HIV Diagnosis, Linkage to Care, and Retention among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Guatemala City

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Health Care Poor Underserved
• Personal Author:
  Barrington, Clare ; Knudston, Kelly ; Bailey, Olga Alicia Paz ; Aguilar, Jose Manuel ; Loya-Montiel, Marilu Itzel ; Morales-Miranda, Sonia
• Description:
  Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women are disproportionately affected by HIV in Guatemala, yet little is known about their experiences with diagnosis, linkage to care, and retention. We conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 26 MSM and transgender women living with HIV in Guatemala City. HIV diagnosis experiences changed over time with increasing asymptomatic testing at non-governmental organizations. Fear of the physical and social impacts of HIV delayed testing, acceptance of diagnosis, and linkage to HIV care. These fears were driven by layered stigma and discrimination due to non-normative gender expressions and / or sexual orientation. Retention-specific determinants included HIV clinic dynamics and limited employment opportunities. There is an urgent need to improve support systems for early testing and linkage to care and to expand employment opportunities. Stigma and discrimination must be addressed at the family, clinic and contextual levels to reduce fear of diagnosis and improve access to care.
• Subjects:
  Adult Female Guatemala HIV Infections Homosexuality, Male Humans Male Social Stigma Transgender Persons Young Adult
• Keywords:
  HIV Care Continuum HIV Diagnosis Linkage To HIV Care Men Who Have Sex With Men Retention In HIV Care Stigma Transgender Women
• Source:
  J Health Care Poor Underserved. 27(4):1745-1760
• Pubmed ID:
  27818436
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5495098
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  P2C HD050924/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R24 HD050924/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U2R GH000575/GH/CGH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; PEPFAR/PEPFARUnited States/
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:29da2f9fc6b0ce65278cfe579df1fa642144d3020002c906f9e2ad72e62ab7c9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/46666/cdc_46666_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 86.48 KB ]