What are the factors that impact Black gay men from same-day HIV treatment?

It is estimated that one in two gay Black men will be HIV positive in their lifetime (CDC, 2018). In San Diego County alone, gay men comprised 81% of all male HIV cases (SD County, 2018). The same report also stated that black individuals had the highest HIV rates throughout the county, although black individuals only make up 4.6% of San Diego County’s population. These alarming statistics brings up the question of what can be done to link those individuals to treatment faster to meet the national and local HIV continuum of care, often referred to as 90/90/90 (CDC, 2019). Research suggests same-day HIV treatment could aid in this problem, but same-day treatment has not been consistent in individual HIV treatment experiences, especially among Black gay men. This pilot study explores the barriers impeding black gay men who are HIV positive from receiving same-day HIV treatment and treatment in general. A mixed methods analysis was conducted utilizing a sample of voluntary participants in San Diego County. Study data was collected through the use of key informant interviews. Participants were broken up in two target populations of HIV care professionals and black gay HIV positive men. Interviews were used to explore participant’s time frame to treatment, perception of care, and accessibility of that care. SPSS software was used to analyze descriptive statistics, and Atlas.ti was utilized to create themes from the qualitative data. Themes such as embarrassment, the impact of insurance, lack of patient-centered care, black gay stigma, the impact of funding, and exhaustion from the process emerged throughout the interviews. Key findings showed that same-day treatment is not standardized, likely due to lack of financial infrastructures, health literacy, and patient attrition caused by internalized stigma reinforced by a lack of patient-centered care.