265291 Promoting Comprehensive HIV Services for Black and Latino Young Men who Have Sex with Men (YMSM) in the Detroit Metro Area

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Andrew Hickok, MPH , Sexuality & Health Lab (SexLab), University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Emily Pingel, MPH , Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Jorge Soler, MPH , Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
William VanHemert , Community Mobilization Project Manager, AIDS Partnership Michigan, Detroit, MI
Jimena Loveluck, MSW , President/CEO, HIV/AIDS Resource Center, Ypsilanti, MI
Hank Millbourne , Prevention Services, AIDS Partnership Michigan, Detroit, MI
Laura Hughes , Executive Director, Ruth Ellis Center, Detroit, MI
Anthony O'Rourke-Quintana , Detroit Latin@z, AIDS Partnership Michigan, Detroit, MI
Jose A. Bauermeister, MPH, PhD , Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
In the Detroit Metro Area (DMA), Black and Latino YMSM (BLYMSM), ages 13-29, account for 16% of all HIV/AIDS cases, echoing data indicating this population's increasing infection rate across the United States. Seeking to address this alarming trend, we developed an academic-community partnership, United for HIV Integration and Policy (UHIP), with the goal of creating policy recommendations that address structural and community factors increasing BLYMSM vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

We interviewed 50 key stakeholders based on their intersectoral work with Black and Latino youth, LGBT populations, and/or involvement in HIV service provision. We conducted in-depth interviews focused on stakeholders' professional roles, perspectives on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and recommendations to reduce BLYMSM's HIV risk. Using thematic analyses, we sought to identify the structural factors limiting BLYMSM's access to care and services in the DMA.

Stakeholders identified homophobia and HIV/AIDS stigma as structural factors limiting BLYMSM's access to tailored, comprehensive services offered through LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations. Stakeholders also discussed how current HIV funding mechanisms make intersectoral collaboration difficult, do not link HIV/AIDS prevention and care to other public health problems, and compartmentalize service provision to specific populations or health outcomes.

We propose policies that reduce these structural barriers and improve service delivery for BLYMSM in the DMA. These policies include (1) creating funding mechanisms that encourage intersectoral partnerships, (2) developing a service network that facilitates BLYMSM's access to comprehensive care, and (3) requiring training in sexuality and HIV education among providers working in these prevention and care organizational networks.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the process by which stakeholders were identified, contacted, and interviewed for this academic-community project. Identify structural factors that place BLYMSM at higher risk for HIV infection in the Detroit Metro Area. Describe policy recommendations that may benefit the health and well being of BLYMSM.

Keywords: Access to Care, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Project Director of the United for HIV Integration and Policy.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4403.0: HIV/AIDS Policy