“That’s Only for Women”: The Importance of Educating HIV-Positive Sexual Minority Men on HPV and High Resolution Anoscopy (HRA)

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Catherine Finneran, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Jason Johnson Peretz, University of California, San Francisco; Danielle Blemur, Emory University School of Medicine; Joel Palefsky, University of California, San Francisco; Lisa Flowers, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-01-01
• Publisher: SAGE Publishing
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2021
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23259582211016134
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
• Volume: 20
• Start Page: 23259582211016134
• End Page: 23259582211016134
• Grant/Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the Cervical Cancer Foundation and the Anal Cancer HSIL Outcomes Research Study (ANCHOR), grant number: UM1CA121947.
• Keywords: Language; HPV; sexual health; attitutdes; Humans; knowledge; anoscopy; Homosexuality, Male; MSM; Papillomavirus Infections; Rectal Neoplasms; Papillomaviridae; sexual minority; HRA; high-resolution; Male; HIV Infections; Female; human immunodeficiency virus; human papillomavirus; Anus Neoplasms; HIV; Sexual and Gender Minorities
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) experience disproportionately high burdens of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)-associated anal cancers. Recent focus has shifted to anorectal cancer prevention through high-resolution anoscopy (HRA); however, little is known about sexual minority men’s perceptions, attitudes, or beliefs regarding HRA. We conducted 4 qualitative Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) (n = 15) with sexual minority men, focusing on their beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of undergoing HRA. Participants discussed their experiences of HPV/HRA as influenced by both their gender and sexuality, including unawareness of HPV disease as a male health issue, challenges relating to female-oriented HPV/HRA language, conception of HPV/HRA as related to prostate health, and connecting their sexual behavior identification as “bottoms” to their need for HRA. As efforts to improve HRA knowledge, access, and uptake among sexual and gender minority communities increase, special attention should be paid to language and messaging choices around HRA.