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University of Pittsburgh Research Assistant and Technical Writer
Health Alerts, HIV Activism, HIV testing

Why National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Still Matters in 2023

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From Poz online…

May 19th marks National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NAPIHAAD, also referred to as APIMay19), an important occasion for raising awareness and promoting action against HIV/AIDS within Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities. NAPIHAAD serves as a powerful reminder of the unique challenges faced by these communities and the need for comprehensive support and initiatives to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Two asian men in image to promote National Asian and Pacific Islander H I V and AIDS awareness day

The San Francisco Community Health Center, formerly Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, previously led the awareness day and continues to be heavily involved in NAPIHAAD, which is a vital opportunity to inform API communities about this preventable disease. Stigma and discrimination can often prevent folks from seeking care and support when learning about their sexual health status. That’s why the need for culturally competent providers who are experienced in engaging with diverse API populations is urgent.

Read the full article.

For more information about National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, go to CDC.gov.

Getting tested,,,

Knowing your HIV status is the first step in fighting HIV. Right now, anyone who resides in Pennsylvania can get a free HIV self-test kit from www.getmyHIVtest.com. If you live outside Pennsylvania go to https://gettested.cdc.gov and search by zip code to find local testing clinics. Most are free.

HIV, HIV care, HIV/AIDS Funding, Prevention

Community Health Centers and Their Role in Ending the HIV Epidemic

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From HIV.gov…

Watch HIV.gov’s latest FYI video with Harold J. Phillips, MRP, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). In the video, Mr. Phillips discusses what you should know about the critical role community health centers continue to play in ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

Community health centers have been partners in addressing the HIV epidemic since the beginning and have been providing HIV care and treatment services to individuals with HIV for many years. Now, due to increased funding since the launch of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, the role of community health centers has expanded, whereby they are now able to provide additional services, such as access to HIV testing, PrEP and PEP, and linkage to care and treatment. For example, a federal partner, the Bureau of Primary Health Care at the Health Resources and Services Administration has funded over 300 health centers to increase access to HIV prevention services, including testing and PrEP. “[Community] health centers […], given their role in providing primary care services, are also able to provide an array of comprehensive medical services that address things like high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease, and other coexisting conditions that impact people living with HIV,” said Mr. Phillips.

Find out more at HIV.gov.

Events, HIV Activism, HIV Prevention and Care Project

HIV planning community town hall meeting for counties outside Philadelphia May 17th

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We need your input in helping to create HIV prevention and care services outside Philadelphia.

What is the most important HIV service in your region? What services are your community and organizations providing?

Join us on Wednesday, May 17th to learn more about HIV planning in Pennsylvania. The HIV Planning Group (HPG) is comprised of community members, health professionals, and stakeholders from across the Commonwealth, and they want to hear from you about your experiences and services provided in the collar counties around Philadelphia.

FREE dinner is provided if you RSVP! Local public transportation reimbursement available!

Specific discussions and events will occur throughout the afternoon with the community about what HPG does and how they plan to improve the HIV Care Continuum and lives in PA and the region. The finalized agenda will be added to the event page upon approval.

You can participate in the meeting by joining us at the The Alloy King of Prussia – Double Tree by Hilton or join us remotely on your computer or phone on Microsoft Teams at https://bit.ly/HPGMayTownHall.

flyer with specific information about the meeting. Call 412 383 3000 for details

Keep in mind: this town hall is specifically for the collar counties of Philadelphia. All members of the community are encouraged to attend, but specific events and discussions at the town hall will have to do with the counties surrounding Philadelphia.

HIV Activism, HIV Prevention and Care Project

HPCP is hiring an HIV Intervention and Planning Lead Specialist

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The University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health is looking for an HIV Intervention and Planning Lead Specialist to work within the HIV Planning and Care Project.

group of diverse people in an office

Qualified candidates will possess significant experience conducting HIV prevention interventions and planning activities with specific, at-risk populations. Required research skills and experience include qualitative data collection and reporting. History of writing for publication preferred. An extensive knowledge base in HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, and/or in working with communities experiencing higher rates of STIs, is required. Master’s Degree or commensurate/relevant experience is also required. Public health degree or social science education/experience strongly preferred.

Apply online at Pitt’s career listing page.

Black health, Health Alerts, PrEP, Prevention, Trans Health and HIV

Black Gay Men and Trans Women Are Well Protected by Injectable PrEP

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From POZ.com…

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (Apretude) offered greater protection than daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills for Black gay and bisexual cisgender men and transgender women, but Black people still had higher HIV incidence rates compared with their white peers regardless of which type of PrEP they used, researchers reported at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

Adherence was higher with the every-other-month injections than with daily pills in both groups, suggesting long-acting PrEP could help close the racial gap in HIV rates. “[Apretude] is a powerful HIV prevention tool to increase access to PrEP and address continued racial disparities in HIV incidence in the United States,” Hyman Scott, MD, MPH, of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and colleagues concluded.

Although African Americans make up about 13% of the U.S. population, they account for more than 40% of all new HIV diagnoses, so effective and acceptable prevention interventions are urgently needed. While white gay and bi men have readily adopted oral PrEP using tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (Truvada and TDF/FTC generic equivalents) or tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (Descovy), uptake has been lower among Black men.

Read the full article on POZ.

HIV, HIV Activism, HIV testing, Uncategorized, Women's Health

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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Today is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Knowing your status is the best way to protect your health…and residents of Pennsylvania can get a free in-home HIV test kit from our website www.getmyHIVtest.com. Tests come in the mail, in an unmarked package and you get the results in 20 minutes!

banner for H I V women and girls awareness days with images of women of various races and ages

From HIV.gov…

The theme for NWGHAAD 2023 is: Prevention and Testing at Every Age. Care and Treatment at Every Stage. The Office Of Women’s Health (OWH) continues this theme to reemphasize the need to further prevention efforts and ensure equity in HIV care and treatment. It also reinforces the first 3 goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), that focus on the prevention of new HIV infections, improving HIV-related health outcomes of people living with HIV, and reducing HIV-related disparities. NWGHAAD focuses efforts on three of the target populations outlined in the NHAS; Black women, transgender women, and youth aged 13-24 years.

Find out more at HIV.gov.

Black health, Health Alerts, HIV Activism, HIV testing, Stigma

February 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. CDC data shows that Black/African American are at a higher risk for HIV infection as compared to other races and ethnicities. Why? Because these communities are impacted by demographic factors such as discrimination, stigma, and institutionalized health disparities—all of which affect their risk for HIV.
National Black H I V aids awareness day is February 7th. A black man sits with two black women
If you reside in Pennsylvania, you can get a free HIV self-test kit delivered through the mail. Go to www.getmyHIVtest.com to order your kit today.
If you live outside of PA, you can go to the CDC’s testing locator website at https://gettested.cdc.gov/.
Knowing your status will protect you and your partner’s health.
HIV care, Research

Twice-Yearly Sunlenca Works Well for Initial HIV Treatment

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From Poz Magazine online…

Sunlenca (lenacapavir), a long-acting injectable medication recently approved for treatment-experienced people with multidrug-resistant HIV, also works well for people starting antiretroviral therapy for the first time.

Results from the CALIBRATE trial showed that around 90% of study participants who used Sunlenca—either as daily pills or injections every six months—in combination with other antiretrovirals achieved an undetectable viral load.

needle going into a medicine bottle

Gilead Sciences’ Sunlenca (formerly GS-6207), the first approved HIV capsid inhibitor, disrupts the cone-shaped shell that surrounds the viral genetic material and essential enzymes. Laboratory studies showed that it interferes with multiple steps of the HIV life cycle. Because it works differently than existing antiretrovirals, it remains active against HIV that has developed resistance to other drugs. Sunlenca has a long half-life in the body, allowing it to be administered just once every six months.

Read the full article.

Prevention, Research, STDs, Women's Health

Sexually transmitted infections higher among women with disabilities

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In a study entitled “Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women of Reproductive Age by Disability Type,” researchers analyzed data from the 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and found that the incidents of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was more than twice as high for women of reproductive age who have cognitive disabilities, as compared to those without disabilities. The data analysis also showed that women with sensory disabilities also had higher rates of STIs.

A J P M logo

The report, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), also found “the odds of sexually transmitted infections varied by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and substance use.”

Find out more on the AJPM website.

HIV, Prevention, Research, Youth Health

Intervention Groups May Help Lower HIV Risk Among Gay, Bisexual Youth

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From the Pharmacy Times…

Research published in AIDS and Behavior show that parents in an intervention group with gay or bisexual sons can employ effective communication tactics, specifically about condoms and HIV, and other parenting behaviors to help keep their children healthy.

The study is the first to show evidence of positive effects in a randomized controlled trial with the parents of gay or bisexual sons, according to the authors. They added that these results are important because approximately 80% of all HIV infections among teens are from the gay and bisexual population. There were very few previous public health interventions seeking to lower the HIV risk among this group, according to the study.

“By focusing on the parents, this study shows we might be able to reduce HIV risk among gay and bisexual male youth,” said David Huebner, professor of Prevention and Community Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, in a press release. “Parents represent an untapped yet promising resource in preventing HIV infection and improving sexual health among this underserved population.”

Read the full article.