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theses

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are the population most affected by HIV in the United States. When we look at geographic regions across the United States, among persons living with HIV, the largest percentage of persons with undiagnosed HIV infection is in the Midwest (15.4%), followed by the South (15.1%), West (14.4%), and Northeast (9.5%). Although stigma has been well documented among MSM, the literature is largely fragmented in the United States, on the risk of HIV infection, access to prevention, care and treatment services, and its associated health outcomes. Studies have been conducted to assess the prevalence of these undisclosed infections however, at present, there is no published study comparing and evaluating the association of stigma and undiagnosed HIV infections among MSM across the major cities in United States. Specific aims of this dissertation are: (1) To do a scoping review of the literature that documents links between stigma and the risk of HIV, access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services, and related health outcomes in key population specifically among HIV-positive and HIV-negative MSM in the United States; (2) To assess the proportion and distribution of undiagnosed HIV infection in MSM and to further examine the aggregate relationship between experienced stigma, perceived HIV stigma and undiagnosed HIV infections among this high-risk population while making comparisons among 8 different tiered cities in the United States; (3) Based on the results from the second study, to then compare the demographic characteristics and risk factors of two diverse cities in the United States in order to identify whether location/ social context and stigma play a role in undiagnosed HIV infections among MSM.

http://dissertations.umi.com/gsnb.rutgers:11677

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-e9k6-nm35

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