Contrasting the Perceived Severity of COVID-19 and HIV Infection in an Online Survey of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men During the U.S. COVID-19 Epidemic

While there is evidence of variations in the risk perceptions of COVID-19 and that they are linked to both engagement in health-protective behaviors and poor mental health outcomes, there has been a lack of attention to how individuals perceive the risk of COVID-19 relative to other infectious diseases. This paper examines the relative perceptions of the severity of COVID-19 and HIV among a sample of U.S. gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSMs). The "Love and Sex in the Time of COVID-19" survey was conducted online from April 2020 to May 2020. GBMSMs were recruited through paid banner advertisements featured on social networking platforms, resulting in a sample size of 696. The analysis considers differences in responses to two scales: the Perceived Severity of HIV Infection and the Perceived Severity of COVID-19 Infection. Participants perceived greater seriousness for HIV infection (mean 46.67, range 17-65) than for COVID-19 infection (mean 38.81, range 13-62). Some items reflecting more proximal impacts of infection (anxiety, loss of sleep, and impact on employment) were similar for HIV and COVID-19. Those aged over 25 and those who perceived higher prevalence of COVID-19 in the United States or their state were more likely to report COVID-19 as more severe than HIV. There is a need to develop nuanced public health messages for GBMSMs that convey the ongoing simultaneous health threats of both HIV and COVID-19.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:14

Enthalten in:

American journal of men's health - 14(2020), 5 vom: 16. Sept., Seite 1557988320957545

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Stephenson, Rob [VerfasserIn]
Chavanduka, Tanaka M D [VerfasserIn]
Rosso, Matthew T [VerfasserIn]
Sullivan, Stephen P [VerfasserIn]
Pitter, Renée A [VerfasserIn]
Hunter, Alexis S [VerfasserIn]
Rogers, Erin [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
Comparative Study
Gay and bisexual men
HIV
Health threat
Journal Article

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 29.09.2020

Date Revised 29.03.2024

published: Print

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1177/1557988320957545

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM315098708