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Vu Q&A: Dr. Dawn Smith on PrEP Uptake Barriers for Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Black Women

Dawn Smith, MD, MPH, MS, is an epidemiologist and medical officer with the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) at CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP)

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Getting PrEPared for HIV Prevention Navigation: Young Black Gay Men Talk About HIV Prevention in the Biomedical Era

Biomedical HIV prevention strategies, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), represent new opportunities to reduce critically high HIV infection rates among young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM). We report results of 24 dyadic qualitative interviews (N=48), conducted in Los Angeles, CA, exploring how YBMSM and their friends view PrEP and PEP.

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PrEP Guidelines Let Young Black Gay and Bi Men Fall Through The Cracks

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other sources that identify individuals likely to benefit from Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are not sensitive or specific enough to identify many young Black men who have sex with men (MSM) at high risk for HIV, Reuters Health reports. A high proportion of individuals in a long-term cohort whom guidelines would not have indicated were at high risk for the virus contracted HIV over the course of a recent study.

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CLUB 1509: Addressing the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Communities of Color

In February 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report where they projected that one in two black men who have sex with men (MSM) and one in four Latino MSM would be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. In Philadelphia, estimates suggest that 32 percent of black and 19 percent of Latino MSM have HIV. This is not far from the CDC estimate. Additionally, a CDC Issue Brief in September 2016 stated that transgender people, particularly transgender women, are vulnerable to HIV infection. Available evidence suggests that, in relation to their population size, transgender women are among the most heavily affected populations in the United States. So how do we approach prevention in a new way that can change the path of the CDC’s projections?

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LGBT Youth Are 120% More Likely to be Homeless Than Straight People, Study Shows

LGBT youth are 120 percent more likely to experience homelessness than their heterosexual and cisgendered peers, according to a study released Thuursday.

There are about 1.6 million homeless youth in the U.S., and they disproportionately identify as LGBT individuals. Less than ten percent of young people identify as LGBT, but over 40 percent of homeless youth do, the study from Chapin Hill found.

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L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group

Even before the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were already the most likely targets of hate crimes in America, according to an analysis of data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

L.G.B.T. people are twice as likely to be targeted as African-Americans, and the rate of hate crimes against them has surpassed that of crimes against Jews.

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New Report on Youth Homeless Affirms that LGBTQ Youth Disproportionately Experience Homelessness

Today, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago released a new report on youth homelessness, Missed Opportunities: National Estimates, which found that LGBTQ young adults had a 120 percent higher risk of reporting homelessness compared to youth who identified as heterosexual and cisgender. The report also found that one in 30 youth ages 13-17 experienced a form of homelessness over a 12-month period and one in 10 young adults ages 18-25 experienced a form of homelessness over a 12-month period.

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LGBT & Health Disparities

Young black sexual minority men are often underrepresented in behavioral research on the basis of concerns about safety, privacy, and confidentiality due to sexual identity or stigmatized sexual behaviors. However, little is known about sexual minority adolescents’ experiences of participating in research.

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