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Psycho-social Correlates of Condom Use and HIV Testing among MSM Refugees in Beirut, Lebanon

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Abstract

MSM refugees have to deal with personal challenges and social/structural adversaries based on their refugee status on top of their sexual identity. To better customize interventions beside this population, we explored psycho-social and structural correlates of condom use and HIV testing in Lebanon by surveying and testing 150 participants. 67 % self-identified as gay. 84.6 % reported any unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with men in the prior 3 months. Those who engaged in UAI, were lest comfortable with a doctor, didn’t know where to get free HIV testing, experienced discrimination based on their refugee status and spent more time with their refugee peers, were less inclined to have seen a doctor in the past 12 month or knew where to get free HIV testing. Ever having been HIV tested was associated with being comfortable with medical doctors, knowing where to get HIV testing and spending time with other peer refugees. HIV prevention and testing promotion efforts targeting MSM refugees need to account for structural barriers, while fighting discrimination is crucial for a healthy sexual identity development.

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Acknowledgments

This paper could not have been written without the continuous support of all the LGBT research team at the University of Pittsburgh, and the other colleagues within the amfAR scholars program. Support from the University of Pittsburgh IRB and the Lebanese American University IRB in reviewing the protocols also deserve recognition, and financial support from the Foundation for AIDS research, amfAR. Acknowledgment and grateful recognition also is due to Marsa—sexual health center in Beirut, Lebanon for generously offering its premises as the site of data collection. I would like to finally acknowledge the support of the MSM refugee community in Beirut, especially the group of men who participated in the study, all of my colleagues and my personal research mentor, Dr. Glenn Wagner.

Funding

This paper was supported by two awards from amfAR—The Foundation for AIDS Research: 108471 “A training program for research among MSM in developing world settings” (Pittsburgh) and 108801 “HIV Research among MSM in Developing World Settings” (Lebanon).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. M-Coalition, Coalition of MSM and HIV activists in the MENA region, Beirut, Lebanon

    Johnny Tohme

  2. Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    James E. Egan & Ron Stall

  3. Graduate School of Public Health, Center for LGBT Health Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    James E. Egan, Mackey R Friedman & Ron Stall

  4. Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Mackey R Friedman

Authors
  1. Johnny Tohme
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  2. James E. Egan
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  3. Mackey R Friedman
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  4. Ron Stall
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Correspondence to Johnny Tohme.

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Conflict of Interest

Author Johnny Tohme declares that he has no conflict of interest. Co-authors James E Egan, Ronald Stall, and M. Reuel Friedman declare that they had no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent:

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. IRB approval for the study protocol was obtained from both the University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA and the Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.

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Tohme, J., Egan, J.E., Friedman, M.R. et al. Psycho-social Correlates of Condom Use and HIV Testing among MSM Refugees in Beirut, Lebanon. AIDS Behav 20 (Suppl 3), 417–425 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1498-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1498-3

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