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.
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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.
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Ethical approval was granted by the Sydney Local Health District (Royal Prince Alfred Zone) [X15-0275 & HREC/15/RPAH/376].
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Newman, C.E., Persson, A., Manolas, P. et al. “So Much Is at Stake”: Professional Views on Engaging Heterosexually Identified Men who Have Sex with Men with Sexual Health Care in Australia. Sex Res Soc Policy 15, 302–311 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0291-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0291-z