Using peer ethnography to address health disparities among young urban Black and Latino men who have sex with men

M.G. Mutchler, T. McKay, B. McDavitt and K.K. Gordon

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 5, 849-852

Abstract: Objectives: We examined the effectiveness of peer ethnography to gain insider views on substance use and sex among a diverse range of high-risk substanceusing 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.

Keywords: addiction; adult; African American; article; comorbidity; cultural anthropology; ethnology; health disparity; health services research; Hispanic; human; Human immunodeficiency virus infection; male; male homosexuality; methodology; peer group; psychological aspect; risk factor; United States, African Americans; Anthropology, Cultural; Comorbidity; Health Services Research; Health Status Disparities; Hispanic Americans; HIV Infections; Homosexuality, Male; Humans; Los Angeles; Male; Peer Group; Risk Factors; Substance-Related Disorders; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300988

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.300988_6

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300988

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().