California: HIV Prevention Planning Council Endorses Latino Prevention Plan

By a unanimous vote, the city's HIV Prevention Planning Council recently endorsed several proposals to fight HIV among Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). The Latino Action Plan was crafted with input from several researchers and service providers, as well as 157 Latino MSM who were recruited from community venues.

The proposals will be incorporated into the city's next overarching HIV prevention plan, which could be published at the earliest by early next year, said Betty Chan Lew of the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Recommendations in the proposal include creating some type of structural orientation, such as a Web site, that could welcome new Latino MSM to the city. For Latinos who come to the city seeking sexual and gender freedoms, "landing pads" should be healthy and supportive, "rather than situations of risk where Latino gay men are sexually objectified," the plan stated.

Educational HIV prevention programs should be tailored and include discussion on issues of sexuality, relationships, and substance use, the plan recommended. English-speaking Latino MSM had "substantially lower rates of participation in Latino-identified HIV programs in the city," so some programs should specifically target them, it said. In addition, programs should reach out to Latino MSM who identify as heterosexual, and to older Latinos who are marginally housed.

Among the MSM whose participation helped craft the proposals, 9 percent identified as heterosexual and 10 percent as bisexual, said Jorge Sánchez, director for the plan. Half the men were at high risk of HIV transmission, having had unprotected anal intercourse with either a non-monogamous partner or multiple partners. About one-third were HIV-positive. Approximately 45 percent were "men we would classify as immigrant men who primarily speak Spanish," though there were no data on new arrivals, he said.

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