Ending the HIV Epidemic<\/a>, which is an initiative that aims to reduce HIV infections across the U.S. by focusing resources where they\u2019re needed most. So, there is federal, state, and local attention on reducing new HIV infections and increasing HIV status awareness here, not just across the country.<\/p>\nWhat interested me most was not just HIV risk, but HIV status awareness.<\/p>\n
By focusing on men in Bexar County, my goal was to understand who we are missing, why some men are still unaware of their status, and how local structural and cultural factors may contribute to that gap.<\/p>\n
What are some common misunderstandings about HIV today and how can communities better understand prevention, testing and treatment?<\/p>\n
One major misconception is that HIV is only a concern for certain groups of people, often framed in terms of identity or stereotypes rather than actual epidemiologic patterns and prevention science. That narrative can discourage people from getting tested because some people do not see themselves in those categories. People who are sexually active can benefit from knowing their HIV status as part of routine healthcare. Today, highly effective treatments can make HIV a manageable chronic condition, and prevention tools can drastically reduce the risk of acquiring HIV. None of these tools can be used effectively if people are not connected to care or do not know their HIV status. Knowing your HIV status is still the first and essential step.<\/p>\n
Why was community collaboration important for this research?<\/p>\n
Local HIV service organizations already have trusted relationships with the people we wanted to reach. They understand the social realities, stigma, and practical barriers that men experience when navigating testing, disclosure, prevention, and ongoing care. As researchers, we bring tools for designing studies, collecting data and analyzing patterns. Community organizations bring lived experience, cultural insight, and operational knowledge of what actually works on the ground.<\/p>\n
What findings stood out to you most?<\/p>\n
Honestly, the biggest surprise was that many men who did not know their HIV status did not report the behaviors that are traditionally considered the highest risk for HIV infection. That finding suggests public health may be relying too heavily on risk-based screening and self-perception of risk when deciding who should be tested.<\/p>\n
Risk-based screening remains useful for identifying people who may need more frequent testing or additional prevention services though can unintentionally exclude men who do not see themselves as at risk and who still benefit from knowing their status. The finding reinforces the idea that HIV testing should be integrated as a routine part of healthcare rather than something people only seek if they believe they are in a high-risk category.<\/p>\n
What impact do you hope your research will have?<\/p>\n
I hope this research contributes to making HIV testing more accessible, more routine, and less dependent on whether someone personally identifies as \u201chigh risk.\u201d Too often, people assume HIV testing is only for certain groups or for particular kinds of sexual behavior. That mindset can leave men with undiagnosed infection or persistent uncertainty about their status. My aim is to normalize HIV testing as a standard part of regular healthcare, similar to blood pressure checks or cholesterol screening, while still being sensitive to the communities most affected by HIV.<\/p>\n
If more men know their HIV status earlier, public health and healthcare systems can connect men to treatment or prevention sooner, improve individual health outcomes, and reduce new HIV infections in the community over time. Ultimately, I see this work as part of a larger effort to move from reactive to proactive HIV prevention by identifying gaps in awareness, reshaping where and how testing is offered, and making sure people with limited access to care are not left behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UT San Antonio researcher is identifying behavioral patterns among men in Bexar County to get a better understanding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-403458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}