Mobility Over the Life Course: Migration and HIV Risk Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Seattle, Washington

Claire Huang, University of Washington, Seattle
Susan Cassels , University of California, Santa Barbara

In the United States, men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest lifetime risk of being diagnosed with HIV. Migration may lead to changes in both sexual and health behavior that would increase the risk of HIV; however, knowledge of migration among MSM is limited. We aim to describe patterns of residential mobility over the life course for a sample of MSM in Seattle, WA, and to test whether migration is associated with recent HIV risk behavior, accounting for social support. Overall, MSM in the sample were extremely mobile. Age-specific migration rates peaked between ages 20-25, and patterns of ASMRs differed by HIV status. Settled men were older and had higher income compared with recent migrants. Bivariate models did not support the hypothesis that migrant status is associated with HIV risk. Nevertheless, high rates of mobility among MSM warrants further attention and has significant health implications.

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 Presented in Session 7. Migration & Urbanization