The primary mandate of medical practitioners is to safeguard human health. While the practitioners focus their efforts on an entire population, there are specific segments with special needs that require greater attention. For example, in the US, racial minorities, immigrants, commercial sex workers and members of the LGBT community are among the groups whose needs can only be addressed through localized and concerted efforts. In order to adequately address the needs of these communities, practitioners should begin by seeking to gain a deep understanding of the needs. It is only by doing this that they can develop effective interventions. HIV positive African American gay men are among the groups who could benefit from interventions aimed at promoting health behaviors. Healthcare practitioners should be in the forefront of creating these interventions in collaboration with such other actors as community leaders.
Health Needs
The health needs of African American gay men who are infected with HIV are as varied as they are numerous. Inadequate access to medications that these men need to lower the risk of transmitting the infection is among these needs. According to the US government agency charged with tackling HIV, for many black gay men, access to PrEP, a therapy that reduces one’s risk of contracting HIV, is severely restricted. It is little wonder that this group leads in the number of new HIV infections (Wolitski, 2018). Discrimination perpetrated by their communities and health practitioners is another need that the HIV positive African American gay men have. This is according to Smit et al. (2012) who observed that discrimination against members of the gay community is highly prevalent. Bogart et al. (2012) also confirmed that the members of this community grapple with discrimination. Owing to the discrimination, these individuals are reluctant to seek medical assistance. It is important to note that the needs of this community are found across the US. No state has been spared the ravages of the problems endured by the HIV positive black gay men.
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Data
A huge amount of epidemiological data on the community described above is available. This data addresses such issues as the number of new HIV infections among African American gay men. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the African American community accounts for a bulk of new infections.
As the image above shows, most of the new infections occur among individuals within the 25-34 age group. This is indeed unfortunate as these individuals are young and have promising lives. Another issue that the available data sheds light on is that homosexual contact appears to be the main way through which HIV spreads in the US. For example, data provided by the CDC (2019a) indicates that of all the new HIV infections reported in the country in 2017, 9,807 cases were the result of homosexual relations among black males.
Socioeconomic Culture and Health Promotion Model
There are a number of health promotion models that inform the interventions adopted to enhance the welfare of certain populations. The behavior change model is among these models. Essentially, this model encourages communities to adopt lifestyle modifications as part of health improvement initiatives (Sharma & Romas, 2012). While the needs and challenges of the HIV positive African American gay men have various sources, some of them can be traced to the behaviors of the members of the community. For example, reckless sexual conduct has been identified as among the factors to blame for the high prevalence of HIV within the black gay community (Harper et al., 2016). Therefore, by encouraging this community to adopt such changes as practicing monogamy and using condoms, medical practitioners can make progress in addressing the needs of the community.
In integrating the behavior change model into health promotion initiatives, practitioners should develop a clear understanding of the socioeconomic culture of the community. Some of the elements of this culture include heavy drug and alcohol use, multiple sexual partners and limited use of condoms (Harper et al., 2016). These elements have adverse impacts as they expose the members of this community to a greater risk of poor health outcomes. Poverty is yet another element of the socioeconomic culture that presents significant implications. In their article, Vaughan, Rosenberg and Sullivan (2014) note that within this community, poverty rates are disproportionately high. If the medical fraternity is to succeed in alleviating the suffering endured by the community, it should work with other stakeholders to tackle poverty.
References
Bogart, L. M., Wagner, G. J., Galvan, F. H., Landrine, H., Klein, D. J., & Sticklor, L. A. (2012). Perceived discrimination and mental health symptoms among Black men with HIV. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17 (3), 295-302.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019). HIV and African American gay and bisexual men. CDC. Retrieved September 8, 2019 from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/msm/bmsm.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019a). HIV in the United States and dependent areas. CDC. Retrieved September 8, 2019 from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html
Harper, G. W., Tyler, T. A., Bruce, D., Graham, L., & Wade, R. M. (2016). Drugs, sex, and condoms: identification and interpretation of race-specific cultural messages influencing black gay and bisexual young men living with HIV. American Journal of Community Psychology, 58 (3-4), 463-76.
Sharma, M., & Romas, J. A. (2012). Theoretical foundations of health education and health promotion. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishing.
Smit, P. J., Brady, M., Carter, M., Fernandes, R. et al. (2012). HIV-related stigma within communities of gay men: a literature review. AIDS Care, 24 (4), 405-12.
Vaughan, A. S., Rosenberg, E. S., & Sullivan, P. S. (2014). Spatial relationships between gay stigma, poverty, and HIV infection among black and white men who have sex with men in Atlanta. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 30 (8), 740-1.
Wolitski, R. (2018). HIV in the African American community: progress, but our work is far from over. HIV.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2019 from https://www.hiv.gov/blog/hiv-african-american-community-progress-our-work-far-over
