| Autor: |
Storer D; School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Holt M; Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Paparini S; SHARE Collaborative, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Haire B; School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Cornelisse VJ; The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; New South Wales Health, Sydney, Australia., MacGibbon J; Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Broady TR; Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Lockwood T; New South Wales Health, Sydney, Australia., Delpech V; Mid North Coast Local Health District, Coffs Harbour, Australia., McNulty A; New South Wales Health, Sydney, Australia.; Sydney Sexual Health Centre, Sydney, Australia., Smith AKJ; Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.; Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia. |
| Abstrakt: |
In 2022, a global outbreak of mpox (formerly 'monkeypox') emerged in non-endemic countries, including Australia, predominantly affecting gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Public health advice on transmission and isolation emerged rapidly from different sources, sometimes conflicting and producing uncertainty. Using the concept of 'counterpublic health', which acknowledges the incorporation of official science and experiences of affected communities into embodied practice, this paper investigates how people affected by mpox in Australia managed risk of transmission and navigated self-isolation. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 people: 13 people diagnosed with mpox and three close contacts. All participants were cisgender gay and bisexual men living in Australia. Participants thought critically about public health advice, often finding it restrictive and unresponsive to the needs of people with mpox. Participants' decisions about reducing mpox risk and isolating often drew on experiences with other infections (i.e. HIV; COVID-19) and were made collaboratively with the people closest to them (e.g. partners, friends, family) to sustain relationships. Future public health responses to infectious disease outbreaks would benefit from identifying more opportunities to formalise and embed mechanisms to obtain feedback from affected communities so as to inform responses. |
