Library

Resource

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT)

In 2012, there were 2.3 million new HIV infections globally. A large proportion of people newly diagnosed with HIV worldwide are in their reproductive years and these men and women are likely to want children in the future. Addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of this population is critical to addressing the spread of HIV because HIV infection in childbearing women is the main cause of HIV infection in children. Treatment for those who are already infected is also central to stopping the spread of HIV to infants and to uninfected sexual partners.
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Needle exchange programs (NEP)

More than a million people in the US inject drugs frequently, at a cost to society in health care, lost productivity, accidents, and crime of more than $50 billion a year. People who inject drugs imperil their own health. If they contract HIV or hepatitis, their needle-sharing partners, sexual partners and offspring may become infected. It is estimated that half of all new HIV infections in the US are occurring among injection drug users (IDUs). For women, 61% of all AIDS cases are due to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. Injection drug use is the source of infection for more than half of all children born with HIV. Injection drug use is also the most common risk factor in persons with hepatitis C infection. Up to 90% of IDUs are estimated to be infected with hepatitis C, which is easily transmitted and can cause chronic liver disease. Hepatitis B is also transmitted via injection drug use. Needle exchange programs (NEPs) distribute clean needles and safely dispose of used ones for IDUs, and also generally offer a variety of related services, including referrals to drug treatment and HIV counseling and testing.

Research Project

Influence of Stigma and Discrimination on HIV Risk among Men in China

This is a three-phase study to identify the specific mechanisms by which MSM stigma affect sexual risk behaviors among MSM in Beijing, China.
  • In Phase 1, we will explore the range of management strategies used to cope with MSM stigma via 30 in-depth qualitative interviews with MSM.
  • In Phase 2, we will develop, using Phase 1 qualitative data and adapting existing quantitative scales, culturally-relevant measures of explanatory constructs of interest (e.g., MSM stigma management) to establish reliability and validity (N=170).
  • In Phase 3, we will examine potential mediators (e.g., stigma management strategies, psychological distress, sexual contexts/situations) that explain how MSM stigma are linked to sexual risk for HIV with a respondent-driven sample of 500 MSM who will complete baseline and two follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months.
We will also conduct 20 in-depth qualitative individual interviews with a subset of men selected from the Phase-3 participants to examine the acceptability of potential intervention components to address the link between MSM stigma and HIV risk.
Research Project

Formative Research to Assess HIV Risk among MSM in Nepal

This study aims to meet the need for in-depth formative research to develop an evidence-based and theory-driven HIV prevention intervention with MSM in Nepal. The study will be conducted in collaboration with the Blue Diamond Society, the only CBO currently serving MSM in Nepal. We will conduct five interviews with key informants who are service providers knowledgeable about HIV risk among MSM to identify sub-populations of MSM, gather initial HIV risk data, assist in the refinement of an interview guide for MSM and assess feasibility of a larger study. Based on this data, we will conduct in-depth interviews with 20 MSM to explore identity, sexual networks, risk perception and stigma. Finally, we will conduct interviews with five key informants who are leaders in HIV prevention among MSM in Nepal and South Asia. These last interviews will help the research team develop relationships with leaders in South Asian MSM HIV prevention and assess feasibility for a larger study. We will engage community members at the beginning and end of this study for their input and engagement as potential community advisory board members in a future study.
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Educación sexual

Los programas educativos sobre la sexualidad y el VIH tienen varias metas: disminuir los embarazos no planeados, reducir las enfermedades de transmisión sexual (ETS) incluyendo la del VIH y mejorar la salud sexual de los jóvenes. En 2005 en los EE.UU., el 63% de todos los alumnos del último año de preparatoria (high school) habían tenido relaciones sexuales, pero sólo el 21 % de las alumnas usaron pastillas anticonceptivas antes del último coito y sólo el 70 % de los varones usaron condón en el último coito. En el 2000, el 8.4 % de las chicas entre 15 y 19 años se embarazaron, produciendo una de las tasas más altas de embarazo adolescente en el mundo occidental industrializado. Casi la mitad de los nuevos casos de ETS en EE.UU. del año 2000 (9.1 millones) se presentaron en jóvenes entre los 15 y los 24 años de edad. Algunos de los numerosos factores que influyen en la conducta sexual y el uso de protección entre los adolescentes tienen poco que ver con las relaciones sexuales, por ejemplo: la crianza en una comunidad desfavorecida, la falta de apego a los padres o el fracaso escolar. Otros factores de naturaleza sexual como las creencias, los valores, las percepciones de normas de los pares, las actitudes y habilidades relacionadas con la conducta sexual y con el uso del condón o de anticonceptivos, son factores en los que los programas de enseñanza potencialmente pueden incidir para generar cambios de conducta. Estos programas no pueden por sí solos eliminar las conductas sexuales riesgosas, pero sí pueden ser una pieza eficaz dentro de una iniciativa integral.