In 1999 Sigma Research published Relative safety: an investigation of risk and unprotected anal intercourse among gay men diagnosed with HIV (Keogh et al. 1999). This study explored the social, psychological and cultural meanings associated with unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among men with diagnosed HIV. It highlighted both the complexity of sexual interaction for men with diagnosed HIV, and the many potential costs and benefits perceived by them. Now, with more than 24,000 homosexually active men diagnosed with HIV in the UK (Health Protection Agency 2008), a figure that is set to increase in years to come, it is vital that agencies involved in HIV prevention interrogate their own beliefs about UAI and ensure that their interventions meet the needs of men with diagnosed HIV.
. . . .
The following chapter explains how the study was undertaken, outlines the broad topic areas addressed during the interviews, and describes the sample of men who took part. Chapter 3 outlines the range of harms that men with HIV perceive when engaging in UAI. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the ways in which men responded to these perceived harms, firstly those relating to the risk of onward HIV infection, or superinfection, and latterly those concerning the potential for harms to their personal and social identities. Chapter 6 considers the implications of these findings for health promotion interventions targeting men with HIV, and with homosexually active men more broadly
