Black MSM Homelessness and HIV Positive

Black MSM Homelessness and HIV Positive
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Black MSM Homelessness and HIV Positive: Literature Review
Determinants of Health
Black men engaging in sex with men (BMSM) in the United States have the highest incidence rates of HIV infections and are disproportionately impacted by housing instability and homelessness. BMSM have up to 10,000 new infections in the United States every year compared to their white counterparts with 6700 new infections (Creasy et al., 2019). In 2017 findings to Congress contained in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, more than 40 percent of blacks in the United States were unstably housed and homeless implying that this population has the highest number of homeless compared to their white counterparts (Creasy et al., 2019). At the same time, this population has reported the highest rates of HIV in undiagnosed people and the lowest rates of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Nevertheless, there is a gap in research studies assessing the effects of homelessness and HIV testing and treatment among the BMSM. Creasy et al (2019) have found that HIV testing and treatment services that target homeless and unstably housed BMSM can be effective in reducing infection rates among the population group. It is projected that future efforts in community-based research could aid in investigating how housing instability and homelessness impact infection rates and ART) adherence (Creasy et al., 2019). Programs or interventions addressing the problem of the determinants of health among the population such as the social, cultural, religious, and economic factors.
Programs/Interventions
Photovoice is one of the concerted and research programs that employ group discussions and photography to empower BMSM living with HIV through identifying, sharing assets, needs, and priorities, and translating outcomes into positive actions (Sun et al., 2018). Using the Photovoice process, Sun et al (2018) have described the needs and priorities of BMSM with HIV living in the Southern United States to identify actions that could improve their wellbeing and health. Through this program, researchers identified several themes ranging from rejection and discrimination, ways to get support and acceptance, future aspiration, to lack of coping strategies in reducing stress and coping strategies. Under the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid in several Southern states,, BMSM has had an increase in access to private insurance and this approach will go a long way in preventing infections among the homeless BMSMs (Sullivan et al., 2021). Another important program or strategy for homeless black MSM is peer navigation. This is a promising approach that has been used to connect at-risk minority groups such as MSM to services of HIV prevention such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (Pagkas-Bather, 2020). In this program, researchers have found that peer navigation aimed at reaching MSM effectively addresses stigma, tries to match peers to matched individuals with similar...