 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ron Stall, PhD, MPH, Prevention Research Branch, DHAP, NCHSTP, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., M/S E-37, Atlanta, GA 30333, 404-639-4937, rys3@cdc.gov
Behavioral surveillance data recently collected in urban settings on three continents strongly suggest that rates of sexual practices that can transmit HIV infection and other STDs are rising within gay male communities. Furthermore, incidence rates of HIV infection within communities that have to date been understudied, such as African American MSM, remain alarmingly high. Less understood are the reasons for why rates of high risk sexual behavior among MSM may wax or wane over time. This presentation will review recent trends in high risk sexual behaviors among MSM, identify the reasons that have already been hypothesized for rises in high risk sexual behavior and will suggest additional possible reasons that have been understudied to date. The presentation will conclude by suggesting that there is a complex interplay between the characteristics of MSM communities, the effects of the AIDS epidemic within these communities, the psychological characteristics of individual men located in these communities and evolving understandings of the threat posed by HIV infection. This way that this interplay evolves over time determines whether sexual risk for the transmission of HIV and other STDs rises or falls. If prevention programs are to be successful, they must operate with close attention to the interplay of these complex factors so that prevention efforts remain timely, effective, understood and acted upon by at-risk MSM.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Gay Men
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.