HIV/AIDS and Minority Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Meta-Ethnographic Synthesis of Qualitative Research

Abstract

The World Health Organization (2009) estimates that there are as many as 33 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world. Studies also reveal that racial disparities significantly influence HIV/AIDS diagnoses within the U.S. men who have sex with men population (MSM). In recent years, the burden of HIV/AIDS has shifted from White MSM to younger men of color, particularly African Americans and Latinos. The disproportionate effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in African American and Latino MSM populations requires that scholars and practitioners work diligently to address cultural and structural factors that uniquely influence such populations. The goal of this article is to synthesize qualitative findings that address cultural and structural factors that influence HIV/AIDS risk in African American and Latino MSM populations using a qualitative meta-synthesis procedure. Ultimately, our analysis suggests that “structure-centered” approaches (Dutta & Basu, 2011) are needed to address this health disparity in meaningful ways.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge senior editor Laura Ellingson and two anonymous reviewers for helping improve this article with their insightful comments. A version of this article was presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association in Boston, MA, May 2011.

Notes

Patrick J. Dillon will join the Department of Communication at the University of Memphis in Summer 2013.

¹The term men who have sex with men (MSM) is a term commonly used by scholars and the CDC in HIV research and surveillance reports. The term is contingent on the behavior that transmits HIV and not related to how individuals self-identify in terms of their sexuality (CDC, 2010). Diaz (1998), however, points out that such an overarching nomenclature could contribute to a reductionist approach toward conceptualizing sexuality and sexual behavior, ultimately flattening the socionormative heterogeneities that exist in these contexts, and among heterogeneous cultural communities. Our use of the term MSM is contingent on our acknowledgement of Diaz's theorizing.

²Because they provided potentially important information regarding the focus of this analysis, studies that involved participants who did not identify as African American and/or Latino MSM were also included. Studies that fell into this category were included in this analysis if they clearly attributed specific ideas and experiences to African American or Latino MSM.