The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Although there are practices other than condomless anal intercourse that may result in HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men, very little is known about these ‘uncommon’ transmission explanations. To address this topic, the free text survey res...

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Main Authors: Callander, D., Prestage, G., Ellard, J., Triffitt, K., Brown, Graham, Down, I.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer New York LLC 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66789
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author Callander, D.
Prestage, G.
Ellard, J.
Triffitt, K.
Brown, Graham
Down, I.
author_facet Callander, D.
Prestage, G.
Ellard, J.
Triffitt, K.
Brown, Graham
Down, I.
author_sort Callander, D.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Although there are practices other than condomless anal intercourse that may result in HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men, very little is known about these ‘uncommon’ transmission explanations. To address this topic, the free text survey responses from 465 HIV positive gay men in Australia were thematically analysed; 123 participants offered uncommon explanations for their seroconversion. Men described several sexual acts they believed led to infection, categorised as adventurous sex (e.g., fisting) and foreplay (e.g., oral sex). Participants also identified mediating factors associated with their seroconversion, either internal (e.g., cum/pre-cum) or external (e.g., sores, illness) to sex. Finally, contextual forces associated with infection were also explored, namely physical spaces (e.g., sex on premises venues) or mental states (e.g., depression). While some uncommon explanations are unlikely to have resulted in HIV transmission, these accounts reveal the diverse and intersecting ways that men attempt to make sense of their seroconversion.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-667892018-05-18T08:04:21Z The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission Callander, D. Prestage, G. Ellard, J. Triffitt, K. Brown, Graham Down, I. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Although there are practices other than condomless anal intercourse that may result in HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men, very little is known about these ‘uncommon’ transmission explanations. To address this topic, the free text survey responses from 465 HIV positive gay men in Australia were thematically analysed; 123 participants offered uncommon explanations for their seroconversion. Men described several sexual acts they believed led to infection, categorised as adventurous sex (e.g., fisting) and foreplay (e.g., oral sex). Participants also identified mediating factors associated with their seroconversion, either internal (e.g., cum/pre-cum) or external (e.g., sores, illness) to sex. Finally, contextual forces associated with infection were also explored, namely physical spaces (e.g., sex on premises venues) or mental states (e.g., depression). While some uncommon explanations are unlikely to have resulted in HIV transmission, these accounts reveal the diverse and intersecting ways that men attempt to make sense of their seroconversion. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66789 10.1007/s10461-016-1289-x Springer New York LLC restricted
spellingShingle Callander, D.
Prestage, G.
Ellard, J.
Triffitt, K.
Brown, Graham
Down, I.
The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title_full The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title_fullStr The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title_full_unstemmed The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title_short The Road Less Travelled: Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men’s Explanations of ‘Uncommon’ Routes of HIV Transmission
title_sort road less travelled: exploring gay and bisexual men’s explanations of ‘uncommon’ routes of hiv transmission
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/66789