HIV positive men as fathers: Accounts of displacement, ir/responsibility and paternal emergence

Masculinity, resources, and retention in care: South African men's behaviors and experiences while engaged in TB care and treatment

RATIONALE

Globally, the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) disease is significantly higher among men compared to women. This is compounded by men's poorer uptake of TB testing and treatment, and worse outcomes for smear conversion and successful treatment completion compared to women; in South Africa specifically, TB accounts for a large portion of sex-specific life expectancy differences.

OBJECTIVE

To understand men's unique barriers to accessing care and their needs while engaged in TB treatment, we conducted a qualitative study with men currently in or who recently completed TB treatment to understand how social norms for masculinity influence resource access and health behaviors, and in turn affect their engagement in care.

METHODS

We interviewed 31 men using a semi-structured protocol, with domains including: social network composition and support; TB illness; and testing, treatment, and clinical care experiences. Interviews were analyzed using a constant comparison approach to identify resources and how these are exchanged within men's social networks for TB care.

RESULTS

We found that men's prioritizing of work ensured food security and maintenance of masculinity norms, but delayed seeking and engagement in care. Once in treatment, men found it difficult both to negotiate clinic hours and work schedules and to navigate clinic environments without being labeled as weak. To mitigate individual resource gaps and losses, men typically accessed women family members who provided key resources (e.g., food, money, and emotional encouragement). Masculine identification with fatherhood was a key motivator to remain engaged in TB care and treatment. Loss from care was facilitated by isolation and limited access to social network resources.

CONCLUSION

To improve men's engagement in care and successful treatment outcomes, interventions that leverage their social networks and build upon existing resources should be strongly considered.

Resourceful masculinities: exploring heterosexual Black men's vulnerability to HIV in Ontario, Canada

Objectives: Heterosexually active Black men are alleged to endorse masculine norms that increase their and their female partners' vulnerability to HIV. These norms include Black men's inability or reluctance to productively engage their own health-related personal and interpersonal vulnerabilities. We draw on data from the iSpeak research study in Ontario, Canada, to assess whether and how heterosexual Black men cope with personal and inter-personal vulnerability, namely that heterosexual Black men: avoid emotionally supportive relationships with other men (and women), which diminishes their capacity to productively acknowledge and resolve their health-related challenges; are reticent to productively acknowledge and address HIV and health on a personal level; and are pathologically secretive about their health, which compounds their vulnerability and precipitates poor health outcomes.Design: iSpeak was implemented in 2011 to 2013, and included two focus groups with HIV-positive and HIV-negative self-identified heterosexual men (N = 14) in Toronto and London, a focus group with community-based health promotion practitioners who provide HIV-related services to Black communities in Ontario (N = 6), and one-on-one interviews with four researchers distinguished for their scholarship with/among Black communities in Toronto. Participants in the men's focus group were recruited discretely through word-of-mouth. Focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Team members independently read the transcripts, and then met to identify, discuss and agree on the emerging themes.Results: We demonstrate that iSpeak participants (a) engage their personal and interpersonal vulnerabilities creatively and strategically, (b) complicate and challenge familiar interpretations of Black men's allegedly transgressive masculinity through their emotional and practical investment in their health, and (c) demonstrate a form of resourceful masculinity that ambiguously aligns with patriarchy.Conclusion: We conclude with a range of actionable recommendations to strengthen the discursive framework for understanding heterosexual Black men in relation to HIV and health, and substantively engaging them in community responses to HIV.

A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Interventions for Parental Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disclosure

INTRODUCTION

Disclosure of parental human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to their children remains a difficult process for parents living with HIV (PLWH). In order to identify the best strategies to facilitate parental HIV disclosure, it is necessary to examine the efficacy of existing interventions designed to help PLWH parents with the disclosure process to their children.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically review the efficacy of interventions designed to assist PLWH disclose their HIV status to their children.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of interventions designed to assist PLWH disclose their HIV status to their children. MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Global Health, and Web of Science were searched.

RESULTS

Studies were eligible for inclusion if they evaluated an intervention for parental HIV disclosure. Five studies published between 2001 and 2015 met the inclusion criteria. The interventions were conducted in South Africa, China, and the United States. Three of the studies used two-arm randomized controlled trials, in which the intervention group was given enhanced care while the control group received standard care. Four of the five studies included a theoretically informed intervention and three were limited to mothers. Results showed that four of the interventions increased parental HIV disclosure.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that parental HIV disclosure interventions are successful in assisting parents with the disclosure process and can be adapted in different cultural context. Future parental HIV disclosure interventions should include fathers in order to assist men with parental HIV disclosure.