Injecting drug use among gay and bisexual men in Sydney: prevalence and associations with sexual risk practices and HIV and hepatitis C infection

Injecting drug use is commonly reported among gay and bisexual men in Australia. We examined the prevalence and covariates of injecting drug use among men participating in the Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey between 2004–06 and 2011. In 2004–06, data was collected about which drugs were injected, while in 2011, data was collected about hepatitis C (HCV) and esoteric sexual practices. In 2004–06, 5.6 % of men reported injecting drugs in the previous 6 months; 3.4 % reported methamphetamine injection and 0.4 % heroin injection. In 2011, men who injected drugs were less likely to be employed full-time, and more likely to be HCV-positive, HIV-positive, to have used party drugs for sex, and to have engaged in esoteric sexual practices. The strong associations between injecting drug use, sexual risk practices and blood-borne virus infection suggests the need for combined sexual health and harm reduction services for gay and bisexual men who inject drugs.     

Viewing oneself as a capable person – experiences of professionals working with older Finnish immigrants

The proportion of older immigrants in the population is expected to increase in Sweden. Research indicates that older immigrants face the double burden of frailty, caused by a weaker health status, and the immigration process. Health promotion interventions can be used to prevent frailty and support healthy ageing in this population. Healthcare professionals are a crucial part of health promotion and the present study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ experiences of health in context of daily life among older immigrants to and provide a basis for the development of a health promotion intervention targeted at older immigrants. Four focus group discussions were conducted with professionals who worked with home‐dwelling older people from Finland, currently living in Sweden. Participants represented a variety of healthcare professions. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The healthcare professionals perceived that health in daily life was (i) connected to the view of oneself as a capable person and (ii) participants strove to maintain their own origin. The findings highlighted that when planning for health promotion interventions for older immigrants, the point of departure should be to recognise the person as a person and the background of immigration is not the first issue to address. Therefore, a person‐centred health promotion intervention is recommended to open a dialogue between healthcare professionals and older immigrants, so that a common view of the intervention can be reached.     

Blaming Machismo: How the Social Imaginary is Failing Men with HIV in Santa Cruz,Bolivia

Drawing from an ethnography of HIV care in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in this article I explore how the social imaginary surrounding gender relations shapes men’s experiences of seeking care for and living with HIV. Popular understandings of gender relations, which draw heavily on the machismo concept, intersect with a global health master narrative that frames women as victims in the AIDS epidemic in a way that generates a strong sentiment of blaming machismo within local HIV/AIDS-related services. Statements such as, “it’s because of machismo” are used to explain away epidemiological trends. Participant observation in the context of HIV care, coupled with illness narrative interviews, illuminate how blaming machismo shapes men’s experiences of care and the ways that they feel excluded from various forms of support. Thus, the illness experiences of men with HIV problematize the machismo concept and how it is drawn upon in the context of care.