Responding to ambiguity: HIV communication campaigns for gay and bisexual African Americans

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that "men of color account for nearly 35% of all AIDS cases diagnosed among men who have sex with men" (U.S. Conference of Mayors and the U.S. Conference of Local Health Officers, 1993). These rates are particularly high among rural populations in the South (Berry, 1993; Lam & Lui, 1994). The purpose of the following discussion is to analyze communication strategies that are being used to respond to these high percentages among African American men who sleep with men (MWSWM), including those who do and do not identify as gay. ~ Toward that end, this article will lay out the central communication issues important for HIV education designed for these target populations and report the findings of a research project that examined prevention programs throughout Alabama, a state that has a troubled history of race relations and public health and is currently experiencing disproportionately high rates of HIV/AIDS among African American MWSWM. Research on the state's efforts reveals that prevention programs for these communities are rare, and those that do exist are in early stages of development; this discussion concludes with a presentation of a well established, successful program in nearby Atlanta to illust rate a future direction for outreach to African American MWSWM in the South/