Achieving Health Equity Among MSM:Is Your Jurisdiction Making the Grade?

Background: In recent years, rates of infectious syphilis in the United States among men who have sex with men (MSM) have dramatically increased. The Gay Men’s Health Equity (GMHE) Group, a joint effort of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), has developed a comprehensive tool (The MSM Health Equity Report Card) to assist state, city, and local health departments conduct institutional self-assessments on their progress towards achieving health equity among MSM, as well as facilitate peer-to-peer technical assistance.  

Methods: The GMHE is composed of approximately 45 individuals representing NASTAD and NCSD members from 30 jurisdictions.  A subset of the GMHE membership embarked upon an effort to identify at least ten specific and quantifiable MSM health equity measures that could be translated into a user-friendly and versatile self-assessment across all health jurisdictions in the U.S. 

Results: Twelve measures were created along with a scoring system that provides institutions with a report card “grade” on their progress towards reaching health equity among MSM.  A companion guidance was developed for each measure that provides referrals to local, state, and national colleagues who can offer technical peer-to-peer assistance with the goal of improving scores/grades.  The measures fall into the four following broad categories: Health Information, Health Services, HIV Care Continuum, and Resource Allocation.

Conclusions: Many health departments struggle with measuring and improving their efforts to achieve health equity among MSM in their jurisdictions.  The MSM Health Equity Report Card provides health department staff with a practical self-assessment to identify areas for improvement and prompt them to obtain assistance and support from NASTAD, NCSD, and peers with the goal of program improvement and a reduction in STD/HIV morbidity among MSM.