Category Archives: Prevention

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.

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.

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.

Health Alerts, Prevention, Research, sexually transmitted infections, STDs

Health Alert: If you’re sexually active, get a full screening for sexually transmitted infections

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The CDC is reporting the number of new sexually transmitted infections continues to go up, with the highest number of STIs in the U.S. ever.

The newly released CDC 2020 STD Surveillance Report found that at the end of 2020:

  • Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary & secondary (P&S) syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019.
  • Syphilis among newborns (i.e., congenital syphilis) also increased, with reported cases up nearly 15% from 2019, and 235% from 2016. Early data indicate primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis cases continued to increase in 2021 as well.

As a result, the CDC is recommending that anyone who is sexually active get a full screening for STIs. To find local testing clinics near you, go to https://gettested.cdc.gov/. Most clinics are free.

To find out how to prevent STIs, you can go to the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/default.htm.

Health Alerts, Prevention, STDs

S.T.I.s Are on the Rise, Still

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From the New York Times…

Rates of many sexually transmitted infections continued to climb during the first year of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement posted to its website on Tuesday. While overall there were 2.4 million infections recorded in 2020, down from a record high of 2.6 million in 2019, diagnosed cases of certain sexually transmitted diseases surged.

Cases of congenital syphilis, which occurs in newborns who contract the disease from their mothers, reached the highest numbers in 26 years, rising by 235 percent since 2016. Rates of primary and secondary syphilis rose by 7 percent from 2019 to 2020; gonorrhea cases rose by 10 percent in the same time period.

Read the full article on the New York Times Website.

HIV Activism, Prevention

The “Let’s Stop HIV Together” campaign is recruiting community members

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Lets Stop HIV togetherThe Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign is recruiting community members to be a part of audience-specific community listening session groups. These groups will provide an opportunity for the campaign to hear from community members impacted by HIV. The groups will discuss attitudes, values, and beliefs at the individual and community level related to HIV and how these might shape health behaviors.

The community listening session groups for this year are:

  • Transgender women
  • MSM
  • Older adults with HIV
  • Heterosexual, cisgender, Black men and women
  • Young Adults
  • Spanish speaking Hispanics/Latinos

Audience specific announcements are included here as attachments. If there are individuals in your network that may be interested in sharing their insights and experiences with the campaign, please pass on the appropriate announcement and encourage them to fill out the screening questionnaire. The deadline to apply is 11:59 PM EST on March 25, 2022.

The campaign is looking for a diverse group of people who are:

  • Over the age of 18
  • Fluent in English (ability to speak Spanish is a plus)
  • Living with HIV or HIV negative status
  • Comfortable sharing experiences with HIV and other related experiences
  • Available to participate in two virtual community discussions between late April and June 2022, each lasting approximately 2 hours. If you are selected, we will follow up to schedule specific dates and times.

Available to participate in two virtual community discussions between late April and June 2022, each lasting approximately 2 hours. If you are selected, we will follow up to schedule specific dates and times.

All participants will be compensated $150 per session (two sessions for a total of $300) for their participation. Some prep time may be requested, such as reviewing documents prior to the session.

If there are any questions related to the opportunity, please reach out to the recruitment coordinator Kevin Hernandez at khernandez@fhi360.org.

Black health, Health Alerts, HIV, HIV Activism, HIV care, Prevention

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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From POZ Magazine online…

Black woman and man standing together
“Let’s Stop HIV Together” campaign that promotes NBHAAD at https://www.cdc.gov/stophivtogether/index.html

Monday, February 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) 2022. By numerous measures, Black Americans are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. NBHAAD highlights related challenges while raising awareness about prevention, testing, treatment and more.

“This #NBHAAD we are focused on equity,” tweeted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of HIV Prevention, adding: “We must end unequal access to #HIV prevention & care, & address root causes that contribute to disparities in HIV such as poverty, stigma, systemic racism, & unequal access to healthcare & education.”

In 2020, African Americans represented 12% of the U.S. population age 13 and older but accounted for 43% of new HIV diagnoses, according to AIDSVu.org, which analyzes HIV data and creates related infographics and interactive maps.

Disproportionate HIV rates are more pronounced in the South, where in 2020, Black Americans accounted for 52% of new HIV diagnoses but made up only 19% of the population in that region.

See the full article.

HIV, Prevention, Research, Trans Health and HIV

What to know about HIV and transgender men

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From Medical News Today online…

Most scientific studies relating to HIV and transgender people focus on transgender women — research about HIV and transgender men is limited.

trans man holding trans flag

According to research from 2018, this is because HIV prevalence is thought to be higher among transgender women: approximately 25–31%, compared with 0–3% among transgender men.

Other research, from the University of California San Francisco, suggests that trans MSM have an increased risk of contracting HIV, including those who do sex work.

This research states that in one study, most trans MSM reported not consistently using a condom during receptive anal and frontal sex with non-trans male partners. Participants also reported low rates of HIV testing and a low perception of the risk.

Read the full article.

HIV, Prevention, Research

Study: Combining PrEP with U=U yields incredible results

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From HIVplusmag.com…

When people use a combination of HIV prevention methods, researchers found there was a significant drop in HIV transmission.

Published in the academic journal HIV Medicine, the study found that using several methods such as taking PrEP, early HIV diagnosis from frequent testing, and proper antiretroviral treatment decreased transmission by 80 percent.

The research was evaluated at 56 Dean Street, which is a sexual health clinic and part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London.

“We witnessed an 80% reduction in the number of HIV diagnoses between 2012 and 2017, following the introduction of a number of HIV prevention measures (PrEP introduction, early HIV diagnosis through frequent and facilitated access to HIV testing and timely ART used as treatment-as-prevention) were key to the success of this model,” lead author Nicolo Girometti, told Contagion. Girometti is also a consultant in HIV medicine at 56 Dean Street.

Read the full article.