Requests for Safer Sex Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Use the Internet to Initiate Sexual Relationships: Implications for Healthcare Providers

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 4-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Blackwell
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Threats ◽  
Keosha Bond

BACKGROUND Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately affects young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) in the United States. Electronic health (eHealth) and mobile health (mHealth) hold significant potential for supporting engagement in HIV prevention and care, and the delivery of HIV information to YBMSM. OBJECTIVE To investigate technology utilization, internet access, and HIV information acquisition and use among YBMSM. METHODS An online survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Survey findings informed the development of the interview guide. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the survey sample, and interview data was analyzed thematically using modified grounded theory methodologies. RESULTS Among the internet sample (N=83), the average age was 29.2 years, 41% of participants self-reported living with HIV, 43.4% were HIV-negative, and 15.6% were unsure of their HIV-status. Most participants (95%) acquired HIV information through the Internet while using a mobile phone. Online HIV information was intentionally sought from consumer health information websites (37.3%), government health information websites (30%), and social media sites (17%). Most men incidentally acquired HIV information via advertisements on social media sites and geospatial dating applications (65.39%), postings on social media sites from their online social ties (53.84%), and advertisements while browsing the Internet (48.72%). Despite the Internet being the top source of HIV information, healthcare providers were the most preferred (50.6%) and trusted (96%) source of HIV information. HIV information was used to facilitate the utilization of HIV prevention and treatment services. The qualitative sample included YBMSM across a range of ages and at different points of engagement in HIV prevention and treatment. Qualitative findings included the importance of the Internet as a primary source of HIV information. The Internet was used due to its ease of accessibility, the ability to maintain anonymity while searching for sensitive information, and to mitigate against stigma in healthcare settings. Participants used HIV information to assess their risk for HIV/AIDS, support their self-efficacy for HIV prevention and treatment, inform patient-doctor communication, and to learn about HIV prevention and treatment options. Men expressed concerns about their diminishing access to online spaces for HIV information exchange among YBMSM due to website censorship policies, and the “stigmatizing” tone of HIV information presented in mass media campaigns. CONCLUSIONS YBMSM in this sample had high utilization of the internet and mobile technologies for HIV information acquisition and use, but diminished access to their preferred and most trusted source of HIV information: healthcare providers. Future eHealth and mHealth HIV prevention and treatment interventions should support communication between patients and healthcare providers. Findings demonstrate the need for culturally appropriate HIV messaging, and online spaces for informational support exchange among YBMSM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 611-612
Author(s):  
Taylor Patskanick ◽  
Julie Miller

Abstract Medication management is an ongoing consideration for adults ages 85 and older, their caregivers, and healthcare providers. When asked about their attitudes and behaviors regarding medication management, over 73% of the Lifestyle Leaders reported taking 3+ prescription medications daily and managing their own medication regimes. 61.9% of participants had taken over-the-counter, non-prescription medication for pain over the past five years. When asked why some participants didn’t currently take prescription medications to manage pain, the most frequently-reported responses were: “I don’t feel that my pain warrants a prescription medication,” (19%, n=8), “I don’t want to deal with the side effects,” and “I don’t trust drug companies,” (9.5%, n=4, respectively). The Lifestyle Leaders reported they would be most likely to go to the internet (over their local pharmacist) to ask for advice about their medication(s). Meanwhile, 39% of Lifestyle Leaders would trust a robot to manage their medication(s) for them.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Machado ◽  
Henrique Gomide ◽  
Heder Bernardino ◽  
Telmo Ronzani

BACKGROUND Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death. Governments and healthcare providers should make available more and accessible resources to help tobacco users stop. OBJECTIVE This study describes a pilot longitudinal study that evaluated the efficacy of a computerized intervention compared to the brief intervention for smoking cessation among Brazilians. METHODS Smokers were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups. RESULTS The results showed similar rates of cessation and reduction for both intervention groups. The internet-based intervention was a little more effective for smoking cessation, while the brief intervention was more effective in reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Despite this, this difference was small and had no statistical significance even after adjusting for intention-to-treat analysis. These results should be interpreted with caution, especially due to the small sample size. CONCLUSIONS Forty-nine smokers were enrolled in this study (25 in the brief intervention group; 24 in the internet-based intervention group). The mean age was 44.46 years old; most were male (59.2%), had elementary school (44.9%), smoked an average of 14.5 cigarettes per day, had a mean score of 4.65 for nicotine dependence, and score of 5.7 for motivation to quit. Measures were drawn from comparing cessation rate, motivation score and sought treatment between groups. Thirty-five participants answered the follow up 1 and 19 answered to the second.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mart van Dijk ◽  
John B. F. de Wit ◽  
Rebecca Kamps ◽  
Thomas E. Guadamuz ◽  
Joel E. Martinez ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of informal PrEP users regarding access to PrEP and PrEP-related healthcare, community responses, sexual behavior and well-being. We interviewed 30 men who have sex with men (MSM) in semi-structured online interviews between March and August 2018. Interviews were analyzed using interpretive description. Informal PrEP users were well informed about the use of PrEP, but sometimes did not make use of renal testing. Participants reported a lack of PrEP knowledge among healthcare providers, which limited their access to PrEP and put them at risk, as they received incorrect information. Although some participants reported negative reactions from potential sex partners, most received positive reactions and were sometimes seen as more desirable sex partners. PrEP healthcare services should not only be accessible to formal PrEP users, but also to PrEP users who procure PrEP informally.


Author(s):  
Taiara Maestro Calderon ◽  
Maria Elisa Wotzasek Cestari ◽  
Alyni Cristiny Dobkowski ◽  
Mariana Digieri Cavalheiro

Introduction: Pregnancy is a period of doubts and anxiety for most pregnant women. Objective: To evaluate the use of the Internet as a support tool to clarify doubts raised by women during pregnancy. Methods: An exploratory and descriptive study. Sample based on accidentalness, for 241 users who responded to the on-line form, built with Google Docs and made available in  one Blog. Results: 98% of pregnant women were between 19 and 39 years, 97% with schooling above 9 years, 99% had follow up with healthcare providers. Regarding the use of the Internet, 99% said they usually search for the pregnancy questions. The doubts consisted mostly in the search for information about the development of the baby, then how to deal with the discomforts of pregnancy, the changes in the woman’s body and feeding care. The choice of the sites, according to the interviewees, occurred mainly through the indication of social networks, friends and acquaintances. Regarding to the resolution of doubts, 97% reported that after the Internet search doubts were resolved. Conclusion: The Internet has been a tool of support for pregnant women who seek effective support on the World Wide Web to clarify their doubts. The significant standard for clarification and education reflected a customer that will search and possibly question the procedures and practices that are performed during prenatal care. However, the search for sites has been based on independent research guidance by health professionals, something which does not ensure the credibility of the sites surveyed by users.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Mansergh ◽  
David J. McKirnan ◽  
Stephen A. Flores ◽  
Sharon M. Hudson ◽  
Beryl A. Koblin ◽  
...  

This study compared HIV-related attitudes and intentions by respondent HIV-status in a large sample of substance-using men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. Attitudes and intentions included self-efficacy for safer sex; difficulty communicating with sex partners about safer sex; intent to use condoms consistently and to not use substances before sex in the next 3 months; and less concern for HIV given effective antiviral treatments. Differences were found for behavior during the most recent anal sex encounter by HIV-status, including (a) insertive and (b) receptive anal sex risk behavior, and (c) substance use before or during the encounter. Self-efficacy for safer sex was associated with less risk behavior among HIV-negative men but not among HIV-positive men, suggesting that self-efficacy for safer sex continues to be a relevant issue to address in counseling uninfected MSM. HIV-positive men who reported less concern for HIV given treatments were more likely to report receptive risk behavior, as were HIV-negative men who reported difficulty communicating about safer sex. Implications are discussed for potentially heightened client desire and therapeutic opportunity to reduce future substance use during sex for clients who report recent substance use during sex.


2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Boucher ◽  
Agnes Meybeck ◽  
Kazali Alidjinou ◽  
Thomas Huleux ◽  
Nathalie Viget ◽  
...  

ObjectivesSince February 2017, an increase of acute hepatitis A (AHA) cases has been notified in North of France. We aimed to report clinical and virological features of 49 cases treated in three hospitals in Lille European Metropolis (LEM).MethodsAll adult patients treated for AHA in 3 LEM hospitals between 20 February and 5 July 2017 were included. Demographic characteristics, exposure risk factors to hepatitis A virus (HAV), AHA manifestations and concomitant sexually transmitted infections (STI) were retrospectively recorded.ResultsForty-nine cases of AHA were diagnosed among which 34 (69%) were hospitalised. Severe AHA occurred in 7 (14%) patients. The median age of cases was 36 years. All cases except 1 were men and 32 (65%) were identified as men having sex with men (MSM). Eleven (23%) patients were HIV-infected, 5 were under HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), 6 had a history of HIV postexposure prophylaxis and 19 had a history of at least one STI. Only three patients had received HAV vaccine. Proportion of patients tested for syphilis, chlamydial and gonococcal infections was 75% (18/24) in those seen by sexual health specialists and 21% (6/29) in those seen by other specialists. At least one concomitant STI was diagnosed in 13 out of 24 tested patients (54%). RT-PCR sequencing was available for 38 cases and confirmed co-circulation of 3 different strains of subgenotype IA (VRD 521 2016: n=24, RIVM-HAV16-090: n=13, V16-25801: n=1), already identified in several European countries.ConclusionsWe are facing an outbreak of AHA among MSM in the North of France with a high rate of hospitalisation. Analysis of cases highlighted missed opportunities of vaccination and lack of concomitant STI screening. Awareness among healthcare providers and MSM should be increased and HAV vaccination promoted.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Elsayeh ◽  
Kadry Ali Ezzat ◽  
Hany El-Nashar ◽  
Lamia Nabil Omran

The internet of medical things (IoMT) has a great role in improving the health around the world. IoMT is having a great impact in our life in which the clinical data of the patient is observed and checked and then can be transferred to the third party for using in the future such as the cloud. IoMT is a huge data system with a continuous developing rate, which implies that we should keep a lot of data secure. We propose a combined security architecture that fuses the standard architecture and new blockchain technology. Blockchain is a temper digital ledger which gives peer-to-peer communication and provides communication between non-trust individuals. Using standard in-depth strategy and blockchain, we are able to develop a method to collect vital signs data from IoMT and connected devices and use blockchain to store and retrieve the collected data in a secure and decentralized fashion within a closed system, suitable for healthcare providers such as private clinics, hospitals, and healthcare organizations were sharing data with each other is required. Right now initially examine the innovation behind Blockchain then propose IoMT-based security architecture utilizing Blockchain to guarantee the security of information transmission between associated nodes. Experimental analysis shows that the proposed scheme presents a non-significant overhead; yet it brings major advantages to meet the standard security and privacy requirements in IoMT.


Author(s):  
Brandon T. Parrillo ◽  
Randal D. Brown

Effective communication is vital to any relationship, and sexual communication is no different. Given its importance, sexual communication and its relation to a variety of topics has been studied in recent years. Included among these are its relation to safer sex behaviors, sexual and relationship satisfaction, and fertility and family planning among heterosexual partners. Yet, for queer partners, the data reflect interest in sexual communication as it relates to safe sex behaviors such as condom use and HIV status. Further, the current base of published literature on sexual communication among queer partners focuses almost exclusively on men who have sex with men and leaves out other types of queer partnerships. To be truly inclusive, it is imperative that sexual communication research broaden its focus to include topics that do not medicalize queer couples, such as sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and relationship well-being.


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