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Innovations in HIV Prevention Research and Practice through Community Engagement pp 55–75Cite as

Gay Community Involvement in HIV and STD Prevention: Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Should be Going

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Abstract

In the USA, gay and bisexual men, other men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender persons were initially, and continue to be, profoundly affected by the HIV Early in the pandemic, there was little political motivation in the larger mainstream community to act against an emerging pandemic that some referred to in a derogatory manner as the “gay plague.” Thus, some of the most innovative and successful HIV prevention and prevention-research efforts sprang from the creativity of gay men and their allies. Community partnerships of community leaders, community members, advocates and activists, and researchers emerged and provided needed care; initiated community-based educational and prevention programs; advocated for both drug development and expedited drug trials; and developed, implemented, and evaluated prevention strategies in the community. Simply, gay men wanted to provide the needed support and care to friends, neighbors, and other community members who were infected with and affected by HIV. In this chapter, we (1) review the role gay men and their allies have played in HIV-prevention research and practice over time as it relates to community-based participatory research (CBPR) today, (2) review the roots and development of CBPR to identify its relevance and place in the present, and (3) point to new directions or courses for social action, community-based prevention, and applications of CBPR to prevent HIV among gay and bisexual men, MSM, and transgender persons.

Disclosure: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop E-02, 30333, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Fred R. Bloom

  2. Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop E-40, 30333, Atlanta, GA, USA

    David K. Whittier

  3. Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., 27157, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Scott D. Rhodes

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Correspondence to Fred R. Bloom .

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  1. Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

    Scott D. Rhodes

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Bloom, F., Whittier, D., Rhodes, S. (2014). Gay Community Involvement in HIV and STD Prevention: Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Should be Going. In: Rhodes, S. (eds) Innovations in HIV Prevention Research and Practice through Community Engagement. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0900-1_4

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