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Sexuality Research and Social Policy

, Volume 15, Issue 3, pp 302–311 | Cite as

“So Much Is at Stake”: Professional Views on Engaging Heterosexually Identified Men who Have Sex with Men with Sexual Health Care in Australia

  • Christy E. Newman
  • Asha Persson
  • Pene Manolas
  • Heather-Marie Ann Schmidt
  • Catriona Ooi
  • Alison Rutherford
  • John de Wit
Article
First Online:

Abstract

Australian HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services are well-established for men who have sex with men (MSM) who identify as gay or bisexual. However, the sexual health needs of heterosexually identified MSM (hereafter called “straight MSM” as a shorthand) and opportunities to engage this sub-group with services and information are less clear. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2015–2016 with 30 professionals working in the sexual health sector in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Participants viewed straight MSM as comprising multiple, intersecting sub-groups, but sharing a common preference for services which promise “discretion” and “confidentiality”, and information which does not presume an alignment between gay identity and sex between men. Participants described these men as typically very concerned about keeping this aspect of their sexual lives secret and separate from their family, work, and community lives. Participants were keenly aware of both the benefits and the challenges of providing respectful and non-judgmental care. This exploratory study provides initial evidence of the complexities of engaging straight MSM with sexual health care and suggests a range of strategies for increasing cultural understanding of the diverse sexual practices that can be present in the lives of some heterosexually identified men.

Keywords

Heterosexual identity Men who have sex with men Sexual health services Professional perspectives Australia Qualitative 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This project was conducted at the UNSW Sydney and supported by the BBV & STI Research, Intervention and Strategic Evaluation Program (BRISE). BRISE is funded by the NSW Ministry of Health and undertakes policy-relevant research to support NSW Health in reducing blood-borne viruses (BBV) and sexually transmissible infections (STI) in NSW, as well as improving the health outcomes of people living with these infections. We are very grateful to all those who donated their time and expertise in taking part in interviews and to the organizations who have supported the investigators to contribute to this study, namely the Heterosexual HIV Service (Pozhet), Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre, and South Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Ethical approval was granted by the Sydney Local Health District (Royal Prince Alfred Zone) [X15-0275 & HREC/15/RPAH/376].

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Christy E. Newman
    • 1
  • Asha Persson
    • 1
  • Pene Manolas
    • 2
  • Heather-Marie Ann Schmidt
    • 3
  • Catriona Ooi
    • 4
    • 5
  • Alison Rutherford
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
  • John de Wit
    • 1
    • 9
  1. 1.Centre for Social Research in HealthUNSW SydneySydneyAustralia
  2. 2.Pozhet (Heterosexual HIV Service), NSW Health (Sydney Local Health District)SydneyAustralia
  3. 3.Centre for Population HealthNSW Ministry of HealthNorth SydneyAustralia
  4. 4.Western Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Western Sydney Local Health DistrictParramattaAustralia
  5. 5.Sydney Medical School—Westmead Clinical SchoolUniversity of SydneySydneyAustralia
  6. 6.Illawarra Sexual Health Services, NSW Health (Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District)WarrawongAustralia
  7. 7.School of Public Health and Community MedicineUNSW SydneySydneyAustralia
  8. 8.Graduate Medicine, University of WollongongWollongongAustralia
  9. 9.Department of Interdisciplinary Social ScienceUtrecht UniversityUtrechtNetherlands

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