Kyle W Jones, Alicia K Matthews, Chien-Ching Li, Zachary Dembo and Maria Vargas
Objective: There continues to be a large disparity in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to all other populations. Recent research suggests discriminatory laws may play a role in the health outcomes of the LGBT community. We hypothesized that discriminatory state-level relationship recognition, employment, and housing policies would predict a higher proportion of MSM among the population living with AIDS than heterosexuals while controlling for state-level healthcare quality and political orientation. Method: Data for the proportion of AIDS cases comprised of MSM and heterosexuals were collected for 2008 for each state from CDC 2010 State Surveillance Reports. Additionally, relationship recognition, housing discrimination, and employment discrimination laws were collected from 2008 for each state. Covariates included the political orientation of each state based on the 2008 presidential election and a composite measure of overall healthcare quality of each state created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Results: Overall, MSM account for the highest proportion of people living with AIDS in the US. Hierarchical regressions indicated that MSM accounted for a higher proportion of people living with AIDS in states with discriminatory relationship recognition policies. Housing discrimination policies, employment discrimination policies, healthcare quality, and political orientation were not associated with the proportion of MSM or heterosexuals that comprise the total population of people living with AIDS in each state. Conclusion: Findings suggest relationship recognitions are a unique protective factor against HIV/AIDS for MSM. Future research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms by which relationship recognitions serve as a protective factor from HIV/AIDS for MSM.
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