Men who have sex with their fellows are continuing to suffer from the sexually transmitted infections

Males who have sex with their peers continue to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) research, the trend of STI prevalence was shown to be dropping in the early 1980’s, with a complete reversal in the mid-1990’s. At first, the drop was thought to be the result of positive behavior changes and appropriate sexual practices. The behavioral changes were assumed to be the result of the advent of antiretroviral treatment (ARV) medications, which led people to believe that there was a cure for their irresponsible behavior. The outbreak of other of other sexually transmitted infections like lymphogranuloma venereum and the hepatitis C virus infections have ever since been on the rise, with the doctors and researchers trying day and night to come up with the ways to cure and manage the symptoms associated with the infections. Europe has been one of the most affected continents by the disease due to high-risk behavior among people of the same sex, and an extensive sexual networking.

In Western Europe, sex between people of the same gender is a predominant mode of HIV/AIDS transmissions (Pharris, Spiteri, Noori, & Amato-Gauci, 2014) with the heterosexual behavior coming second. According to the report by Nöstlinger, Castro, Platteau, Dias, & Gall, (2014), a half of cases reported in hospitals concerning syphilis infection are those of men having sex with the other men. On the other hand, homosexuals account for the 25% of the cases concerning HIV infections. With this alarming trends, it is necessary that people come with research-oriented methodologies to help mitigate the high prevalence and those that would help come up with the preventive measures. This review provides an overview of the contribution of homosexuals to the high levels of prevalence of STI in the European countries, and the roles that nurses can play to help in the prescription of medication, examination of patients, diagnosis of illnesses, and the provision of treatment as done by physicians.

Literature Review

Going by the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, sexual activity among men is propagated by involvement in risky behavior due to improvement in the treatment optimism, and the availability of the ARV to manage the health conditions like HIV/AIDS. Strategic withdrawal and serosorting have been reported to be some of the ways for the improving safety; however, a close examination of the methods reveals that they cannot reduce the risk. The increasing trend of HIV and STI infections creates a significant challenge to the mechanisms that can be put in place to help in the prevention. According to a study by Burke, et al. (2015) interventions that are evolutionary have been considered to be the most appropriate. In the study, the other factors identified to be in the forefront are the stigma, policies of the government urgencies, ignorance, peer-pressure, and lack of awareness among those charged with the responsibility of healthcare provision.

Drug use and abuse also contribute to the HIV prevalence among the homosexuals (Lorimer, Kidd, Lawrence, McPherson, Cayless, & Cornish, 2013). Drugs compromises judgments among the users to the extent that men who engage in sex with their fellows expose themselves to risk factors like sharing of sharp equipment like needles as they inject themselves with the substances. As a consequence, such people end up engaging in an irresponsible sex that increases the risk of contracting the sexually transmitted infections. Some of the factors make it difficult for the implementation of the behavioral and psychological interventions hence need for other innovative ways.

Involvement of the community nurses to undertake public health initiative programs that focus on epidemiological trends has been identified to be a working formula towards the reduction of the STI and HIV transmission across all genders (Pharris, Spiteri, Noori, & Amato-Gauci, 2014). According to the report published in the year 2009 regarding the behavioral and psychosocial interventions for the prevention of diseases in Europe, the results show that evaluations of the interventions have a deficit concerning the outcomes and this creates room for the further probe into mechanisms that can work.

HIV testing has been identified by Lorimer, Kidd, Lawrence, McPherson, Cayless, & Cornish (2013) as one of the intervention measures where nurses can easily take part. As for the tests, men who have sex with the other men (MSN) have been reported to be the group that would always hesitate to attend such clinics to receive the services. The existing methods like genitourinary medications, STI clinics and primary care services may require risk assessment as part of the pre-tests. The tests would help in the identification of men who are likely to gain out of the actual tests and referral activities. Unfortunately, Beyrer et al. (2012) have found out that the coverage of testing services is not yet adequate in Europe, and therefore improvement is necessary so that men can access the counseling services. The national urgency in charge of counseling recommends annual testing for MSN and quarterly tests for those having sex without protection or have many partners.

Conclusion

HIV and STI prevalence among the homosexuals in Europe is faster than anywhere else in the world, with the number of people living with the diseases approximated at two million according to the 2003 statistics. Young men and teenage boys carry the bulk of the responsibility according to the quantitative studies reviewed above. The rapid spread is linked to the lack of proper intervention measures; drug abuse; together with the involvement of men in irresponsible sexual behavior. Even though various scholars have tried to come up with various intervention measures, there is still need to carryout further reasearch since homosexuality is considered asocial in most societies.

References

Beyrer, C. P., Sullivan, S., Sanchez, J., Dowdy, D., Altman, D., Trapence, G., et al. (2012). A call to action for comprehensive HIV services for men who have sex with men. The Lancet, 380 (9839), 424-438.

Burke, S. E., Calabrese, S. K., Dovidio, F., Levina, A., Uusküla, Niccolai, L. M., et al. (2015). A tale of two cities: stigma and health outcomes among people with HIV who inject drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kohtla-Järve, Estonia. Social Science & Medicine, 130, 154-161.

Lorimer, K., Kidd, L., Lawrence, M., McPherson, K., Cayless, S., & Cornish, F. (2013). A systematic review of behavioral HIV prevention interventions among men who have sex with men. AIDS Care, 133-150.

Nöstlinger, C. R.-r. (2014). The HIV-related discrimination in European healthcare settings. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 28 (3), 155-161.

Pharris, A., Spiteri, G., Noori, T., & Amato-Gauci, A. J. (2014). Ten years after Dublin: Principal trends in HIV surveillance in the EU/EEA. Euro Surveill, 19 (47), 20968.