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Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that economic, social, and psychological circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic may have a serious impact on behavioral health. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionally impacted by HIV and stimulant use, the co-occurrence of which heightens HI...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
JMIR Publications
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9159464/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35275839 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30897 |
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author | Petrova, Mariya Miller-Perusse, Michael Hirshfield, Sabina Carrico, Adam Horvath, Keith |
author_facet | Petrova, Mariya Miller-Perusse, Michael Hirshfield, Sabina Carrico, Adam Horvath, Keith |
author_sort | Petrova, Mariya |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that economic, social, and psychological circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic may have a serious impact on behavioral health. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionally impacted by HIV and stimulant use, the co-occurrence of which heightens HIV transmission risk and undermines nationwide treatment strategies as prevention efforts for ending the HIV epidemic. There is a paucity of information regarding the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the substance use and HIV medication adherence in this key vulnerable population—MSM who use stimulants and are living with HIV. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this qualitative study was to identify ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected stimulant use and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among a sample of MSM living with HIV. METHODS: Two focus groups were conducted in August 2020 via videoconferencing technology compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Potential participants from an established research participant registry at State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University were invited and screened for study participation on the basis of inclusion criteria. A semistructured interview guide was followed. A general inductive approach was used to analyze the data. Findings in two general areas of interest, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stimulant use and ART adherence, emerged directly from the raw data. RESULTS: A total of 12 ethnically diverse participants over the age of 25 years took part in the study. Results were heterogeneous in terms of the effects of the pandemic on both stimulant use and ART adherence among MSM living with HIV. Some men indicated increased or sustained stimulant use and ART adherence, and others reported decreased stimulant use and ART adherence. Reasons for these behavioral changes ranged from concerns about their own health and that of their loved ones to challenges brought about by the lack of daily structure during the lockdown phase of the pandemic and emotion regulation difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a differential impact on stimulant use and ART medication adherence among MSM living with HIV. The reasons for behavioral change identified in this study may be salient intervention targets to support ART medication adherence and lower stimulant use among MSM in the aftermath of the of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as beyond. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9159464 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | JMIR Publications |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-91594642022-06-02 Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study Petrova, Mariya Miller-Perusse, Michael Hirshfield, Sabina Carrico, Adam Horvath, Keith JMIR Form Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that economic, social, and psychological circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic may have a serious impact on behavioral health. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionally impacted by HIV and stimulant use, the co-occurrence of which heightens HIV transmission risk and undermines nationwide treatment strategies as prevention efforts for ending the HIV epidemic. There is a paucity of information regarding the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the substance use and HIV medication adherence in this key vulnerable population—MSM who use stimulants and are living with HIV. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this qualitative study was to identify ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected stimulant use and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among a sample of MSM living with HIV. METHODS: Two focus groups were conducted in August 2020 via videoconferencing technology compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Potential participants from an established research participant registry at State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University were invited and screened for study participation on the basis of inclusion criteria. A semistructured interview guide was followed. A general inductive approach was used to analyze the data. Findings in two general areas of interest, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stimulant use and ART adherence, emerged directly from the raw data. RESULTS: A total of 12 ethnically diverse participants over the age of 25 years took part in the study. Results were heterogeneous in terms of the effects of the pandemic on both stimulant use and ART adherence among MSM living with HIV. Some men indicated increased or sustained stimulant use and ART adherence, and others reported decreased stimulant use and ART adherence. Reasons for these behavioral changes ranged from concerns about their own health and that of their loved ones to challenges brought about by the lack of daily structure during the lockdown phase of the pandemic and emotion regulation difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a differential impact on stimulant use and ART medication adherence among MSM living with HIV. The reasons for behavioral change identified in this study may be salient intervention targets to support ART medication adherence and lower stimulant use among MSM in the aftermath of the of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as beyond. JMIR Publications 2022-05-31 /pmc/articles/PMC9159464/ /pubmed/35275839 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30897 Text en ©Mariya Petrova, Michael Miller-Perusse, Sabina Hirshfield, Adam Carrico, Keith Horvath. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 31.05.2022. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. |
spellingShingle | Original Paper Petrova, Mariya Miller-Perusse, Michael Hirshfield, Sabina Carrico, Adam Horvath, Keith Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title | Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title_full | Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title_fullStr | Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title_full_unstemmed | Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title_short | Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stimulant Use and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV: Qualitative Focus Group Study |
title_sort | effect of the covid-19 pandemic on stimulant use and antiretroviral therapy adherence among men who have sex with men living with hiv: qualitative focus group study |
topic | Original Paper |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9159464/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35275839 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30897 |
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