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Home > Health Sciences > JHDRP > Vol. 7 (2014) > Iss. 6

 

Keywords

HIV risk behaviors; Non-Hispanic Black men; Non-injection drug users; Heterosexual men; Brooklyn; NY

Disciplines

Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Public Health

Abstract

Objective: To describe HIV risk factors among adult heterosexual Black men recruited from four barbershops located in high HIV seroprevalent neighborhoods of Brooklyn, NY.

Methods: Data on HIV-risk related behaviors and other characteristics were collected from barbershop clients. All participants (n=60) completed brief risk assessments; and a subset (n=22) also completed focus groups and/or individual interviews.

Results: Of the subset of 22 men, 68% were US born, 59% had been in jail/prison, 32% were unemployed; and during the 3 months before the interviews, 68% reported at least two partners and 45% reported unprotected vaginal or anal sex with two or more women. Emergent themes included: 1) the psychological function of multiple partnerships; 2) calculated risk taking regarding condom use; 3) the role of emotional attachment and partner trust in condom use; 4) low perceived HIV risk and community awareness; and 5) lack of relationship between HIV testing and safer sex practices.

Conclusions: Interventions among heterosexual Black men should focus not only on increasing HIV awareness and reducing sexual risk, but also on contextual and interpersonal factors that influence sexual risk.

Permissions

All authors of this manuscript have given permission for the manuscript entitled, “Perceptions of HIV Risk and Explanations of Sexual Risk Behavior Offered by Heterosexual Black Male Barbershop Patrons in Brooklyn, NY” to be submitted to the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice for consideration as an original Research Article in the special issue on sexual health among heterosexual communities of color across the life span. All authors of this manuscript have complied with the Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, as outlined by APHA. All authors of this manuscript have also taken due care to ensure the integrity of the work. No related papers from the same study have been submitted or published.

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