Publications by authors named "Drew A Westmoreland"

Methamphetamine use is prevalent among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations and is associated with increased risk for HIV acquisition. Studies are needed to examine the prevalence of intravenous methamphetamine use and explore its association with HIV status and PrEP uptake. Between August 2022-July 2023, 29,880 SGM people who have sex with men in the U.

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Prophylactic antibiotics are effective prevention strategies for sexually transmitted infections. This analysis explored preventative antibiotic use among cisgender sexual minority men and transgender women. Data were collected from August 2022 to July 2023.

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Aim: The aim of this study is to provide conceptual clarity on psychosocial distress among African American and Latine men who have sex with men living with human immunodeficiency virus.

Design: Concept analysis.

Methods: The 8-step Walker and Avant framework guided the concept analysis of psychosocial distress tailored to this patient population.

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Introduction: Community-based cohort studies of HIV seroconversion can identify important avenues for enhancing HIV prevention efforts in the era of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Within individuals, one can assess exposure and outcome variables repeatedly and with increased certainty regarding temporal ordering. This cohort study examined the association of several risk factors with subsequent HIV seroconversion.

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Objective: To leverage qualitative data to explore gay and bisexual men's (GBM) perceptions about doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP). Doxy-PEP is a novel biomedical STI-prevention strategy that helps reduce the risk of acquiring bacterial STIs. Little is known about Doxy-PEP's acceptability in the U.

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Article Synopsis
  • Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) face psychosocial distress that affects their ability to cope with and adapt to living with or at risk of HIV.
  • The review identified key stressors such as HIV status, stigma, discrimination, limited resources, community violence, and incarceration, along with risky behaviors like unsafe sex, drug use, and not adhering to medication.
  • Addressing these psychosocial factors is crucial for improving the health care and viral suppression outcomes for YMSM.
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In the US, sexual and gender minority populations are disproportionately affected by HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a key prevention method, but its effectiveness relies on consistent usage. Our four-year national cohort study explored PrEP discontinuation among sexual and gender minority people who initiated PrEP.

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Methamphetamine use is on the rise among sexual and gender minority people who have sex with men (SGMSM), escalating their HIV risk. Despite pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) being an effective biomedical HIV prevention tool, its uptake in relation to methamphetamine use patterns in SGMSM has not been studied. In a U.

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Background: In the summer of 2022, the United States faced a nationwide outbreak of mpox, with cases concentrated in sexual and gender minorities who have sex with men. Understanding rates of mpox vaccine uptake and concomitant behavioral change is essential to guide the implementation of targeted public health responses to the potential reemergence of mpox.

Methods: Between August 2022 and November 2022, 8551 individuals recruited via geosocial networking apps completed a brief survey that assessed mpox vaccine uptake, intentions to get a mpox vaccine, and behavioral change.

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The extant data suggest that LGBT communities were disproportionately impacted by the economic ramifications of the pandemic and were more likely to report being uninsured throughout the first two years of the pandemic. Additionally, these groups are at heightened vulnerability for several health conditions that require insurance to manage or prevent. Thus, there is a need to assess changes in pandemic-era insurance coverage among these populations.

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Objectives: The COVID pandemic has had widespread impacts on maternal mental health. This research aims to examine the relationship between psychosocial stressors and symptoms of depression and anxiety and the extent to which emotional support or resilient coping moderates the relationship between psychosocial stressors and maternal mental health during the first wave of the COVID pandemic.

Methods: This analysis includes data collected in October and November 2020 from a geographically and sociodemographically diverse sample of 776 mothers in the U.

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We examined racial/ethnic disparities for COVID-19 seroconversion and hospitalization within a prospective cohort (n = 6,740) in the United States enrolled in March 2020 and followed-up through October 2021. Potential SARS-CoV-2 exposure, susceptibility to COVID-19 complications, and access to healthcare varied by race/ethnicity. Hispanic and Black non-Hispanic participants had more exposure risk and difficulty with healthcare access than white participants.

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Background: Prospective cohort studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) incidence complement case-based surveillance and cross-sectional seroprevalence surveys.

Methods: We estimated the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a national cohort of 6738 US adults, enrolled in March-August 2020. Using Poisson models, we examined the association of social distancing and a composite epidemiologic risk score with seroconversion.

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We examined the influence of racial/ethnic differences in socioeconomic position on COVID-19 seroconversion and hospitalization within a community-based prospective cohort enrolled in March 2020 and followed through October 2021 (N=6740). The ability to social distance as a measure of exposure to COVID-19, susceptibility to COVID-19 complications, and access to healthcare varied by race/ethnicity with non-white participants having more exposure risk and more difficulty with healthcare access than white participants. Participants with more (versus less) exposure had greater odds of seroconversion (aOR:1.

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We estimated the trends and correlates of vaccine hesitancy and its association with subsequent vaccine uptake among 5,458 adults in the United States. Participants belonged to the Communities, Households, and SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology COVID (CHASING COVID) Cohort, a national longitudinal study. Trends and correlates of vaccine hesitancy were examined longitudinally in 8 interview rounds from October 2020 to July 2021.

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This study examines parental intention to vaccinate children against COVID-19 and related sociodemographic factors in a national sample of US parents.

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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, global research has suggested that the pandemic has negatively affected lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) populations, including by limiting health care access. There is little research on the impact of COVID-19 among transmasculine persons and men assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) in the United States, who face unique health care challenges outside of the pandemic context. Between May and June of 2020, 20 transmasculine individuals and AFAB men who have sex with men participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing body of research focused on the effects that measures like stay-at-home orders and social distancing are having on other aspects of health, including mental health and sexual health. Currently, there are limited extant data on the effects of the pandemic on sexual and gender minorities. Between April 15, 2020, and May 15, 2020, we invited participants in an ongoing U.

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Background: Inadequate screening and diagnostic testing in the United States throughout the first several months of the COVID-19 pandemic led to undetected cases transmitting disease in the community and an underestimation of cases. Though testing supply has increased, maintaining testing uptake remains a public health priority in the efforts to control community transmission considering the availability of vaccinations and threats from variants.

Objective: This study aimed to identify patterns of preferences for SARS-CoV-2 screening and diagnostic testing prior to widespread vaccine availability and uptake.

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Multi-level hostility toward sexual minority (SM; includes, but is not limited to those identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or same-gender loving) and other minority populations (e.g., racial/ethnic) increased after the 2016 U.

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Safety differences between tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC)-formulated pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) appear to have little clinical significance for most PrEP users. Furthermore, generic TDF-formulated PrEP is projected to decrease the price of PrEP. Thus, efforts to shift PrEP users to TAF-formulated PrEP should be considered in light of their potential to undermine efforts to scale-up PrEP nationally.

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Introduction: Prescription stimulants and methamphetamine have similarities in chemical structure and impact on biological functioning. However, there is limited literature on prescription stimulant misuse among sexual and gender minorities as well as how prescription misuse may impact later methamphetamine use.

Methods: We used data collected from a HIV prevention cohort to describe (e.

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