tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141703.post3371754639780645044..comments2024-02-21T17:03:05.861-08:00Comments on Petrelis Files: Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08359712473083091475noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141703.post-63449519556493236372013-05-29T17:22:53.983-07:002013-05-29T17:22:53.983-07:00There is no way to put lipstick on this pig:
&quo...There is no way to put lipstick on this pig:<br /><br />"Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM)a represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV. In 2010, MSM accounted for 63% of all new HIV infections, and MSM with a history of injection drug use (MSM-IDU) accounted for an additional 3% of new infections. That same year, young MSM (aged 13-24 years) accounted for 72% of new HIV infections among all persons aged 13 to 24, and 30% of new infections among all MSM. At the end of 2010, an estimated 489,121 (56%) persons living with an HIV diagnosis in the United States were MSM or MSM-IDU." http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/gender/msm/facts/index.html.<br /><br />That being the case, it's understandable that public health authorities use overly-dramatic PSAs to get the message out there, but I think that the people they are trying to reach simply block it out. Over the years, I have seen many public health campaigns around sexual health, some more effective, some less. The Sisters were among the first, and I see that the "Healthy Penis" is being restored. <br /><br />There is a limit to what the authorities can do to change behavior. If people want to kill themselves by having numerous, unsafe hookups, that's their choice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141703.post-38483375530722712402013-05-29T15:13:38.012-07:002013-05-29T15:13:38.012-07:00From DC, my friend and longtime health writer Bob ...From DC, my friend and longtime health writer Bob Roehr offers another point of view about HIV related ads and other matters:<br /><br />In this analysis I think you conveniently ignore all of the sunny ads for HIV drugs by pharma – which at least equal and probably far surpass in number, intensity, and impact the public health campaigns you cite as being negative. In fact, you have long, and rightly, criticized many of the pharma ads as painting too rosy a picture, like morning again on the mountaintop and competing in a triathlon.<br /><br />The argument also ignores the fact that much of a younger generation, views getting infected with HIV as not a big deal rather than as a stigmatizing event. They haven't reached that conclusion because of the negative ads you cite.<br /><br />If the “stigmatizing” ads were having an impact on the broader population, we would expect to see a reduction in new infections among the gay community. While that may be the case in San Francisco, it certainly is not the case on a national level where gay men/MSM is the only category that shows an increase in new infections.<br /><br />I'm not aware of any suicide data among those who are HIV positive (though that doesn't mean it doesn't exist). But the fact is, the peak in suicides later in life, primarily among men, is related to the occurrence of major illness. So one would expect it to be higher among the aging HIV+, particularly those who are not controlling their infection well.<br /><br />Perhaps a better focus would be to push for better access to mental health services, particularly those related to depression. Depression often is an underlying factor in suicide, and often in major illness. Destigmaizing mental health and improving those services would seem to be a more productive line of activity. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08359712473083091475noreply@blogger.com