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Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma

Purpose: The unique experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) residing in culturally conservative rural areas are not well represented in the scientific literature. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the United States has shifted toward rural areas where populations are disperse...

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Autores principales: Hubach, Randolph D., Currin, Joseph M., Giano, Zachary, Meyers, Hunter J., DeBoy, Kyle R., Wheeler, Denna L., Croff, Julie M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6608693/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31289783
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2018.0095
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author Hubach, Randolph D.
Currin, Joseph M.
Giano, Zachary
Meyers, Hunter J.
DeBoy, Kyle R.
Wheeler, Denna L.
Croff, Julie M.
author_facet Hubach, Randolph D.
Currin, Joseph M.
Giano, Zachary
Meyers, Hunter J.
DeBoy, Kyle R.
Wheeler, Denna L.
Croff, Julie M.
author_sort Hubach, Randolph D.
collection PubMed
description Purpose: The unique experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) residing in culturally conservative rural areas are not well represented in the scientific literature. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the United States has shifted toward rural areas where populations are dispersed and health care resources are limited. Methods: We recruited 40 sexual minority men, ages 22–66, residing in rural Oklahoma for in-depth, qualitative sexual health interviews that sought to understand how cultural and social environments impacted health behaviors. Findings: Participants described a stigmatizing social environment and less access to quality, sexual minority medical care within rural communities and perceived these as substantial barriers to enhancing health. Structural issues, including lack of sexual minority-affirming policies, institutional practices, and hostile cultural norms, were noted. Conclusions: Results indicate the need to develop greater awareness of stigma as an etiologic factor that contributes to the health of rural sexual minority populations, specifically when it relates to provision of culturally appropriate care.
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spelling pubmed-66086932019-07-09 Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma Hubach, Randolph D. Currin, Joseph M. Giano, Zachary Meyers, Hunter J. DeBoy, Kyle R. Wheeler, Denna L. Croff, Julie M. Health Equity Original Article Purpose: The unique experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) residing in culturally conservative rural areas are not well represented in the scientific literature. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the United States has shifted toward rural areas where populations are dispersed and health care resources are limited. Methods: We recruited 40 sexual minority men, ages 22–66, residing in rural Oklahoma for in-depth, qualitative sexual health interviews that sought to understand how cultural and social environments impacted health behaviors. Findings: Participants described a stigmatizing social environment and less access to quality, sexual minority medical care within rural communities and perceived these as substantial barriers to enhancing health. Structural issues, including lack of sexual minority-affirming policies, institutional practices, and hostile cultural norms, were noted. Conclusions: Results indicate the need to develop greater awareness of stigma as an etiologic factor that contributes to the health of rural sexual minority populations, specifically when it relates to provision of culturally appropriate care. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2019-05-20 /pmc/articles/PMC6608693/ /pubmed/31289783 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2018.0095 Text en © Randolph D. Hubach et al. 2019 Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Hubach, Randolph D.
Currin, Joseph M.
Giano, Zachary
Meyers, Hunter J.
DeBoy, Kyle R.
Wheeler, Denna L.
Croff, Julie M.
Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title_full Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title_fullStr Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title_full_unstemmed Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title_short Experiences of Stigma by Gay and Bisexual Men in Rural Oklahoma
title_sort experiences of stigma by gay and bisexual men in rural oklahoma
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6608693/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31289783
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2018.0095
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