1. Qualitative Findings on the Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Australian Gay and Bisexual Men: Community Belonging and Mental Well-being.
- Author
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Philpot, Steven P., Holt, Martin, Murphy, Dean, Haire, Bridget, Prestage, Garrett, Maher, Lisa, Bavinton, Benjamin R., Hammoud, Mohamed A., Jin, Fengyi, and Bourne, Adam
- Subjects
WELL-being ,COVID-19 ,SCIENTIFIC observation ,ATTITUDE (Psychology) ,COMMUNITIES ,GROUP identity ,PSYCHOLOGY of gay people ,QUALITATIVE research ,CONCEPTUAL structures ,SURVEYS ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,RESEARCH funding ,THEMATIC analysis ,BISEXUAL people ,MENTAL health services ,LONGITUDINAL method - Abstract
COVID-19 may threaten the already poor mental health outcomes of Australian gay and bisexual men and cut ties to important social/sexual networks and community. Qualitative research into the experiences of gay and bisexual men during COVID-19 regulations is currently sparse. We report on 489 responses to a qualitative free-text question asking Australian gay and bisexual men about the impacts of COVID-19 during April 2020. Issues pertinent to gay and bisexual men include lost ties to gay and bisexual social/sexual communities, spaces, and activities, which can reduce a sense of belonging to important sexual identity spaces, as well as significant mental well-being vulnerabilities. Reminiscing the collective response to HIV/AIDS, findings reinforce the value of gay and bisexual community organizations, spaces, and networks as supports for gay and bisexual men and emphasize the need for delivering mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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