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. 2024 Jan 21:17:11786329231224620.
doi: 10.1177/11786329231224620. eCollection 2024.

Disclosure Concerns and the Correlation Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Taiwan

Tzy-Yu Yao  1 , Bo-Huang Liou  2 , Wu-Chien Chien  3 , Fei-Ling Wu  4   5
Affiliations

Disclosure Concerns and the Correlation Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Taiwan

Tzy-Yu Yao et al. Health Serv Insights. .

Abstract

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are associated with the widespread human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in Taiwan. Additionally, little is known about disclosure patterns and rates, as well as factors influencing disclosure, among GBMSM living with HIV in the country. HIV prevention for GBMSM is effective when HIV status is disclosed. For instance, GBMSM disclosing their HIV status can result in early pre-exposure prophylaxis with a serodiscordant partner. In this cross-sectional study of 200 GBMSM living with HIV conducted from June to November 2020, we assessed internalized homophobia (IHP Scale) and social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), as well as self-reported disclosure and non-disclosure. Among the participants, 75.5% revealed their HIV status within 3 months of diagnosis. Younger age, occupation type, and number of sexual partners were some factors associated with disclosure. Those receiving more social support and who experienced less IHP were more likely to reveal their HIV status. On the contrary, older GBMSM and GBMSM living with HIV who worked in educational enterprises still experienced severe IHP. Policymakers and healthcare practitioners should be aware of the problems faced by GBMSM living with HIV and offer practical assistance to improve their mental health.

Keywords: Gay; HIV status disclosure; and other men who have sex with men; bisexual; internalized homophobia; social support.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison of HIV-positive status disclosure rate and patterns before and after “early access to ART for all.” Patterns of disclosure are categorized as disclosure rate, timing of disclosure, and the first person disclosed to (eg, sexual parents, close friends, and siblings).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of HIV-positive disclosure patterns before and after “early access to ART for all.” Patterns of disclosure are categorized as motivations for disclosure.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Variations in the CD4 counts before and after disclosure of HIV-positive status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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