Abstract
To assess whether HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) have realistic views of the current implications of living with HIV, we compared data of 950 tested HIV-negative and 122 never-tested MSM on anticipated consequences of an HIV-infection to the actual experiences of 438 MSM living with HIV. Data were collected with a self-reported, web-based survey conducted between May-June 2019 in the Netherlands. Results indicated that, compared to HIV-positive MSM, HIV-negative MSM significantly overestimated 95% (37/39) of items assessing HIV-related burden. Never-tested participants overestimated 85% (33/39) of items. Overestimation in never-tested MSM was modified with increasing age and having HIV-positive friends/relatives. The high level of overestimation suggests the ongoing need to correct for misperceptions, as this could help reduce stigma towards those living with HIV and diminish fear of an HIV-diagnosis. The latter might be important to improve testing uptake in older never-tested MSM with outdated views on HIV.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3804-3813 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Aids and Behavior |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2021 |
Keywords
- Aged
- HIV Infections/epidemiology
- Homosexuality, Male
- Humans
- Male
- Sexual and Gender Minorities
- Social Stigma
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- HIV/AIDS
- CONCEPTUAL-FRAMEWORK
- Men who have sex with men
- AIDS
- Burden
- ATTITUDES
- Quality of life
- SAMPLE
- Social stigma
- INTERVENTIONS
- HIV
- DISCRIMINATION
- STIGMA
- HEALTH
- TESTING BEHAVIORS