Central Clinical School, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Victoria, Australia.
PLoS One. 2019 Nov 8;14(11):e0224616. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224616. eCollection 2019.
Our primary study aimed to explore the experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) recently diagnosed with HIV and their partner notification practices. Themes relating to acceptance, and disclosure of, their HIV status strongly emerged during analysis in our larger study and are reported separately here.
Fifteen MSM participated in semi-structured interviews by phone or face to face about their experience of a recent HIV diagnosis. In this paper we report on how they received and accepted the diagnosis, who they disclosed their diagnosis to and what is needed to improve support for MSM recently diagnosed with HIV.
MSM's reactions to their HIV diagnosis ranged from shock, devastation and anger to a calm acceptance and feeling HIV would not have a significant impact on their lives. MSM who reported strong social support networks, or knew others with HIV, seemed better able to cope with and accept their diagnosis than those with fewer support networks. Due to prevailing stigma around HIV, most MSM were very selective about who they disclosed their status to, often only telling partners perceived to be at risk but no, or only few, close friends. Regardless of how well men accepted their diagnosis, most did not disclose their status to family members for fear of rejection or causing distress due to ideologies based on outdated information about HIV.
The prevailing stigma around HIV can have a significant impact on MSM's acceptance of, and willingness to disclose their HIV serostatus to others, and consequently the levels of professional and social support they receive. HIV-related stigma needs to be addressed through community campaigns which better educate the wider population about the current state of HIV prognosis and treatment.
我们的主要研究旨在探索最近被诊断出 HIV 的男男性行为者（MSM）的经历及其伴侣通知实践。在我们更大的研究中，分析中强烈出现了与接受和透露其 HIV 状况有关的主题，并在此分别报告。
15 名 MSM 通过电话或面对面的方式参加了有关他们最近 HIV 诊断经历的半结构化访谈。在本文中，我们报告了他们如何接受和接受诊断，向谁透露了诊断结果，以及需要什么来改善对最近被诊断出 HIV 的 MSM 的支持。
MSM 对 HIV 诊断的反应范围从震惊、绝望和愤怒到平静的接受和感觉 HIV 不会对他们的生活产生重大影响。报告拥有强大社会支持网络或认识其他 HIV 感染者的 MSM，似乎比那些拥有较少支持网络的人更能够应对和接受他们的诊断。由于围绕 HIV 的普遍污名，大多数 MSM 在向谁透露他们的状况时非常挑剔，通常只告诉那些被认为有风险的伴侣，但没有或只有少数亲密朋友。无论 MSM 对诊断的接受程度如何，由于基于过时的 HIV 信息的意识形态，他们大多数都不愿向家人透露他们的状况，担心被拒绝或引起痛苦。
围绕 HIV 的普遍污名会对 MSM 对自己 HIV 状况的接受程度和向他人透露状况的意愿产生重大影响，进而影响他们获得的专业和社会支持水平。需要通过社区运动来解决与 HIV 相关的污名问题，这些运动可以更好地向更广泛的人群宣传当前 HIV 预后和治疗的现状。
