Prejudicial beliefs and COVID-19 disruptions among sexual minority men living with and not living with HIV in a high SARS-CoV-2 prevalence area

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound health and social impacts. COVID-19 also affords opportunities to study the emergence of prejudice as a factor in taking protective actions. This study investigated the association of COVID-19 concerns, prejudicial beliefs, and personal actions that involve life disruptions among people not living with and people living with HIV. 338 Black/African American men not living with HIV who reported male sex partners and 148 Black/African American men living with HIV who reported male sex partners completed a confidential survey that measured COVID-19 concern, COVID-19 prejudice, and personal action and institutionally imposed COVID-19 disruptions. Participants reported having experienced multiple social and healthcare disruptions stemming from COVID-19, including reductions in social contacts, canceling medical appointments, and inability to access medications. Mediation analyses demonstrated that COVID-19 concerns and COVID-19 prejudice were associated with personal action disruptions, indicating that these social processes are important for understanding how individuals modified their lives in response to COVID-19. It is imperative that public health efforts combat COVID-19 prejudice as these beliefs undermine investments in developing healthcare infrastructure to address COVID-19 prevention.