Minority Health Awareness Month: The Intersection of Minority Health and Sexual Health

April is not only Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Awareness Month but also National Minority Health Awareness Month. As an advocate and educator, I believe that sexual health is an integral part of overall health, and unfortunately, many minority populations face greater disparities in rates of STIs compared to the general population. Addressing these disparities requires targeted efforts from everyone in the sexual health space.

It’s no secret that minority populations in the United States are disproportionately affected by STIs. For example, despite making up only 13% of the population, Black people account for 42% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2019. It’s also estimated that 50% of all Black men who have sex with men (MSM) will acquire HIV during their lifetime. Additionally, rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are higher among racial minority populations, especially Black and Hispanic/Latin@ communities.

Many people assume that minority populations engage in riskier sexual behavior, but recent studies have shown mixed results. In fact, many indicate that the Black community is more likely to use condoms than whites. These disparities are complex and rooted in social determinants of health, such as poverty, lack of access to healthcare, and systemic racism. For example, Black and Hispanic/Latin@ communities are more likely to live in poverty and lack health insurance, making it more difficult to access sexual health care. Additionally, cultural barriers may prevent people from discussing sexual health or seeking care for STIs, including justified mistrust of medical providers.

To address these disparities, effective culturally-tailored interventions are needed. As a cisgender white queer man, I recognize that I’m not the right person to make suggestions about what most of these interventions should be. However, I believe that they need to be minority-centered, minority-created, and minority-led. The programs need to arise out of the communities themselves.

Organizations that focus on minority populations need to do the real work of integrating people from those populations into their organization. Tokenism is not enough. They must be meaningfully included at every level of the organization, from the direct client-facing employees all the way up through the boardroom. Community Advisory Boards are also important, and the members of those boards should be appropriately compensated for their time. They should be treated as subject matter experts that organizations are hiring as consultants, and paid appropriately, rather than offering minimal “incentives” that do not reflect the true value of the expertise they are providing.

It’s also important for those of us who are part of various minorities to be open about our membership. While membership in racial or gender minority groups is often very visible, many of the marginalized groups to which we belong are not so obvious. I keep a sign above my desk that says “Visibility is the price of admission for Representation.” It’s vitally important to my work. It’s not enough that the patients know that I’m queer/kink/poly friendly. They need to know that I’m one of them. They need to know that I’m part of that world and that I’m someone that is safe for them to open up to, ask questions, and get real answers without judgment.

Addressing the disparities in STI rates among minority populations is a complex issue that requires targeted and evidence-based interventions. By using culturally tailored and community-based interventions, and addressing systemic issues that contribute to disparities, we can work towards reducing rates of STIs in minority communities. Everyone deserves access to quality sexual healthcare, and by working together, we can create a more equitable and just healthcare system.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February 23). HIV and African American gay and bisexual men. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February 16). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2019/default.htm