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Migration, Neighborhoods, and Networks: Approaches to Understanding How Urban Environmental Conditions Affect Syndemic Adverse Health Outcomes Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

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Abstract

Adopting socioecological, intersectionality, and lifecourse theoretical frameworks may enhance our understanding of the production of syndemic adverse health outcomes among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). From this perspective, we present preliminary data from three related studies that suggest ways in which social contexts may influence the health of MSM. The first study, using cross-sectional data, looked at migration of MSM to the gay resort area of South Florida, and found that amount of time lived in the area was associated with risk behaviors and HIV infection. The second study, using qualitative interviews, observed complex interactions between neighborhood-level social environments and individual-level racial and sexual identity among MSM in New York City. The third study, using egocentric network analysis with a sample of African American MSM in Baltimore, found that sexual partners were more likely to be found through face-to-face means than the Internet. They also observed that those who co-resided with a sex partner had larger networks of people to depend on for social and financial support, but had the same size sexual networks as those who did not live with a partner. Overall, these findings suggest the need for further investigation into the role of macro-level social forces on the emotional, behavioral, and physical health of urban MSM.

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Notes

  1. We define “men of color” here as men who self-identify or are identified by society as African American or Black, Latino, Asian or multi-ethnic/race.

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Acknowledgments

The following individuals contributed to the design and/or conduct of the parent studies described here, including: STUDY #1: James Inciardi, Ron Stall, Hilary L. Surratt, Gustavo Aguilera, Douglas Maesk, Matthew Bradley, Mance Buttram, John Crane, Luis DeJesus, Manh Nguyen, and Christopher Stults (Miami). This study was support by Grant Number R01DA024579 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. STUDY #2: John Beard, Magdalena Cerda, Sandro Galea, Mary H. Latka, Hong Van Tieu and David Vlahov (New York City). This study was supported by grant number R01 HD059729 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. STUDY #3: Melissa Davey-Rothwell, Joanne Jenkins, Errol Fields, Tia Zeno, Danielle German (Baltimore). The LAAMP Study Team also wishes to acknowledge all of the study participants who volunteered for this project and the study staff and facilitators for their commitment to the success of this project. We would like to acknowledge and thank the CDC Study Team: Pilgrim Spikes, Jocelyn Patterson, Stephen A. Flores, Heather Joseph, David Purcell, Greg Millett, Cathy Zhang, and Helen Ding. This study was supported by a cooperative agreement between Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1 UR6 PS000355-01). Finally, we would like to thank Hilary Goldhammer for her assistance in the editing and preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    James E. Egan

  2. Laboratory of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, USA

    Victoria Frye

  3. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Victoria Frye

  4. Division of Applied Interdisciplinary Studies, Nova Southeastern University, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Steven P. Kurtz & Minxing Chen

  5. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

    Carl Latkin, Karin Tobin & Cui Yang

  6. Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, USA

    Beryl A. Koblin

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  1. James E. Egan
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Correspondence to Victoria Frye.

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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Author Contributions: Authors of each study are listed as footnotes in each section.

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Egan, J.E., Frye, V., Kurtz, S.P. et al. Migration, Neighborhoods, and Networks: Approaches to Understanding How Urban Environmental Conditions Affect Syndemic Adverse Health Outcomes Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men. AIDS Behav 15 (Suppl 1), 35–50 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-9902-5

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