Focusing on Sexual Health Promotion to Enhance Preventive Behaviors among Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: Report from a State-of-the-Art Conference

Excerpt

HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to spread among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) at concerning rates, despite public health efforts to decrease transmission [1, 2]. This ongoing concentrated epidemic suggests that researchers and program specialists need to review which prevention interventions are working for MSM, and which are not. Using this information, we must develop more effective, culturally-tailored prevention interventions as well as ask new research questions. With these imperatives in mind, The Fenway Institute, Boston, MA (http://​www.​thefenwayinstitu​te.​org) convened the Sexual Health of Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): HIV/STD Prevention Plus Conference, in April 2010, bringing together 97 leading American researchers, community stakeholders, and public health officials to discuss the current state of knowledge on the sexual health of American MSM and the implications of these findings for HIV/STD prevention programs and further research. We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to share many of the key reports and findings from the conference through this supplemental issue of AIDS and Behavior. …