MSM need more than just biomedical interventions

An article which appeared on the Plus News and African Press International websites, features comment on research which was presented at Anova’s Top2Btm symposium in Cape Town last week. Health4Men's Glenn de Swardt was among those quoted.

Research showed that men who have sex with men (MSM) were, due to biomedical factors, more likely to contract HIV than heterosexual men. Studies showed that social stigma is another aspect that prevents MSM from accessing prevention and treatment measures.

Glenn de Swardt, director of Health4Men elaborated on the facts of MSM, clarifying that heterosexual identifying MSM were different from gay men. While gay men formed their identity based on their choice of same-sex sexual partner, heterosexual MSM have sex with other men but would not necessarily label themselves as homosexual.

Attitudes of medical staff towards MSM were identified as a particular obstacle to MSM accessing HIV-related care. According to Nelis Grobbelaar, training needs to be aimed at sensitising healthcare practitioners to the issues encountered by MSM. Grobbelaar works on Anova’s West Coast and Winelands based project.

Source: Anova Health Institute.