Potential Obstacles that may Hinder the Implementation of the Prevention and Health Promotion Activities
There are scarce resources, criminalization of MSM individuals, prejudice, and lack of recognition for MSM communities. Prejudice, threats, as well as violence, meted out against MSM people subvert HIV prevention, care, as well as treatment. When MSM individuals are criminalized, they do not come out openly, especially if they fear for their safety. The men cannot disclose having male sex partners. Men might not want to seek services from healthcare providers if they fear or have experienced violence owing to their sexual orientation. Therefore, it might not be easy to know the challenges that they go through. Introducing health promotion interventions that might be appropriate for them also becomes difficult.
Similarly, governmental agencies and ethics institutions’ legal prohibition prohibits research on the most effective ways of delivering appropriate and effective preventive services. Prohibitive laws mean that any attempts to intervene in the challenges of MSM are not likely to succeed. Besides, guidelines describing ethical and not ethical sex mean that MSM would always conceal their identities to avoid potential embarrassment for going against cultural and societal norms.
Costs for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications for MSM can be prohibitive. Without a doubt, the costs to individuals and healthcare systems are critical in implementing PrEP. Long funding lists and large segments of individuals without insurance hinder the implementation.
Stakeholders, Individuals, and Agencies to Collaborate with
Drug manufacturers are important stakeholders. I would collaborate by informing them of the need to manufacture cost-effective drugs. The other stakeholders are the insurance companies that should consider providing coverage for health conditions arising from MSM activities. Lastly, the counselors could provide counseling services to the MSM and educate them on the dangers they are exposed to.
Conclusion
The MSM population remains at risk of being infected with HIV. Despite the knowledge and information available to the population already, the existing social networks can influence the beliefs and norms of the members. Existing data from various sources indicate that while the population continues to face the challenge of HIV infection, nurses can play an important role in providing nursing care through counseling and education to help minimize the risks.
? References
1. Amirkhanian, Y. (2014). Social networks, sexual networks and HIV risk in men who have sex with men. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep., 11(1), 81–92.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-013-0194-4
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