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The HIV epidemic continues to expand in Russia, with suboptimal levels of care uptake. This qualitative study aimed to characterize social capital resources and lived stigma experiences, coping, and disclosure among care-nonadherent men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV in Russia. Twenty-five HIV-positive MSM – recruited online – completed in-depth interviews over Zoom, with data analyzed using MAXQDA software. Stigma was more likely to be encountered in interactions with persons with whom social ties were weaker such as medical providers and relatives, particularly males. Close friends – often other HIV-positive MSM and female relatives – were the most supportive and least stigmatizing. Similar persons were most often considered for HIV serostatus disclosure. Coping strategies to reduce the impact of stigma included ignoring stigmatizing experiences, seeking support from members of one's social circle, minimizing contact with stigmatizing persons, seeking new relationships with persons who are also HIV-positive, proactively reducing stigma through involvement in advocacy roles, and correcting myths and educating others about HIV infection. These findings underscore the need for interventions to assist HIV-positive MSM in building accepting social capital resources to reduce the impact of stigma and to build support within their social networks, often with other HIV-positive MSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black sexual minority men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States are at disparate risk for contracting HIV infection, but pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use is suboptimal. Social network methods were used to recruit a community sample of racial minority MSM and transgender women (TGW) in two Midwestern US cities. 250 PrEP-eligible (HIV-negative) participants completed measures assessing current and intended PrEP use; demographic characteristics; PrEP knowledge, attitudes, norms, stigma, and self-efficacy; and structural barriers to PrEP. Multivariate analyses established predictors of current and intended PrEP use. Only 12% of participants reported currently using PrEP, which was associated with greater PrEP knowledge and not having a main partner, with trends for greater PrEP use by younger participants and those with partners living with HIV. Among participants not currently on PrEP, strength of PrEP use intentions was associated with higher PrEP knowledge, PrEP descriptive social norms, and PrEP use self-efficacy. This study is among few to directly compare Black who have adopted PrEP with those who have not. Its findings underscore the potential benefits of employing social network approaches for strengthening PrEP use peer norms, increasing PrEP knowledge and self-efficacy, and optimizing PrEP uptake among racial minority MSM and TGW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) created life‐disrupting stressors that disproportionately burden disadvantaged communities with devastating impacts that extend far beyond the burden of the disease itself, including joblessness, housing and food insecurity, educational system upheavals, isolation due to disrupted relationships, worsened mental health and substance use and violence. Socially interconnected community members are resources whose efforts can be mobilised to improve COVID‐19 coping within their social networks. This research examined the feasibility, acceptability, and reach of a social media‐based peer influencer intervention for COVID‐19 coping. Over a 9‐month period in 2020, the project enrolled 1253 social influencers in Milwaukee—primarily ethnic and racial minorities—who regularly received and passed along messages to members of their social networks that provided advice about COVID‐19 pandemic coping, economic survival, health protection, mental health, family needs, social justice and other impacts. Messages were shared by influencers with others over social media and also text messages, phone calls and conversations. Facebook social media tracking metrics objectively measured the community reach of social influencers' messages. Quantitative surveys and qualitative follow‐up interviews with a subset of influencers also measured the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Social media monitoring metrics showed that, by the end of the project, influencers' messages reached an average of 7978 unique individuals per week and had an average of 13,894 total views per week, with more than 140,000 total cumulative organic impressions. More than half of social influencers indicated that—beyond Facebook message sharing—they shared COVID‐19 prevention, care, and coping messages with social network members in conversations, phone calls and text messages. Social influencers reported that they valued having the opportunity to help community members to cope with pandemic stressors by conveying practical COVID‐19 coping advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The proportion of people living with HIV (PLH) in care and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Russia is lower than in Sub‐Saharan Africa [1]. This is undoubtedly due to a variety of systems and structural issues related to poor treatment access, linkage and care delivery models. However, little research has explored the reasons that PLH are not in care from their own perspectives. This information can help to guide the development of approaches for improving HIV care engagement in the country. Materials and Methods: In‐depth interviews were undertaken with 80 PLH in St. Petersburg who had never been in HIV medical care, had previously been out of care, or had always been in care. Participants were recruited through online PLH forums and Websites, outreach needle exchange and non‐government organisation (NGO) programs, and chain referral. The interviews elicited detailed information about participants’ experiences and circumstances responsible for being out of care, and factors contributing to nonretention in HIV treatment. Verbatim transcriptions of the interviews were coded and analyzed using MAXQDA software to identify emerging themes. Results: Two types of care engagement barriers most often emerged. Some related to medical services, and others to the family and social environment. The most frequent medical service barriers were poor treatment infrastructure conditions and access; dissatisfaction with quality of services and medical staff; and concerns over confidentiality and HIV status disclosure. Social barriers were fears of potential harm to family relationships, negative consequences if status became known at work, and public stigmatization and myths associated having an HIV+ status. Social support from the PLH community and from family and close friends facilitated care engagement, as did motivation to take care of oneself and one's family. Most participants also described circumstances in which engaging into HIV care was brought about by an urgent issue (opportunistic infections) or was enforced through hospitalization or imprisonment. Trust in one's doctor and simply not wanting to die were also common motives. Conclusions: Stigma was a major barrier to care engagement, including fear that others would learn of one's HIV+ status, whether at work, in one's family, or in the general community. By contrast, support from family, friends and the PLH community contributed to care engagement., Reference UNAIDS. Together we will end AIDS: report preceding the Nineteenth International Conference on AIDS. Geneva: UNAIDS; 2012. DOI: [...]