Mediated Urgency: Exploring GBTQ Perceptions of Antibiotic-Resistant Sexually Transmitted Infections

Abstract

Often, research takes place once a health issue is already at ‘crisis’ point. However, health professionals and populations can have different understandings of ‘urgency’. At present, health authorities, scientists and other medical professionals are increasingly concerned about escalating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of STIs. Clinicians worry about Neisseria gonorrhoeae becoming progressively resistant to last-line treatment, as well as the very limited treatment options for resistant Mycoplasma genitalium. This paper explores how states of ‘urgency’ and ‘crisis’ are socially produced within people's everyday contexts. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 49 gay and b..