The schedule presented here is subject to change as the agenda is finalized.
This schedule is preliminary and subject to change.
This study highlights the importance of culturally responsive, age-appropriate interventions and underscores the need for comprehensive structural strategies to reduce disparities and promote equitable sexual health outcomes for aging populations.
This study examines media bias and stigma in Florida news coverage of HIV-related arrests from 2010 to 2020. A systematic content analysis of 129 news articles revealed disproportionate racial and gender portrayals, with Black men overrepresented as perpetrators despite data showing White women constitute the majority of those arrested. Findings indicate widespread use of stigmatizing language and sensationalized reporting, which amplify public misconceptions about HIV transmission and criminalization.
This presentation addresses the intersection of issues in health equity and justice, versus health advocacy and policy, to identify and contradict the significant misdirection and fatal errors of science in recent opioid prescribing guidelines of the US CDC and Veterans Administration with a critical review of published clinical and demographic data on safety and effectiveness of prescription opioid analgesic pain relievers.
This presentation provides an update on federal reproductive healthcare and access litigation and policy, and highlights strategies for systems change, including policy reforms, advocacy, research, collaboration, and capacity-building to address the implications of unequal access to sex education.
This session will train health professionals to become effective advocates for gender-affirming care at the institutional, state, and federal levels. Amid growing legislative, administrative, and regulatory challenges to transgender health care, health professionals have a unique role and responsibility to advocate for inclusive, evidence-based policies. This session will provide participants with actionable tools to address barriers to care, counter misinformation, and build coalitions to support gender-affirming care access.
This presentation explores the evolution of HIV prevention through the perspective of a Black woman, Community Health Advocate, and clinical research participant deeply engaged in advancing PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) innovation. While biomedical advancements from daily oral PrEP to long acting injectables have expanded prevention options, Black communities remain underrepresented in research and disproportionately impacted by persistent barriers to access. Through a lived-experience narrative, this session examines how medical mistrust, historical trauma, and unequal power dynamics shape community attitudes toward clinical research and preventive care.
Closing the loop on Social Determinants of Health ensures that referrals to supportive services such as housing, food and mental health are not only initiated but also completed, tracked, and resolved, This approach strengthens care coordination, reduces barriers to retention, and promotes health equity by addressing non-medical factors that impact overall well being.
As a nation, we had made great strides in protecting the basic rights of LGBTQ+ persons including their access to appropriate, quality care. For Kentucky LGBTQ+ persons, the passage of Kentucky SB 150 in 2023, progressively began the stripping away of these rights thus putting their well-being and even their lives at risk.
The decline in drug-related fatalities in New Jersey over the past three years reflects progress in harm reduction, yet racial disparities remain stark. Black and Hispanic communities continue to face disproportionate rates of drug-related deaths—51.4 and 38.9 per 100,000, respectively—compared to white residents. The Black Lives Matter Paterson Harm Reduction Center and Mobile Unit provides resources, care, and support to neglected populations through culturally responsive, Black-centered mobile outreach.
Scaling back HIV and STI federal funds undermines decades of progress made in the public health realm. Domestic HIV and STI Prevention programs aim to provide essential services such as testing, treatment and education, to help decrease transmission of infectious diseases and improve health outcomes in the local communities. The Houston Health Department (HHD) relies mostly on federal grants to support staffing, infrastructure and preventative services. The Partner Services program is especially crucial for contact tracing to prevent further spread of disease by tracking partners of individuals potentially infected with syphilis and HIV. HHD assessed the Partner Services program’s performance levels to determine if uncertainty in receiving federal funds, which potentially contributed to a significant reduction in workforce, had negatively impacted Public Health Follow Up (PHFU) activities.
Meet the challenges of today's policy landscape with actionable strategies for igniting and sustaining change. This closing plenary session will examine how advocacy at different levels of the healthcare and prevention continuum can better move in concert together. This plenary session will engage participants in advocacy across HIV, HCV, STIs, Drug User and LGBTQ Health, Immunocompromised Communities, and Health Equity, and closes SYNC 2026 with a clear call to action as we move Forward in SYNChronicity through advocacy.
Information on credits offered to SYNC participants for attending institutes, sessions, and plenaries — live or in-person — is available here.
This conference is supported, in part, by independent educational grants from ineligible companies. A full list of supporters is available here. All accredited content has been developed and delivered in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence and the criteria of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™, and is free of commercial bias.
We have received reports that companies are reaching out to sell SYNChronicity Conference attendee lists and other potential services. This is a scam and these companies are not affiliated with SYNChronicity, HealthHIV, HealthHCV, or the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health. Do not engage with them. Please contact us directly with any questions.