Jane Lee Hosts Susan Cassels for “Population Mobility and the Geography of Sex for Men who Have Sex with Men”

Posted: 5/13/2019 (CSDE Research)

CSDE Affiliate Jane Lee, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, is hosting Susan Cassels, Associate Professor of Geography and Research Associate in the Broom Center for Demography at the University of California-Santa Barbara, for a seminar on 5/21/2019, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM. Students are welcome to join Prof. Cassels for a luncheon following the seminar, at 12:30-1:30 PM (RSVP to Chloe at clotilde@uw.edu). Lee is hosting this seminar as part of a CSDE seed grant, which can be used to convene field experts and consultants. Learn more and apply to a CSDE seed grant here!

How can geographic knowledge about mobility, sexual health and HIV risk behavior help achieve HIV prevention targets, especially for men who have sex with men (MSM) of color? This talk will present some findings from two studies of population mobility and the geography of sex: a survey of MSM in Seattle (n = 350), and a qualitative study of Latinx and African American MSM in Los Angles (n = 20). We find remarkably high age specific migration rates among MSM, but no strong evidence to suggest that recent mobility is associated with increased HIV risk behavior. Nonetheless, qualitative evidence shows distinct migration trajectories and sexual health experiences over the lifecourse for MSM living in Los Angles. This work suggests that the context of moving, as opposed to simply being mobile, may matter for defining and prioritizing HIV prevention efforts. Lastly, I discuss how a geographic perspective can continue to support HIV prevention efforts, including an emphasis on neighborhoods, activity spaces, and the geography of sex.

Cassels’s work spans many disciplines, including demography, epidemiology, and geography. Her research interests are in the areas of population health, migration, epidemic modeling, HIV/AIDS, and sexual networks. Currently, her research is focused on migration and residential mobility and its effects on sexual risk behavior, sexual network structure and HIV transmission. Cassels’s current research is on social and structural barriers to HIV care for minority and foreign-born Hispanic men who have sex with men in Southern California.

 

 

Date: 05/21/2019

Location: Petersen Room, Allen Library