ABSTRACT

HIV incidence among African American (AA) young men who have sex with men (YMSM) has remained stable even though they made up the largest number of new HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 2017. HIV spreads at increased rates in dense sexual networks. Identifying the location of risk behaviors “activity spaces” could inform geographically circumscribed HIV prevention interventions. Utilizing the modified social ecological model we completed five semi-structured focus groups incorporating a modified social mapping technique, based on Singer et al.’s approach. Participants included 27 AA YMSM. Focus groups explored how and where HIV transmission happens in Jackson, Mississippi. Result themes included: 1) location of sexual behaviors, 2) knowledge of geographic hotspots of HIV infection in Jackson, and 3) traveling to meet partners: at home and away. HIV transmission or “activity spaces” may be occurring outside identified HIV hot spots. Mixed geospatial and qualitative methods offered a comprehensive assessment of where HIV transmission occurs, and suggests that geographically circumscribed interventions may need to focus on where individuals living with HIV reside and in specific geographic locations where they engage in behaviors that raise their HIV acquisition risks.

摘要

尽管非裔美国 (AA) 男男性行为青年 (YMSM) 的艾滋病毒感染率在 2017 年男男性行为者 (MSM) 中新增艾滋病毒确诊人数中占比最大，但他们的艾滋病毒感染率仍保持稳定。艾滋病毒传播速度不断加快密集性网络中的比率。确定危险行为“活动空间”的位置可以为地理上有限的艾滋病毒预防干预措施提供信息。利用修改后的社会生态模型，我们基于 Singer 等人的方法，完成了五个半结构化焦点小组，其中结合了修改后的社会绘图技术。参与者包括 27 名 AA YMSM。焦点小组探讨了密西西比州杰克逊市艾滋病毒传播的方式和地点。结果主题包括：1) 性行为地点，2) 对杰克逊艾滋病毒感染地理热点的了解，以及 3) 去见伴侣的情况：在家和外出。HIV 传播或“活动空间”可能发生在已确定的 HIV 热点之外。混合地理空间和定性方法对艾滋病毒传播发生的地点进行了全面评估，并表明地理限制的干预措施可能需要重点关注艾滋病毒感染者居住的地方以及他们从事增加艾滋病毒感染风险的行为的特定地理位置。