Psychosocial and Behavioral Impacts of the Mpox Outbreak among People with and without HIV in the United States.

Abstract

Over 32,000 mpox cases were identified in the United States (US) within one year of the start of the global outbreak in 2022. Research on how the mpox outbreak affected individuals' lives is limited. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional survey data collected from 60 participants in August 2022 to (1) describe mpox-related psychosocial and behavioral impacts among adults in the US and (2) explore differences in mpox-related impacts by HIV status. Results indicate that the outbreak affected both people with HIV (PWH) and people without HIV (PWOH) in our sample, while also highlighting the unique experience of PWH. The majority of participants reported that they felt at risk, experienced negative impacts across multiple life domains, changed aspects of their behavior, and anticipated mpox-related stigma. These findings can be used to inform the public health response in the event of future mpox outbreaks.