• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

HIV Rates Rise Among Black Gay Men On PrEP

December 24, 2018 by Savas Abadsidis Leave a Comment

Citing a study in the  Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes AIDSMap recently reported that “Awareness and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among black gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States increased significantly between 2014 and 2017. The study also showed that PrEP was reaching individuals with high levels of sexual risk, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and substance use, the very individuals most in need of this highly effective form of HIV prevention.”

However,  the report goes on to say:

HIV prevalence was significantly higher among PrEP users compared to individuals who were not on PrEP. The investigators stress this does not show PrEP failure but is likely due to factors such as poor medication adherence and lack of engagement with healthcare providers.

It is imperative to recognize that our findings reflect challenges to maintain proper usage of PrEP rather than biological failure of PrEP to protect against HIV,” write the authors. “HIV infections that have occurred among PrEP users are the result of suboptimal levels of drug concentrations because of challenges in adhering to PrEP medical regimens.”

Black MSM account for the largest proportion of new HIV infections in the US. If current epidemiological trends continue, 60% of black MSM will be HIV positive by the age of 40. Tackling the HIV epidemic among black MSM is therefore an urgent public health priority.

“The impact of HIV in the lives of Black gay men is as much a story of moral failure as policy failure,” Charles Stephens of the Counter Narrative told Towleroad.  “Any discussion around how HIV impacts the lives of Black gay men, must center racial justice. In the public health conversation, we are far too often blamed for the health outcomes we experience, rather than the failures of health care institutions. This has everything to do with race. Any programmatic, clinical or policy agenda to address HIV among Black gay men  must center our human dignity, be informed by our culture, address systemic barriers rather than individual behaviors, and resist deficit based messaging and pathological narratives about our community.”

Stephens added that he would caution against blaming Black gay men for “lack of adherence” and not sufficiently engaging healthcare providers, as to why the study found higher HIV prevalence among PrEP users compared to those not on PrEP . “We must ask harder questions of healthcare providers, including what efforts have been taken to eliminate institutional barriers to care for Black gay men. And are the service providers offering PrEP culturally literate on working with Black gay men?”

Filed Under: towleroad Tagged With: African American, AIDS/HIV, prep, Truvada

Recent Posts

  • Boston Man Left Scarred for Life After Homophobic Attack by Man Wielding Box Cutter, Shovel: WATCH

    Boston Man Left Scarred for Life After Homophobic Attack by Man Wielding Box Cutter, Shovel: WATCH

    2 days ago
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneer Matt Gay, Subject to Lifelong Taunts Over His Name, Will Wear Anti-Bullying Cleats to Sunday’s Game

    Tampa Bay Buccaneer Matt Gay, Subject to Lifelong Taunts Over His Name, Will Wear Anti-Bullying Cleats to Sunday’s Game

    2 days ago
  • Sean Cody Star Jarec Wentworth Released from Prison Early in GOP Donor Extortion Case

    Sean Cody Star Jarec Wentworth Released from Prison Early in GOP Donor Extortion Case

    2 days ago
  • Border Wall, Maggie Smith, Halsey, Niall Horan, Peloton, Matt Gaetz, Classic Blue, Taylor Swift: HOT LINKS

    Border Wall, Maggie Smith, Halsey, Niall Horan, Peloton, Matt Gaetz, Classic Blue, Taylor Swift: HOT LINKS

    3 days ago
Previous Post: « Mark Kanemura Dons His Gay Apparel for an Instagram Holi-Slay Spectacular: WATCH
Next Post: Kennedy Center Honors Cher, ‘Drag Race’ Gets Snatched and More TV This Week »

Primary Sidebar

Ptown Hacks 2019

download ptown Hacks

Recent Posts

  • Boston Man Left Scarred for Life After Homophobic Attack by Man Wielding Box Cutter, Shovel: WATCH

    Boston Man Left Scarred for Life After Homophobic Attack by Man Wielding Box Cutter, Shovel: WATCH

    2 days ago
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneer Matt Gay, Subject to Lifelong Taunts Over His Name, Will Wear Anti-Bullying Cleats to Sunday’s Game

    Tampa Bay Buccaneer Matt Gay, Subject to Lifelong Taunts Over His Name, Will Wear Anti-Bullying Cleats to Sunday’s Game

    2 days ago
  • Sean Cody Star Jarec Wentworth Released from Prison Early in GOP Donor Extortion Case

    Sean Cody Star Jarec Wentworth Released from Prison Early in GOP Donor Extortion Case

    2 days ago
  • Border Wall, Maggie Smith, Halsey, Niall Horan, Peloton, Matt Gaetz, Classic Blue, Taylor Swift: HOT LINKS

    Border Wall, Maggie Smith, Halsey, Niall Horan, Peloton, Matt Gaetz, Classic Blue, Taylor Swift: HOT LINKS

    3 days ago
  • What’s the Value of Your Dog’s Life, and Why it Matters

    What’s the Value of Your Dog’s Life, and Why it Matters

    3 days ago
  • Adam Lambert Turns Cher’s ‘Believe’ into a Soaring Power Ballad: LISTEN

    Adam Lambert Turns Cher’s ‘Believe’ into a Soaring Power Ballad: LISTEN

    3 days ago
  • WV Corrections Officers Suspended After Nazi Salute Photo Surfaces

    WV Corrections Officers Suspended After Nazi Salute Photo Surfaces

    3 days ago
  • Trump and Giuliani Spoke on Unencrypted Phones Vulnerable to Russian Spying ‘All the Time’

    Trump and Giuliani Spoke on Unencrypted Phones Vulnerable to Russian Spying ‘All the Time’

    3 days ago
  • ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Is a Raw and Explosive Portrait of Suburbia on the Brink: REVIEW

    ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Is a Raw and Explosive Portrait of Suburbia on the Brink: REVIEW

    3 days ago
  • Joe Biden’s Tense Exchange, Turner Prize, John Kerry, Billie Eilish, Kennesaw State, Tulsi Gabbard, Mulan: HOT LINKS

    Joe Biden’s Tense Exchange, Turner Prize, John Kerry, Billie Eilish, Kennesaw State, Tulsi Gabbard, Mulan: HOT LINKS

    3 days ago
  • Brutal Joe Biden Ad Shows World Leaders Laughing at ‘Dangerously Incompetent’ Trump: WATCH

    Brutal Joe Biden Ad Shows World Leaders Laughing at ‘Dangerously Incompetent’ Trump: WATCH

    4 days ago
  • Nancy Pelosi Blasts Reporter Who Asks if She ‘Hates’ Trump: ‘Don’t Mess With Me When It Comes To Words Like That’ — WATCH

    Nancy Pelosi Blasts Reporter Who Asks if She ‘Hates’ Trump: ‘Don’t Mess With Me When It Comes To Words Like That’ — WATCH

    4 days ago
  • Because Same-Sex Marriage is Illegal in Israel, This Gay Couple Tied the Knot in Portugal: WATCH

    Because Same-Sex Marriage is Illegal in Israel, This Gay Couple Tied the Knot in Portugal: WATCH

    4 days ago
  • Hillary Clinton Tells Howard Stern She’s Not a Lesbian: ‘Contrary to What You Might Hear, I Actually Like Men’

    Hillary Clinton Tells Howard Stern She’s Not a Lesbian: ‘Contrary to What You Might Hear, I Actually Like Men’

    4 days ago
  • Gay-Themed 1967 Robin Maugham Novel ‘The Wrong People’, Once Optioned by Sal Mineo, Finally Being Adapted for Film

    Gay-Themed 1967 Robin Maugham Novel ‘The Wrong People’, Once Optioned by Sal Mineo, Finally Being Adapted for Film

    4 days ago

Ptown Hacks 2019. Download Now!

Follow @PtownHacks on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and sign up for the Ptown Hacks email list.

Most Commented

Footer

Read

  • Politics
  • Travel
  • Film
  • Theatre
  • Television
  • Science
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in