Charles Collins and Camilla Harshbarger
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813034317
- eISBN:
- 9780813039312
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034317.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Social Groups
Several researchers have identified an increase in risk-taking behaviors by men who have sex with men (MSM) and rates of HIV infection that continue to be unacceptably high. The national diffusion ...
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Several researchers have identified an increase in risk-taking behaviors by men who have sex with men (MSM) and rates of HIV infection that continue to be unacceptably high. The national diffusion and implementation of evidence-based behavioral interventions for gay men to facilitate and maintain safer sexual behaviors is an important strategy for reducing the spread of HIV. Five practical barriers during diffusion have been identified. First, some community-based organizations (CBOs) did not provide incentives for participation in behavioral interventions. Second, some interventions were conceptually complex or difficult to implement, or both. Third, some agencies lacked the capacity to implement complex interventions. Fourth, some CBOs could not bear the costs of some of the interventions. Fifth, difficulty in adapting the intervention to local conditions and populations was an immediate and persistent theme. This chapter also considers five interventions listed in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Compendium that have been proven efficacious for MSM: Popular Opinion Leader, AIDS Community Demonstration Project (Community PROMISE), Mpowerment, Small Group Lecture Plus Skills Training, and Behavioral Self-Management and Assertion Skills.Less
Several researchers have identified an increase in risk-taking behaviors by men who have sex with men (MSM) and rates of HIV infection that continue to be unacceptably high. The national diffusion and implementation of evidence-based behavioral interventions for gay men to facilitate and maintain safer sexual behaviors is an important strategy for reducing the spread of HIV. Five practical barriers during diffusion have been identified. First, some community-based organizations (CBOs) did not provide incentives for participation in behavioral interventions. Second, some interventions were conceptually complex or difficult to implement, or both. Third, some agencies lacked the capacity to implement complex interventions. Fourth, some CBOs could not bear the costs of some of the interventions. Fifth, difficulty in adapting the intervention to local conditions and populations was an immediate and persistent theme. This chapter also considers five interventions listed in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Compendium that have been proven efficacious for MSM: Popular Opinion Leader, AIDS Community Demonstration Project (Community PROMISE), Mpowerment, Small Group Lecture Plus Skills Training, and Behavioral Self-Management and Assertion Skills.