Abstract
This article describes the association between substance use, sexual identity, and seeing a health care provider on a regular basis for 257 men who have sex with men (MSM). Data from in-person interviews were gathered from MSM who resided in Massachusetts between 2003 and 2007. A logistic regression analysis that controlled for demographic characteristics, health insurance status, HIV/AIDS status, drug use, and social support revealed that MSM who identified as heterosexual, compared with those who identified as gay or bisexual, were 60% less likely to access a health care provider on a regular basis. Further, the likelihood of seeing a provider regularly was 54% lower for MSM who had used illegal drugs in the past 30 days and 32% higher for MSM who had more social support. Study limitations and implications are discussed. copyright
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 452-459 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Substance Use and Misuse |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 8 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Hutson W. Inniss is the Vice President of Community and Organizational Development at Tapestry Health, Inc. He served as the director for Tapestry Health’s Among Men/For Men Project, funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Currently, he is the project director for the organization’s capacity development program, funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. He is a 2007 Fellow of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Association of Schools of Public Health’s Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership.
Keywords
- MSM
- health care utilization
- sexual identity
- social support
- substance use
