Publication:
Gay men’s perceptions of sexually transmissible infections and their experiences of diagnosis: ‘part of the way of life’ to feeling ‘dirty and ashamed’

dc.contributor.author Holt, Martin en_US
dc.contributor.author Bernard, D. en_US
dc.contributor.author Race, K. en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2021-11-25T16:46:49Z
dc.date.available 2021-11-25T16:46:49Z
dc.date.issued 2010 en_US
dc.description.abstract Background: Gay men are considerably more likely than their heterosexual peers to be diagnosed with a sexually transmissible infection (STI), yet relatively little has been published on gay men's perceptions of STIs other than HIV. Methods: Drawing on interviews conducted with Sydney gay men, we analysed perceptions of STIs and men's experiences of testing and diagnosis. Results: Over half the men in the study had ever been diagnosed with an STI. STIs were generally regarded as inconvenient consequences of sexual activity. Viral, recurring STIs were viewed as more serious than curable, bacterial STIs. However, all STIs were considered as considerably less important than HIV. Condom use and regular STI testing were the most commonly used strategies to manage the risk of STIs. Despite the relative lack of concern attributed to STIs, being diagnosed with an STI could generate feelings of shame, embarrassment and annoyance. For some men, education campaigns appeared to have helped destigmatise STIs and encourage regular testing. Conclusions: We believe that to maintain high rates of STI testing among gay men, community education efforts should continue to reduce the stigma associated with STIs and greater support should be offered to gay men when they receive an STI diagnosis. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1448-5028 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/50375
dc.language English
dc.language.iso EN en_US
dc.rights CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 en_US
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ en_US
dc.source Legacy MARC en_US
dc.subject.other Qualitative research en_US
dc.subject.other Gay men en_US
dc.subject.other Sexually transmitted infections en_US
dc.subject.other Stigma en_US
dc.subject.other Shame en_US
dc.title Gay men’s perceptions of sexually transmissible infections and their experiences of diagnosis: ‘part of the way of life’ to feeling ‘dirty and ashamed’ en_US
dc.type Journal Article en
dcterms.accessRights metadata only access
dspace.entity.type Publication en_US
unsw.accessRights.uri http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_14cb
unsw.description.notePublic http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1071/SH09117 en_US
unsw.identifier.doiPublisher http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1071/SH09117 en_US
unsw.relation.faculty Arts Design & Architecture
unsw.relation.ispartofissue 4 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofjournal Sexual Health en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofpagefrompageto 411-416 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofvolume 7 en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Holt, Martin, National Centre in HIV Social Research, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Bernard, D. en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Race, K. en_US
unsw.relation.school Centre for Social Research in Health *
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