An 'elephant in the Room'? Stigma and Hepatitis C Transmission Among HIV-positive 'serosorting' Gay Men

Overview

Journal Cult Health Sex

Publisher Informa Healthcare

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2008 Jul 24

PMID 18649198

Citations 16

Authors

Gareth Owen

Affiliations

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Abstract

Recent research has highlighted concerns about sexually transmitted infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in populations of HIV-positive men who have sex with men. This paper presents results from a qualitative pilot study exploring the experience of stigma in HIV/HCV co-infected men. The preliminary findings suggest that HCV infection can be experienced as more stigmatising than HIV among gay and other men who have sex with men. This hierarchical stigmatisation complicates the disclosure of HCV infection, threatening the 'safety' of HIV serosorted unprotected sexual practice. Further research is required to explore the effect of stigma on HIV/HCV co-infected men, but these preliminary findings suggest that heath promotion initiatives are needed to counter hepatitis C stigma by raising awareness and facilitating greater empathetic ownership of hepatitis C as a gay community issue.

Citing Articles

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Kunzler-Heule P, Fierz K, Schmidt A, Rasi M, Bogdanovic J, Kocher A BMC Infect Dis. 2021; 21(1):319.

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Validation of a modified Berger HIV stigma scale for use among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Saine M, Moore T, Szymczak J, Bamford L, Barg F, Mitra N PLoS One. 2020; 15(2):e0228471.

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Hepatitis C risk perceptions and attitudes towards reinfection among HIV-diagnosed gay and bisexual men in Melbourne, Australia.

Schroeder S, Higgs P, Winter R, Brown G, Pedrana A, Hellard M J Int AIDS Soc. 2019; 22(5):e25288.

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A latent class approach to identify multi-risk profiles associated with phylogenetic clustering of recent hepatitis C virus infection in Australia and New Zealand from 2004 to 2015.

Bartlett S, Applegate T, Jacka B, Martinello M, Lamoury F, Danta M J Int AIDS Soc. 2019; 22(2):e25222.

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Changing the odds: motives for and barriers to reducing HCV-related sexual risk behaviour among HIV-infected MSM previously infected with HCV.

Lambers F, van der Veldt W, Prins M, Davidovich U BMC Infect Dis. 2018; 18(1):678.

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