What's behd the higher rat of fectn among gay men? Dr. David bunks myths and explas why some groups are and areas are more affected by HIV/AIDS than others.
Contents:
- HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.
- HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
- NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY – SEPTEMBER 27
- WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?
- 'IT'S A S' BRGS A LOST GENERATN OF GAY MEN TO LIFE
- NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY SEPT. 27
- IS AIDS A “GAY” DISEASE?
HIV AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN THE U.S.
The high percentage of gay and bisexual men who are livg wh HIV means that, as a group, they have a greater risk of beg exposed to HIV; browse lks here. * gay men and aids *
Factors that fluence health out—cludg HIV-related stigma, homophobia, racism, discrimatn, poverty, limed accs to high-qualy health re, and other longstandg barriers—have ntributed to the unequal reach of HIV preventn and treatment; higher levels of HIV some muni; and ntued equi. Wh effective preventn and treatment tools at our disposal, the natn has a s--the-makg opportuny to end the domtic HIV epimic and elimate dispari HIV preventn and re among gay and bisexual men and other populatns disproportnately affected by HIV.
Social and stctural issu—such as HIV stigma, homophobia, discrimatn, poverty, and limed accs to high-qualy health re—fluence health out and ntue to drive equi. †Unr 50%Only 27% of Black/Ain Amerin, 31% of Hispanic/Lato, and 42% of Whe gay and bisexual men who uld have benefted om medice to prevent HIV (PrEP) ed 50%Only 27% of Black/Ain Amerin, 31% of Hispanic/Lato, and 42% of Whe gay and bisexual men who uld have benefted om medice to prevent HIV (PrEP) ed 2017. 2 3Only about 2 3 Black/Ain Amerin (62%) or Hispanic/Lato (67%) gay and bisexual men wh HIV were virally supprsed 2019, ‡ pared wh about 3 4 (74%) Whe gay and bisexual men.
From 2010 to 2019, new HIV fectns cled among Whe gay and bisexual men but remaed higher and relatively stable among Black/Ain Amerin and Hispanic/Lato gay and bisexual men. Social and stctural barriers such as systemic racism, stigma, discrimatn, homophobia, poverty, and homelsns n make difficult to accs HIV ttg, re, and preventn servic. There have been signifint advanc HIV preventn and treatment but missed ttg opportuni healthre settgs are preventg some gay and bisexual men om knowg their HIV stat and beneftg om the advanc.
HIV AND ALL GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
Gay and bisexual men are more severely affected by HIV than any other group the Uned Stat (US). * gay men and aids *
Gay and bisexual men who learn they have HIV n start and stay on HIV treatment, get the vis down to an untectable level (bee virally supprsed), live long and healthy liv, and prevent sexual transmissn to others. This goal n only be achieved by dramatilly rcg new HIV fectns among the most affected groups, cludg Black/Ain Amerin and Hispanic/Lato gay and bisexual men, and expandg and stag vtments HIV servic. Among gay and bisexual men who uld benef om PrEP, only 27% of Black/Ain Amerin, 31% of Hispanic/Lato, and 42% of Whe gay and bisexual men reported g PrEP 2017.
High levels of HIV stigma—negative attus and beliefs about people wh HIV—make gay and bisexual men ls likely to get tted, e preventn servic like PrEP, receive re, and be virally supprsed. Innovative and culturally rponsive strategi that addrs gay and bisexual men’s needs n rce barriers that keep men om knowg their HIV stat and receivg HIV preventn and treatment servic.
NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY – SEPTEMBER 27
Differenc exist by race/ethnicy knowledge of HIV stat, preventn, treatment, and stigma among gay and bisexual men. * gay men and aids *
Addrsg the root that drive equaly, cludg systemic racism, stigma, discrimatn, homophobia, poverty, homelsns, and unequal accs to re and preventn servic. Addrsg HIV service equi by race, sexual orientatn, and socenomic stat and tailorg strategi to meet the needs of lol muni and reach the most affected groups, pecially Black/Ain Amerin and Hispanic/Lato gay and bisexual men, n help end the HIV epimic. Many health re and mental health anizatns foced on the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny also offer substance e treatment or may be able to provi rmatn about lol rourc.
WHY ARE GAY MEN MORE AT RISK FOR HIV?
Unrstand health ncerns for gay men and other men who have sex wh men, and learn how to promote good health. * gay men and aids *
Origally intified as a “gay disease” bee gay men were one of the primary groups afflicted, HIV and the syndrome , Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, were unknown 1981 but had bee hoehold terms and the number one threat to public health by the late 1980s. For several years after the Center for Disease Control first realized that the illns croppg up muni around the untry were all the work of the same vis, the Amerin ernment did ltle to addrs the epimic, a failure to act that many attribute to the fact that HIV/AIDS was primarily affectg gay men, traveno dg ers, immigrants and racial activists, medil profsnals, artists and a number of people wh AIDS who went public wh their diagnos spe the stigma surroundg the disease eventually spurred a massive rponse om the U.
'IT'S A S' BRGS A LOST GENERATN OF GAY MEN TO LIFE
HIV and the syndrome , AIDS, began spreadg the Uned Stat the early 1980s. By the late 1980s had bee a public health crisis. Inially the U.S. ernment did ltle to addrs the epimic, due part to misnceptns that the disease only affected gay men. Activists me together to mand a rponse om the ernment and the ternatnal muny. By the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS numbers were on the cle Ameri. Today, lns of people around the world are livg wh HIV and tens of thoands of people die of AIDS-related illns every year. * gay men and aids *
A Gay Men's Crisis1980April 24 – The CDC receiv a report on Ken Horne, a gay man livg San Francis who is sufferg om Kaposi’s Sara, a rare and unually aggrsive ncer lked wh weakened immuny.
” Although the headle would soon be proven false, his report that a number of gay men have been admted to New York Cy tensive re un wh severely promised immune systems is the first article to mentn what soon be known as 5, 1981 – The CDC publish an article scribg five s of a rare lung fectn young, otherwise healthy gay men Los Angel, two of whom have died and three of whom die a short time after. This article is often ced as the official begng of the AIDS 1981 – An LGBT newspaper San Francis, The Bay Area Reporter, wr about “Gay Men’s Pnmonia” and urg gay men experiencg shortns of breath to see a doctor.
The New York Tim article “Rare Cancer Seen 41 Homosexuals” leads to the g of the term “gay ncer” to scribe Kaposi’s 11, 1981 – Wrer and film producer Larry Kramer hosts a fundraiser his New York Cy apartment, at which Dr.
NATNAL GAY MEN’S HIV/AIDS AWARENS DAY SEPT. 27
September 27 is Natnal Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awarens Day * gay men and aids *
</em>May 11 – In an article tled “New Homosexual Disorr Worri Health Officials, ” the New York Tim first publish the phrase Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, or GRID, ntributg to the wispread misnceptn that AIDS only affects gay men. January 7 – The CDC reports the first s of AIDS 4 – The CDC publish an article sayg that AIDS is most prevalent “among gay men wh multiple sexual partners, people who ject dgs, Haians, and people wh hemophilia.
IS AIDS A “GAY” DISEASE?
* gay men and aids *
She and a lleague eventually receive the Nobel Prize for their 25 – The New York Tim publish s first ont-page article on 12 – At the Natnal AIDS Fom Denver, 11 gay men wh AIDS take over the stage. Misnceptns around the study (and a misreadg of Patient O”) give rise to the myth of Patient Zero, a promiscuo or even malic gay man who sgle-handly and knowgly touched off the AIDS panmic the Uned 23 – The Department of Health and Human Servic announc the disvery of a retrovis they ll HTLV-III, the e of AIDS.
Food and Dg Admistratn licens the first blood tt for HIV, and blood banks beg screeng the untry’s blood 22 – The Normal Heart, an tobgraphil play about the early days of the crisis by Larry Kramer, opens 25 – Rock Hudson, a legendary actor om the Goln Age of Hollywood whose homosexualy was an open secret the dtry, announc he has AIDS.
More than thirty years to the HIV/AIDS epimic, and at a time when fectns among gay and bisexual men are on the rise the U.S., a new natnal survey of gay and bisexual men by the Kaiser Fay Foundatn fds that though HIV/AIDS is named as the number one health issue facg their populatn, a majory are not personally ncerned about beg fected, and relatively few report havg been tted recently. Only about a quarter know about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and fewer than half are aware that the current guil for people wh HIV are to start antiretroviral (ARV) treatment as soon as they are diagnosed. * gay men and aids *
The book receiv ltle mastream attentn at publitn, but go down history as a watershed moment gay MORE: How AIDS Activists Used ‘Die-Ins’ to Demand Attentn to the Growg Epimic1987Ann E Zelle/Getty ImagThe AIDS Memorial Quilt featured the nam of 1, 920 people who died of AIDS-related illns when was first displayed 1987—the number eventually grew to over 10, 000. The news reverberat around the untry, and while mors spread that Johnson is gay, for many his diagnosis nfirms that straight people also face risk of ntractg HIV/AIDS. A gay in and the first rock star known to have died of HIV/AIDS, his ath sets of outpourgs of grief around the world, as many the AIDS activist muny exprs their gratu that he ma his diagnosis public.
December 14 – Philalphia, a major motn picture starrg Tom Hanks as a gay man wh AIDS and Denzel Washgton as his lawyer an anti-discrimatn lawsu, buts to rave reviews.
First diagnosed six months before the 1988 gam, Louganis had kept his diagnosis and treatment a secret, even after g out as gay MORE: How Greg Louganis' Olympic Divg Accint Forced a Conversatn About AIDS1996The number of AIDS s diagnosed annually the U. Share the social media posts below to raise awarens about the impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men the Uned Stat and enurage them to get tted and know their preventn optns.
A new Brish TV drama looks at the liv of gay men London at the very start of the AIDS crisis — back when no one wanted to stop the party, and no one thought the vis uld touch them. * gay men and aids *
September 27 is Natnal Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awarens Day, a day to help stop HIV stigma and enurage HIV ttg, preventn, and treatment among gay and bisexual men. Sce the HIV epimic started the 1980s gay men have been at a greater risk and reprented more of the new HIV s that we’ve known this untry and actually ternatnally as well. Gay men are the only group the untry among whom new fectns are on the rise; between 2008-2010, new fectns rose 12 percent overall among gay men, and 22 percent among younger gay men ag 13-24.
The survey was nducted July 17-Augt 3, 2014 wh a sample of 431 men who self-intified as eher gay or bisexual g a natnally reprentative, probabily-based Inter panel (more tails available the Survey Methodology sectn of this report). The survey allows to provi some basic mographic rmatn about gay and bisexual men, and fds that jt over half (53 percent) report beg a mted relatnship, cludg one five (20 percent) who say they are married.
The HIV epimic ntu to disproportnately impact gay and bisexual men, transgenr women, youth 13-24 and muni of lor. * gay men and aids *
About half of gay and bisexual men say HIV/AIDS is a “very” or “somewhat” signifint issue for them personally (49 percent), while the other half say is “not too signifint” or “not a signifint issue” their liv (51 percent). Fewer than half (46 percent) of gay and bisexual men are aware that people wh HIV should start antiretroviral (ARV) treatment as soon as they are diagnosed, and only a quarter (25 percent) know about treatment as preventn, or TasP; that is, that takg nsistent ARV treatment signifintly rc the risk of passg HIV on to one’s sexual partners. Majori say that too many gay men not knowg their stat (75 percent), placency about HIV the gay muny (62 percent), and HIV-related stigma (56 percent) are major reasons ’s been hard to ntrol the spread of HIV among gay men.
More than half (56 percent) of gay and bisexual men say that a doctor has never remend they get tted for HIV, and six ten (61 percent) say they rarely or never discs HIV when they vis their doctor. Three ten gay and bisexual men report that they don’t have a regular physician, and the men (who tend to be younger, lower-e, and more racially diverse) are even ls likely to report discsg HIV wh doctors and to say they have been tted for HIV.
The relatively most sample size of the survey (431 men total) lims our abily to provi rults among all subgroups of tert wh the overall populatn of gay and bisexual men.
Natnal Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awarens Day is Sept. 27. This page offers tips and rourc. * gay men and aids *
Gay and bisexual men of lor are more likely than those who intify as whe to say HIV/AIDS is a signifint issue for them personally (64 percent vers 42 percent) and that they are personally ncerned about beg fected (53 percent vers 28 percent).