Prevention burnout?

PhD student Matthew Numer won a first paper prize for excellence in Gender, Sex and Health Research” from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

Sex education does not always translate into safer sex practices, particularly when it comes to the sexual health of gay men.

Since the early years of the AIDS crisis in 1980s, the focus has always been on education as a way of prevention, particularly among gay and bisexual men. And yet, new HIV infections continue because of unsafe sexual behaviour that may be driven by complacency, recklessness or prevention burnout.

Dalhousie interdisciplinary PhD candidate Matthew Numer argues that health promotion needs to go beyond simple education and actually analyze the reasons behind risk-taking behaviour. In an article published in the International Journal of Men's Health, he uses several theoretical understandings of sexuality and suggests that these theories might be able to influence the way we conduct sexual health promotion around HIV prevention for gay men.

First paper prize

In the paper, “The Sexual Health of Gay Men in the Post-AIDS era,” Mr. Numer draws on three frameworks: feminist, post-structural and queer theories. The aim of the article, co-written by Jacqueline Gahagan, is to advance our thinking around gender, specifically in relation to masculinity. The theoretical frameworks offer a perspective on how gay men are impacted by a culture which promotes heterosexual forms of masculinity and why this is important for HIV prevention research. The idea here is that dominant notions of masculinity influence sexual health in ways that are not always obvious.

For example, health promotion efforts which encourage condom use may be backfiring, as unprotected sex becomes eroticized after being verboten for so many years. Further, defying such messages is regarded as a macho thing to do.

“The paper is not to say that the three areas commensurate, or that they fully agree with each other, but there are particular ideas taken from each one, which can be very useful when looking at issues of social justice around sexual health and HIV prevention,” says Mr. Numer, 30, who received a “first paper prize for excellence in Gender, Sex and Health Research” from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

'Beyond simplistic approaches'

From Pittsburg, PA, Mr. Numer undertook this topic area at the beginning of his PhD work here at Dal in 2006 because he saw a lack of analysis in research around HIV prevention in Nova Scotia. He hopes to graduate from Dal in late 2011 or early 2012.

As for the award achieved for his article, Mr. Numer notes increased attention to his piece as a main highlight of the recognition. “Many many papers go into various journals and book chapters and sometimes it is difficult to access them or, unless you are specifically in that field, they aren't widely recognized... So I think that's part of the value—that the work is likely to be read a bit more.”

Mr. Numer acknowledges the support from his supervisor, Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan, professor of health promotion. “Dr. Gahagan provided excellent insight into the value of pushing health promotion to think beyond simplistic approaches to HIV prevention,” he wrote in an email.

LINK: International Journal of Men's Health