Journal Article

Using Syndemic Theory to Understand Vulnerability to HIV Infection among Black and Latino Men in New York City

Wallace, Scyatta, Cherenack, Emily M., Nanin, Jose, Wilson, Patrick A., Fullilove, Robert, Amesty, Silvia

2014

Overview

HIV is a public health crisis that disproportionately affects Black and Latino men. To understand this crisis, syndemic theory, which takes into account multiple interrelated epidemics, should be used. A syndemic is “two or more afflictions, interacting synergistically, contributing to excess burden of disease in a population.” Vulnerability to HIV among Black and Latino men is increased as structural, social, and biological factors interact in the context of social marginalization. In New York City, Black and Latino men experience a syndemic of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, trauma, incarceration, and poverty; however, current research has yet to fully identify the mechanisms of resilience that may reduce the negative impact of a syndemic or explore the potential adaptive functions of individual-level risk behaviors. To understand HIV risk as part of a syndemic and address HIV prevention in Black and Latino men, we propose the following: (1) the use of complex systems analysis , ethnography, and other mixed-methods approaches to observe changes in relations among social conditions and disease; (2) multidisciplinary and inter-institution collaboration; and (3) involvement of public health practitioners and researchers from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - ethnology / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - psychology / Adaptive behavior / African Americans / AIDS / Biology / Black or African American - psychology / Black or African American - statistics & numerical data / Black people / Criminals - statistics & numerical data / Crises / Disease / Drug abuse / Epidemics / Epidemiology / Ethnography / Health Informatics / Health risks / Hispanic Americans / Hispanic or Latino - psychology / Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data / Hispanic people / HIV / HIV Infections - ethnology / HIV Infections - psychology / Human immunodeficiency virus / Humans / Imprisonment / Individual differences / Interdisciplinary aspects / Latin American cultural groups / Male / Marginality / Medical personnel / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Men / New York City - epidemiology / Poverty / Poverty - psychology / Prevention programs / Preventive medicine / Public Health / Racism - psychology / Resilience / Risk behavior / Risk factors / Risk taking / Social conditions / Social conditions & trends / Social factors / Stress, Psychological - ethnology / Substance abuse / Substance-Related Disorders - ethnology / Substance-Related Disorders - prevention & control / Systems analysis / Trauma / Urban areas / Vulnerability