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HIV Behavioral Interventions for Heterosexual African American Men: A Critical Review of Cultural Competence

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African Americans and HIV/AIDS

Abstract

In the United States, the rate of HIV infection transmitted through high-risk heterosexual contact is disproportionately higher among African American than among persons of other races or ethnicities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2009). Therefore, African American men who have sex with women represent a critical target for behavioral interventions designed to reduce HIV incidence in this community. Among men in the United States, African Americans account for most of the HIV infections transmitted through high-risk heterosexual contact: African Americans, 63%; Hispanics, 21%; whites, 13% (CDC, 2009). In addition, nearly half (44%) of the recent HIV/AIDS cases among African American women, were acquired through high-risk heterosexual contact (CDC, 2009). Because most sexual-partner networks are intraracial (Laumann, Ellingson, Mahay, Paik, & Youm, 2004), interventions that reduce high-risk sexual behaviors among heterosexual AA men are likely to reduce HIV infection in the African American community.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We will use the term “heterosexual African American men” to refer to African American men who have sex with woman (MSW). The authors are aware of the differences between sexual identity (i.e., heterosexual) and sexual behavior (men who have sex with women). However, we will use heterosexual to refer to MSW in this chapter.

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Henny, K.D., Williams, K.M., Patterson, J. (2010). HIV Behavioral Interventions for Heterosexual African American Men: A Critical Review of Cultural Competence. In: McCree, D.H., Jones, K.T., O'Leary, A. (eds) African Americans and HIV/AIDS. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78321-5_10

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