• Nicholas Metheny and Rob Stephenson.
• Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences, School of Nursing and Center for Sexuality and Health Disparities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan metheny@umich.edu.
• Ann Fam Med. 2016 Mar 1; 14 (2): 155158155-8.

PurposeThe decision and ability of primary care clinician to make recommendations for routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines are shaped by knowledge of their patient's risk behaviors. For men who have sex with men, such knowledge requires disclosure of same-sex sexual behavior or sexual identity.MethodsData were analyzed from a national survey of rural men who have sex with men (N = 319) to understand whether the disclosure of sexual identity to clinicians was associated with increased uptake of HIV testing and hepatitis vaccinations.ResultsWe found that disclosure of sexual identity to clinicians was significantly associated (OR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08-1.47) with uptake of routine HIV testing and HAV/HBV vaccination.ConclusionOur finding reinforces the need for safe, nonjudgmental settings for patients to discuss their sexual identities freely with their clinicians.© 2016 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

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