This session explores the experience of Us Helping Us while equipping participants with the tools and strategies to overcome barriers to HIV prevention by developing effective, community-centered PrEP services. Facilitators will guide attendees through experiential learning and hands-on activities, demonstrating how to establish partnerships, develop tailored PrEP protocols, and address common challenges such as client engagement, stigma, and resource constraints in a resource-limited setting. By the end of this interactive session, participants will be prepared to transform their respective organizations into a "one-stop shop" that eliminates access barriers and contributes to the goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
This session explores the use of interactive storytelling within community theater as a tool to engage audiences on HIV and other STI prevention, focusing on PrEP usage and combating social determinants of health. The session examines and challenges the effectiveness of storytelling in raising awareness, changing attitudes, and promoting health behaviors among diverse communities.
In 2023, 1,686 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City, with Brooklyn reporting the highest rate and 19% concurrent AIDS diagnoses. To address these disparities, the NYU Langone Family Health Centers’ Community Medicine Program (CMP)—a collaboration with the NYC shelter system—integrated medical services directly within shelters to improve outcomes among unstably housed individuals. After piloting a part-time patient navigator to support HIV-positive patients with linkage and retention in care, the program demonstrated early success and secured a grant in December 2024 to expand into a status-neutral navigation model.
What happens when wisdom meets innovation, and lived experience meets digital fluency? This dynamic, intergenerational and interracial session explores how people across decades and racial identities navigate dating, disclosure, and desire in the age of PrEP, U=U, and mobile technology.
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 session explores how CTCA blends peer-led support, expressive arts, cultural rituals, and critical consciousness to foster emotional wellness, increase HIV care retention, and support prevention. Participants will engage with evidence-based strategies and real-world examples demonstrating CTCA’s success in improving health outcomes while affirming identity and restoring community connection.
In collaboration with Columbia Psychiatry and New York Public Library, the community mental health project was created to address the impact of mental health on the Black and Afro-Latino communities in NYC, especially during and right after the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention aims to engage the community in discussion around mental health and thus minimize stigma and advocate for innovative strategies to increase the utilization of mental health services within the community.
The employment landscape for PLWH in the Hartford Transitional Grant Area (TGA) presents significant challenges. According to the 2022 Statewide Needs Assessment Survey, 54.46% of PLWH were unemployed, with 59.46% unemployment within the TGA. Among respondents, 78% of individuals over 50 lacked access to career and life skills training, limiting their ability to secure stable, fulfilling employment.
This session will provide an overview of how Deaf Community Advocacy Network (Deaf C.A.N.!) Deaf HIV Program addresses the unique challenges of PWLH who are Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing navigating Ryan White Services. Through provider assessments and cultural competency training, client assessments and workshops to improve health literacy on HIV prevention and HIV treatment, and workshops for interpreters to increase their understanding of ever growing HIV terminology such as viral load suppression and U=U, Deaf C.A.N.! has expanded their case management services from 7 counties in the Detroit Metropolitan Area to the entire state of Michigan, increased partnerships, and improved client satisfaction
The purpose of this study is to address the health inequities among key populations living with HIV through a community-based participatory research (CBPR) mixed-methods study designed to adapt and pilot-test STEPS to Care (StC), a CDC-endorsed evidence-based intervention. This intervention consists of three person-centered, evidence-informed strategies to improve retention in HIV care, adherence to antiretroviral therapies, and reduce viral load, which include: Patient Navigation, Care Team Coordination, and HIV Self-Management.
Adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience significant challenges with healthcare engagement. This population experiences lower rates of retention in care compared to their adult counterparts, resulting in poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy, higher viral load, and lower CD4 counts that negatively impact their health.
This study explored how involvement with a multidisciplinary healthcare team impacts healthcare engagement and identified facilitators and barriers to retention of care from the perspectives of AYA living with HIV.
Recent data from the U.S estimated that over half (57%) of transgender women (TW), aged 50+, are living with HIV. Findings lacked analysis by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, but found 62% HIV prevalence among Black trans women, suggesting potential HIV disparities for older TW of color. This study focused on HIV outcomes and health services access for TW aged 50 and older, making important contributions to the context of care for this population sub-group, who shoulder disproportionately high HIV prevalence. Findings highlight the critical role of support services in HIV care engagement and the potential for expanded access and intergenerational peer support programs to ameliorate HIV-related disparities based on age and race.
In this session, participants will learn about the core elements of a community -based syndemic approach to HIV care engagement to enhance capacity to support PLWH throughout the HIV care continuum. This workshop will demonstrate how community health workers improve involvement in comprehensive prevention services.
This interactive session will explore a novel, community-anchored model developed by the Midwest D-CFAR Scientific Working Group to engage historically underrepresented populations in HIV research and service delivery—specifically Black-led organizations, rural communities, individuals impacted by homelessness, harm reduction practitioners, and direct service providers.
This systematic review explores the role of CAB + RPV-LA injectables in antiretroviral therapy (ART), with a focus on patient-reported outcomes from five key clinical trials.
This session presents data from the National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (2023) conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to present the current state of availability of testing and treatment services for HIV, HCV, and STIs.
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.
