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Men living on the Down Low

Posted: Aug 27, 2008

QUESTION:

I have recently been doing some research on the "down low" phenomanen. Although our agency focuses primarily on "high-risk" groups of people and making them aware of the importance of testing, I wonder if we're missing a large portion of high-risk individuals. Those people that don't consider themselves "gay" and aren't drug users... They're church-going, career-minded, gym membership-having, "healthy" living husbands and fathers. Do you have any suggestions for how to reach this group of people? Do you think this group of people should be considered "high-risk"? Thank you.


  

RESPONSE FROM:   

    Hello and thanks for your post.

    I think that the best way to reach so-called at risk and not-so at-risk groups is to implement the now 2 year old recommendations for opt-out HIV testing for all persons in the US. Doing so will decrease the stigmatization of testing, since it is no different that checking one's cholesterol or other preventive medicine screening.

    Whether they're church-going, career-minded, gym membership-having, "healthy" living husbands and fathers or traditionally high risk groups (MSM, drug users, etc), HIV testing is simply part of preventive medicine.

    In my world (at least for HIV testing), I don't try to categorize persons as high- or low-risk. Rather, I categorize persons as committed (or not) to their health and the health of their loved ones.

    BY




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