title: Latino men who have sex with men and HIV in the rural south-eastern USA: findings from ethnographic in-depth interviews.
abstract: A community-based participatory research partnership explored HIV risk and potentially effective intervention characteristics to reduce exposure and transmission among immigrant Latino men who have sex with men living in the rural south-eastern USA. Twenty-one participants enrolled and completed a total of 62 ethnographic in-depth interviews. Mean age was 31 (range 18-48) years and English-language proficiency was limited; 18 participants were from Mexico. Four participants reported having sex with men and women during the past three months; two participants self-identified as male-to-female transgender. Qualitative themes that emerged included a lack of accurate information about HIV and prevention; the influence of social-political contexts to sexual risk; and barriers to healthcare services. We also identified eight characteristics of potentially effective interventions for HIV prevention. Our findings suggest that socio-political contexts must be additional targets of change to reduce and eliminate HIV health disparities experienced by immigrant Latino men who have sex with men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA. srhodes@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hergenrather
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Aronson
authors.forename: Fred R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Felizzola
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wolfson
authors.forename: Aaron T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vissman
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alonzo
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boeving Allen
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montano
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McGuire
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003469:Culture; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015438:Health Behavior; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011057:Politics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D013637:Tape Recording; D055815:Young Adult