Subgroups of men who have sex with men, social capital, and HIV risk behaviors.

摘要

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a hidden, yet key population at risk for HIV infection in the United States. Recent literature shows that many African American MSM belong to house and ball communities in large cities. In addition, 30.4% of MSM sampled during the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) in 2011 in New Orleans reported membership in Chosen Family kinship networks known as gay families. African American MSM were twice as likely to belong to gay families compared to their White counterparts.;Under the parent 2014 NHBS MSM4 study cycle, a sequential mixed-method study qualitatively explored Chosen Families composed of MSM and transgender women in New Orleans. A total of 24 respondents participated in open ended interviews and 553 MSM took a structured survey. The results were used to characterize membership in Chosen Families, and to quantitatively test whether membership in particular social groups influenced social capital and HIV risk behaviors.;These findings significantly contribute to Public Health's understanding of hidden and hard to reach subgroups specific to MSM which may be instrumental to future targeted interventions designed to identify, test, treat and retain MSM with HIV in care and thus reduce the HIV epidemic. In addition, they highlight the need for more research targeting transgender women who are also integral to these subpopulations.