Sexual Risk Reduction Among HIV-Positive Drug-Using Men Who Have Sex With Men

Abstract

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, the majority of new HIV infections are the direct result of unprotected sexual relations between serodiscordant individuals. Thus, the development of behavioral interventions to increase the safer sex practices of HIV-positive individuals has the potential to reduce the number of new infections. Currently, less than 1% of the total US population is infected with HIV. Targeting behavioral interventions to this smaller group of HIV-positive individuals has the potential for making cost-effective reductions in the number of new infections. Despite reports that some HIV-positive individuals continue to engage in high-risk behaviors, interventions designed to prevent secondary transmission of HIV are rare. In this era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), interventions for HIV-positive individuals are more critical than ever to address the unique challenges and issues they face regarding disclosure and partner notification, use of HAART and sexual risk behavior, and HIV-related stigma. Although a growing number of reports document the efficacy of sexual risk reduction interventions for HIV-positive individuals, to date none of these studies have focused on drug-using populations. This article focuses on sexual risk reduction interventions for HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), the largest group of HIV-positive individuals in the United States. It reviews factors associated with high-risk behaviors and discusses some findings from research with HIV-positive methamphetamine users, including (1) data from a small qualitative study and its implications for the development of new interventions, and (2) baseline data from an ongoing large-scale study of the efficacy of a theory-based sexual risk reduction intervention for HIV-positive methamphetamine-using MSM. The article concludes with a discussion of future research issues, including, for example: Can sexual risks be reduced in the context of active drug use? Are different patterns of drug use, or specific drugs, associated with increased risk behavior? How do gender, race, and culture relate to the efficacy of specific interventions?