Prof. Jacobson López’s Research in Ghana Improves Access to Preventative HIV Care
Prof. Daniel Jacobson López traveled to Ghana this summer to consult on how intersectional stigma prevents vulnerable populations from accessing healthcare and preventive HIV care. This research was conducted as part of the Promoting Reductions in Intersectional StigMa (PRISM) initiative, an organization of researchers and healthcare providers exploring how multiple stigmatized identities create barriers to care, and Prof. Jacobson López’s fellowship at Yale School of Public Health’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA). This study was developed and led by Dr. LaRon Nelson, Assistant Dean of Global Affairs and Planetary Health at Yale School of Nursing, who is also Prof. Jacobson López’s mentor.
Prof. Jacobson López has extensively researched how belonging to one or more marginalized identities affects how people interact with social and political systems. He also studies how LGBTQ Black and/or Latino men are affected by violence and sexual assault and how homophobia, xenophobia and racism prevent survivors from receiving the help they need. In Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries, HIV is heavily stigmatized, preventing patients from receiving healthcare for HIV or preventive care through testing or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP) which reduces chances of contracting HIV.
“The national homophobic laws and policies in Ghana profoundly affect the physical safety of Ghanaian men who have sex with men (MSM),” said Prof. Jacobson López. “Gay and bisexual Ghanaian men have no legal protections in Ghana and are extremely vulnerable for being ‘outed,’ which can lead to being expelled from their families and/or communities. Additionally, there are so few support systems to allow Ghanaian MSM to thrive and be their authentic selves.” HIV is eight times more prevalent in Ghanian MSM populations compared to the rest of the Ghanaian population.
The PRISM program identifies gaps in scientific knowledge around intersectional identities, then develops and tests intervention programs that reduce stigma and increase access to care. Stigmatized identities can be created from:
- Pre-existing health conditions like HIV or mental illnesses
- Sociodemographic characteristics like race, gender and sexual orientation
- Behaviors or experiences like substance use or sex work
Further, these identities can be formed at individual, interpersonal, and societal levels where an individual may endorse prejudice, face discrimination from others or anticipate discrimination in the future.
“My participation in this research in Ghana has affected me both personally and professionally,” said Prof. Jacobson López. “I realized my own privileges in being gay while living in the United States and how it is incumbent upon me to do all I can to support gay and bisexual men in other countries. A few of the men wanted people in the United States to know that they are good and caring people. I promised them I would relay that message. Ghanaian men need to be protected in policy and practice.”