1
|
McCaffrey B. The woman is the active agent: General practitioners and the agentive displacement of abortion in Ireland. Med Anthropol Q 2024; 38:193-207. [PMID: 38630020 DOI: 10.1111/maq.12856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
After the legalization of abortion in 2018, Ireland needed clinicians to become abortion providers and make this political win a medical reality. Yet Irish doctors had next-to-no training in abortion care, and barriers ranging from stigma to economic pressures in the healthcare system impacted doctors' desire to volunteer. How did hundreds of Irish doctors make the shift from family doctor to abortion provider? Drawing on ethnographic research conducted between 2017 and 2020, this article explores the process by which Irish general practitioners became abortion providers, attending to the material impact of medical technologies on that journey. Drawing from medical anthropologists who have examined similar themes of agency, pharmaceuticals, and medico-legal frameworks within the topic of assisted dying, I build on Anita Hannig's idea of "agentive displacement" to frame the productive impact of abortion pills on this transition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brenna McCaffrey
- Department of Anthropology, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Simon KA, Hanna-Walker V, Clark AN, Driver R, Kalinowski J, Watson RJ, Eaton LA. "This Is To Help Me Move Forward": The Role of PrEp in Harnessing Sex Positivity and Empowerment Among Black Sexual Minority Men in the Southern United States. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2023; 60:741-751. [PMID: 36239604 PMCID: PMC10102248 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2131704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
In the United States (U.S.), Black sexual minority men (BSMM) are disproportionately burdened by HIV. Prevention advances, such as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), play a key role in reducing HIV transmission and improving our understanding of sexual expression and health. Despite these advances, little is known regarding the potential link between PrEP use and positive sexuality, including the benefits that BSMM see in accessing PrEP. We conducted a thematic analysis of 32 interviews with BSMM in the Southern U.S. regarding their PrEP beliefs. We developed five themes: (1) Sexual freedom, (2) Agency and empowerment, (3) Making PrEP normative, (4) Behavioral health practices, and (5) Committed relationship tensions. Our findings suggest that BSMM are increasingly concerned about freedom of choice and invested in sexual empowerment as related to their PrEP use. Further, unanticipated benefits, community support, and relationship tensions are salient factors in considerations of PrEP use among BSMM. These findings have implications for how we might understand a broader movement toward sexual empowerment and positivity, and the pivotal role that PrEP serves in this movement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kay A. Simon
- Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Veronica Hanna-Walker
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Alyssa N. Clark
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Redd Driver
- HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jolaade Kalinowski
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Ryan J. Watson
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Lisa A. Eaton
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Silva LAVD, Brasil SA, Duarte FM, Cunha LA, Castellanos MEP. Between risk and pleasure: reflections on HIV prevention and care in the current context of PrEP use by men who have sex with men. CAD SAUDE PUBLICA 2023; 39Suppl 1:e00139221. [PMID: 36995864 DOI: 10.1590/0102-311xen139221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This study offers a set of reflections on the relationship between risk and pleasure in the field of HIV prevention and care, as it mediates new biomedical prevention/care technologies, particularly pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), among men who have sex with men (MSM). We begin by investigating some studies about condomless sex between men, more specifically barebacking and PrEP use among young MSM. We base our analysis on the assumption that PrEP, as one of these new actants, has reconfigured the field of HIV prevention/care, especially in relation to the dimensions of risk and pleasure, with the potential to considerably reduce the chances of HIV infection while enabling maximum pleasure and a sense of greater safety and freedom. Despite this progress, we also problematize some of the ambivalences, tensions, and moral conflicts that still exist in the field of prevention, especially the potential for condomless sex. Finally, taking a praxiographic perspective on health care and foregrounding the situated practices of human and non-human actors/actants in interaction, we consider HIV/AIDS prevention as a more fluid, non-linear, erratic phenomenon that involves multiple types of knowledge, feelings, and participations, and is open to different kinds of experimentation. Besides a “logic of choice”, we hold that health care is a permeable, continuous process that is enacted in situated practices and may produce different effects in response to a heterogeneous network of interactions.
Collapse
|
4
|
Smith AKJ, Newman CE, Haire B, Holt M. Clinician imaginaries of HIV PrEP users in and beyond the gay community in Australia. CULTURE, HEALTH & SEXUALITY 2022; 24:1423-1437. [PMID: 34506267 DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2021.1957152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Through the development and implementation of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the characteristics of PrEP users have been configured in a range of ways. Drawing on the concept of 'imaginaries', we consider how clinicians imagine PrEP users and related communities. We conducted 28 semi-structured interviews in 2019-2020 with PrEP-providing clinicians based in New South Wales and Western Australia. Participants included general practitioners, sexual health nurses and sexual health doctors. We inductively developed three themes through a reflexive thematic analysis: 'PrEP users as 99% gay men/MSM', 'The informed and connected PrEP user', and 'Condom users in the PrEP era'. Participants imagined PrEP users primarily as gay men, and so we focused on how gay community was imagined in relation to PrEP users. Users were imagined as supporting one another to use PrEP effectively, but some were imagined as threatening norms of condom use amongst gay community. Analysing clinician imaginaries of PrEP users reveals insight into how clinicians speculate about and engage with changing community norms related to condom use and accessing PrEP. These imaginaries reveal ongoing tensions about who is believed to be best suited to PrEP, and PrEP's impact on norms of conduct in imagined biosocial communities like gay men.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony K J Smith
- Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Christy E Newman
- Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Martin Holt
- Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Sexual health as surplus: the marketization of PrEP in Taiwan. BIOSOCIETIES 2022. [DOI: 10.1057/s41292-022-00273-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
6
|
Zimmermann HML, Postma LR, Achterbergh RCA, Reyniers T, Schim van der Loeff MF, Prins M, de Vries HJC, Hoornenborg E, Davidovich U. The Impact of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis on Sexual Well-Being Among Men Who Have Sex with Men. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2021; 50:1829-1841. [PMID: 33619674 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-020-01833-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising strategy to reduce HIV incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM). How and when PrEP is used could in part be influenced by its impact on the sexual well-being of its users. Yet, the impact of PrEP on sexual well-being has received little attention in current literature and is not well-understood. We conducted 43 in-depth interviews (June 2017-June 2018) with HIV-negative MSM who started PrEP within the Amsterdam PrEP study. We used purposive sampling to select participants who (1) reported changes on well-being indicators; (2) switched between PrEP-dosing regimens; (3) neither changed regimens nor changed on well-being indicators. Transcribed interviews were qualitatively analyzed by means of an open-coding process. Results showed that PrEP minimized HIV-related fear, increased self-esteem, and reduced stigma and shame about having condomless anal sex. The psychological relief provided by PrEP also enabled relaxation which reduced pain during anal sex. PrEP use increased the diversity of partner choices and improved the perceived quality of sexual relationships and the ability to develop relationships. Along with this positive impact, almost half of interviewees reported concurrent negative experiences. In some cases, PrEP triggered more extreme sexual behaviors and/or problematic increases in preoccupation with sex and drug use. These were perceived as having a negative impact on sexual relationships, sexual well-being, PrEP adherence, and general health. In conclusion, our findings suggest that PrEP contributes to improvements in sexual well-being that go beyond protection from HIV. Counseling strategies should be devised to help PrEP users mitigate possible co-existing negative consequences of PrEP use.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hanne M L Zimmermann
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Research and Prevention, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Lisa R Postma
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Research and Prevention, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Roel C A Achterbergh
- Department of Infectious Diseases, STI Outpatient Clinic, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Thijs Reyniers
- Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maarten F Schim van der Loeff
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Research and Prevention, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Prins
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Research and Prevention, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Henry J C de Vries
- Department of Infectious Diseases, STI Outpatient Clinic, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Dermatology, Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Elske Hoornenborg
- Department of Infectious Diseases, STI Outpatient Clinic, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Udi Davidovich
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Research and Prevention, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Brisson J, Ravitsky V, Williams-Jones B. Towards an Integration of PrEP into a Safe Sex Ethics Framework for Men Who Have Sex with Men. Public Health Ethics 2018; 12:54-63. [PMID: 30936942 DOI: 10.1093/phe/phy018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The ethics of safe sex in the gay community has, for many years, been focused on debates surrounding the responsibility (or lack thereof) regarding the use of condoms to prevent HIV transmission, once the only tool available. With the development of Truvada as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, for the first time in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic there is the potential to significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission during sex without the use of condoms (without taking into consideration 'treatment as prevention' with HIV-positive people). The introduction of PrEP necessitates a renewed discussion about the politics and ethics of safe sex for men who have sex with men (MSM). We present the arguments of authors who hold radically opposite positions with regard to the ethics of condom use by gay men, but who currently both criticize the use of PrEP. We offer a critique of their arguments and advance the position that the use of PrEP, even without condoms, can be acceptable and part of a safe sex ethics framework for MSM.
Collapse
|