Using Peer Ethnography to Address Health Disparities Among Young Urban Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men

Bibliographic Data

ID11033965
AuthorsMatt G Mutchler (0000-0003-2510-0262, Matt G. Mutchler, Bryce McDavitt, and Kristie K. Gordon are with the Sociology Department and Urban Community Research Center, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, and the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Bryce McDavitt is also with the Clinical Psychology Division, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA. At the time of the study, Tara McKay was with the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles,...), Tara Mckay (0000-0001-5076-6483, Matt G. Mutchler, Bryce McDavitt, and Kristie K. Gordon are with the Sociology Department and Urban Community Research Center, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, and the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Bryce McDavitt is also with the Clinical Psychology Division, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA. At the time of the study, Tara McKay was with the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles,...), Bryce Mcdavitt (0000-0001-5767-0599, Matt G. Mutchler, Bryce McDavitt, and Kristie K. Gordon are with the Sociology Department and Urban Community Research Center, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, and the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Bryce McDavitt is also with the Clinical Psychology Division, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA. At the time of the study, Tara McKay was with the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles,...), Kristie K Gordon (Matt G. Mutchler, Bryce McDavitt, and Kristie K. Gordon are with the Sociology Department and Urban Community Research Center, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Los Angeles, and the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA. Bryce McDavitt is also with the Clinical Psychology Division, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Carpinteria, CA. At the time of the study, Tara McKay was with the Community-Based Research in Education Unit, AIDS Project Los Angeles,...)
Year2013
Volume103
Issue5
Pages849-852
Publication date2013-05-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2012.300988
PMID23488490
PMCIDPMC3670651
OpenAlexW2119176610
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited9

Objectives. We examined the effectiveness of peer ethnography to gain insider views on substance use and sex among a diverse range of high-risk substance-using Black and Latino young men who have sex with men. Methods. We recruited 9 peer ethnographers aged 21 to 24 years from youth programs for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in Los Angeles, California, and trained them in ethnography, study protocol, and human participant protection. Peer ethnographers collected 137 single-spaced pages of field notes in 2009 and 2010 derived from observation of 150 members of the target population. Results. Peer ethnography revealed local language and phrasing and provided a window into new and different social contexts. Peers provided valuable information on current trends in substance use, revealing themes that needed to be addressed in further research, such as the use of substances during sex to “clock coin” (exchange sex for money and substances). These data enabled us to refine our recruitment strategies and ask more culturally relevant questions in a later phase of the study. Conclusions. The peer ethnography method can provide a sound basis for further research phases in multistage studies on numerous other social issues and with other hard-to-reach populations

Ethnography · Family medicine · Health equity · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Insider · Lesbian · Men who have sex with men · Participant observation · Peer group · Political science · Population · Public health · Social science · Sociology · Transgender · Anthropology · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes · Gerontology

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