Between two pandemics: Older, gay men's experiences across HIV/AIDS and COVID-19

Handlovsky, Ingrid; Wonsiak, Tessa; Amato, Anthony Theodore; Halpin, Michael; Ferlatte, Olivier; Kia, Hannah

doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100233

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Our participants' narratives notably echoed previously documented frustrations of other older MSMLWH during the COVID-19 pandemic [35], underscoring the salience of their challenges to obtaining credible health information that was vital to them as a subpopulation that is potentially at a greater risk of complications if they contracted COVID-19. Related to these findings, researchers have suggested the importance of fostering media and digital literacy skills, particularly among vulnerable populations, in response to the rapid spread of misinformation online and in communities (i.e., infodemics) [36].…”

Section: Misinformation and Challenges In Obtaining Credible Health I...supporting

confidence: 61%

Pandemic upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged and Older Men Who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV Coping and Thriving during the Peak of COVID-19

Bell,

Ranuschio,

Waldron

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, not only did it abruptly impede the progress that was being made toward achieving global targets to end the HIV pandemic, but it also created significant impacts on the physical and mental health of middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV. Utilizing a qualitative, community-based participatory research approach, we conducted semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 16 ethnoracially diverse, middle-aged and older men who have sex with men living with HIV residing in Southern Nevada, to examine the different ways the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted their physical and mental health, and explore how they eventually coped and thrived during the peak of the crisis. Using thematic analysis to analyze our interview data, we identified three prominent themes: (1) challenges to obtaining credible health information, (2) the physical and mental health impacts of the COVID-19-pandemic-imposed social isolation, and (3) digital technologies and online connections for medical and social purposes. In this article, we extensively discuss these themes, the current discourse on these themes in academic literature, and how the perspectives, input, and lived experiences of our participants during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic could be critical to addressing issues they had already been experiencing prior to the emergence of the pandemic in 2020, and just as importantly, helping us best prepare in stark anticipation of the next potentially devastating pandemic.

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Section: Misinformation and Challenges In Obtaining Credible Health I...supporting

confidence: 61%

Pandemic upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged and Older Men Who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV Coping and Thriving during the Peak of COVID-19

Bell,

Ranuschio,

Waldron

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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“…Several qualitative studies have explored the approach taken to the COVID-19 pandemic by LGBT persons, mostly gay men, with HIV/AIDS as a backdrop. Handlovsky et al [23] interviewed older gay men and explicitly juxtaposed experiences during the present pandemic with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The themes emerging from these considerations highlighted a sense of pandemic familiarity with associated distress and challenge (one participant describing being forced back into a (different) closet); respondents also contrasted the early lack of response to HIV/AIDS to the accelerated response to COVID-19, and the difference in the speed and spread of information between the two pandemics, rekindling some anger and frustration, but also some satisfaction in what had been accomplished and what had been learned.…”

Section: Covid-19 and Hiv/aidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Agentic Familiarity: The Context of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Orientation for Older Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic

de Vries,

Gutman,

Beringer

et al. 2023

Healthcare

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This paper examines how experiences with a previous pandemic, particularly HIV/AIDS, may have informed approaches to COVID-19, with a focus on sexual orientation. Method: The sample was drawn from an online survey of Canadians 55+ conducted in 2020, comprising 1143 persons (mean age = 67; 88 gay or bisexual (GB) men, 65 lesbian or bisexual (LB) women, 818 heterosexual women, and 172 heterosexual men). Respondents reported if they, or someone close to them, “had been affected by” one or more pandemics and whether COVID-19 led them to “think more about their prior epidemic/pandemic experiences” and/or feel they “couldn’t handle it again”. Correlated items reflecting feeling “they have been here before”; “prepared for what is happening”; and “like they needed to act or do something” formed a scale named “agentic familiarity”. Results: About half of respondents reported thinking about their previous pandemic experience; about 5% reporting feeling like “they couldn’t handle it again” with no gender or sexual orientation differences. Higher agentic familiarity scores were found for GB men and for those with experience with HIV/AIDS vs. other pandemics. Discussion: These outcomes speak to resilience and growth experienced by LGBT (and especially GB) persons through shared stigma and trauma—with implications for current pandemic experiences and future actions, like advance care planning.

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“…Although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has gradually declined, and daily life under the normalization stage of pandemic policy has gradually moved closer to the pre-pandemic. As Jones et al said "the pandemic is an intricate part of human history" 13,14 , we cannot completely avoid the changes caused by the pandemic to human society. It is worth thinking about what lessons we can learn from the previous and current pandemics to mitigate the challenges posed to us after the future public health crisis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condom use and related factors among 281 MSM in Chengdu, China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yang,

Li,

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background During Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as a sexual minority group, men who have sex with men (MSM) faced risks of COVID-19 and HIV infection at the same time. However, there is no in-depth study on the MSM with their homosexual regular and casual partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is to explore condom use and related factors among MSM during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide suggestions for MSM intervention strategies in the post-pandemic era. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used to study the condom use of MSM with regular and casual homosexual partners. Logistic regression was used to analyze related factors of MSM 's consistent condom use, including basic information, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, HIV/AIDS-related stigma, sexual behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-efficacy of condom use. Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, 112 (65.1%) of 172 MSM having regular homosexual partners insisted on using condoms when having sex with regular homosexual partners, and 119 (66.5%) of 179 MSM with casual homosexual partners. Logistic regression showed that the protective factors of condom use among MSM with their regular partners were self-employed or other occupations (OR = 4.857, 95% CI = 1.008–23.410 ), personal monthly income ≥ 5000 yuan (OR = 9.947, 95% CI = 1.198–82.615), self-reported as bisexuality (OR = 7.290, 95% CI = 1.693–31.395), fear of COVID-19 infection through sexual behavior (OR = 6.822, 95% CI = 1.291–36.067), and high score of condom use efficacy (OR = 1.200, 95% CI = 1.124–1.281). The risk factors were awareness of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge (OR = 0.049, 95% CI = 0.006–0.417) and having heterosexual sex (OR = 0.220, 95% CI = 0.051–0.95). The high score of condom use efficacy (OR = 1.123, 95% CI = 1.069–1.181) was also the protective factor of consistent condom use between MSM with casual homosexual partners, and the risk factors were urban household registration (OR = 0.368, 95% CI = 0.14–0.968), living with family members (OR = 0.261, 95% CI = 0.08–0.849), high score of HIV/AIDS-related stigma (OR = 0.921, 95% CI = 0.848-1), and heterosexual sex (OR = 0.253, 95% CI = 0.076–0.847). Conclusions During the COVID-19 pandemic, MSM had a moderate level of consistent condom use with homosexual regular and casual partners. The use of condom is affected by general demographic characteristics, social psychology, sexual behavior, and other factors, especially in the psychological aspect. Health workers in relevant departments such as disease control and prevention should focus on the psychological problems of MSM, especially in the outbreak of major public health events. Health workers should actively guide and solve MSM’s negative emotions, so as to improve the condom use of MSM during this period.

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Between two pandemics: Older, gay men's experiences across HIV/AIDS and COVID-19

Cited by 7 publications

References 46 publications

Pandemic upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged and Older Men Who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV Coping and Thriving during the Peak of COVID-19

Pandemic upon Pandemic: Middle-Aged and Older Men Who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV Coping and Thriving during the Peak of COVID-19

An Agentic Familiarity: The Context of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Orientation for Older Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Condom use and related factors among 281 MSM in Chengdu, China during the COVID-19 pandemic

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