first done so very recently or later in life, and had fewer recent male sexual partners. GBM whose GP was aware of their sexual orientation were more likely to have ever had an HIV test (91.5% vs 57.9%; p<0.001), specific STI tests (91.7% vs 68.9%; p<0.001), and were twice as likely to have had an STI diagnosed. DISCUSSION: Lack of sexual orientation disclosure is resulting in missed opportunities to reduce health inequalities for GBM. More proactive, inclusive and safe environments surrounding the care of sexual orientation minorities are needed in general practice to encourage disclosure. KEYWORDS: Culturally competent care; general practice; HIV; HPV; sexual health; sexual orientation

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