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He Y, Dangerfield Ii DT, Fields EL, Dawkins MR, Turpin RE, Johnson D, Browne DC, Hickson DA. Health care access, health care utilisation and sexual orientation disclosure among Black sexual minority men in the Deep South. Sex Health 2020; 17:421-428. [PMID: 33176906 DOI: 10.1071/sh20051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Background Black gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men (BSMM) account for 39.1% of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men and 78.9% of newly diagnosed cases among Black men. Health care access, health care utilisation and disclosing sexuality to providers are important factors in HIV prevention and treatment. This study explored the associations among sexual orientation disclosure, health care access and health care utilisation among BSMM in the Deep South. METHODS Secondary analysis of existing data of a population-based study in Jackson, Mississippi, and Atlanta, Georgia, was conducted among 386 BSMM. Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) between sexual orientation disclosure to healthcare providers, health care access and health care utilisation. RESULTS The mean (±s.d.) age of participants was 30.5 ± 11.2 years; 35.3% were previously diagnosed with HIV and 3.7% were newly diagnosed with HIV. Two-thirds (67.2%) self-identified as homosexual or gay; 70.6% reported being very open about their sexual orientation with their healthcare providers. After adjustment, BSMM who were not open about their sexual orientation had a lower prevalence of visiting a healthcare provider in the previous 12 months than those who were very open with their healthcare provider (PR 0.42; 95% confidence interval 0.18-0.97). CONCLUSION Clinics, hospitals and other healthcare settings should promote affirming environments that support sexuality disclosure for BSMM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying He
- My Brother's Keeper, Inc., 407 Orchard Park, Ridgeland, MS 39157, USA
| | - Derek T Dangerfield Ii
- Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; and Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., 3636 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA; and Corresponding author.
| | - Errol L Fields
- Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Milton R Dawkins
- My Brother's Keeper, Inc., 407 Orchard Park, Ridgeland, MS 39157, USA; and Department of Psychology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39213, USA
| | - Rodman E Turpin
- School of Public Health, University of Maryland, 4200 Valley Drive #2242, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Damon Johnson
- USA National AIDS and Education Services for Minorities, Inc., 2140 Martin Luther King Jr Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
| | - Dorothy C Browne
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; and University of Duy Tan, 254 Nguyen Van Linh, Thanh Khe District, Da Nang, Vietnam
| | - DeMarc A Hickson
- My Brother's Keeper, Inc., 407 Orchard Park, Ridgeland, MS 39157, USA; and Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., 3636 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA
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