Browsing by Author "Addo PNO"

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    The Impacts of Stigma Against Sexual Minority Men Within and Between Various Socioecological Levels: Breaking the Vicious Cycle in Zambia.
    (2023) Qiao S; Garrett CM; Addo PNO; Adeagbo O; Moore DM; Muttau N; Sharma A; Lwatula C; Ngosa L; Kabwe M; Manasyan A; Menon JA; Weissman S; Li X; Harper GW; School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.; Department of Epidemiology, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.; The Lotus Identity (TLI), Lusaka, Zambia.; University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; Department of Community and Behavioral Health, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Columbia, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.; Dignitate Zambia Limited (DZL), Lusaka, Zambia.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.; School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.; CIDRZ; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
    Sexual minority men (SMM) face persistent stigma in Zambia. From a holistic perspective, we aim to explore its impacts within and between multiple socioecological levels, demonstrating how their interactions create a vicious cycle of barriers to the well-being of SMM. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 purposively recruited SMM from Lusaka, Zambia. All interviews were audio-recorded, after written consent, transcribed verbatim, and iteratively coded employing inductive (i.e., data-driven) approaches for thematic analysis using NVivo. Results suggest three key themes: (1) interpersonal socially perpetuated sexual minority stigma (SMS); (2) multidirectional interactions between psychosocial well-being and risk-taking behaviors; and (3) institutionally perpetuated SMS as a barrier to seeking and receiving health care. SMS permeates across all levels of the socioecological model to negatively impact the psychosocial well-being of SMM while acting also as a barrier to accessing HIV prevention and care. Our study necessitates structural public health intervention to decrease stigma and discrimination against SMM in Zambia, in efforts to increase their psychosocial well-being as well as their access to and utilization of HIV care by breaking the vicious cycle of SMS that pervades through the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels of the socioecological model.