Synchronicity

Reframing Herpes Prevention, Treatment, and Care Through a Strengths-Based Lens: A Call to Normalize Herpes and Advance Stigma Informed Communication
2026-03-20 10:45 - 12:15 (America/New_York) | Terrace
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is one of the most common yet misunderstood sexually transmitted infections, often framed through a deficit-based lens emphasizing stigma, fear, and distress. This presentation issues a strengths-based call to action; reimagining HSV prevention, treatment, and care as opportunities to foster resilience, agency, and self-compassion among patients and providers.
Drawing from two complementary studies, the presentation will highlight how individuals living with HSV demonstrate strength, empathy, and adaptability while calling on healthcare providers to improve stigma-informed care, patient engagement, and normalization of HSV in sexual health communication. The first study, based on qualitative interviews with healthcare providers across New York State, explores how clinicians navigate patient anxiety and misinformation following a diagnosis. Providers emphasized empathetic communication, reframing herpes as a manageable and common condition, and using trust-building dialogue to reduce stigma, underscoring how affirming, person-centered clinical encounters can model best practices in care. The second study, a national survey of over 1,000 adults living with HSV, identifies trends in disclosure behaviors, treatment practices, and mental well-being. Many respondents reported proactive engagement in safer sex practices, timely treatment, and open disclosure despite emotional challenges, highlighting resilience and ethical commitment. Findings also point to the need for improved educational materials, communication trainings that include communication strategies when delivering an HSV clinical diagnosis, and acknowledgment of antiviral therapy’s psychological benefits.
Together, these findings advance a reframing of HSV prevention, treatment, and care from pathology to possibility. This session will invite healthcare and public health professionals to embrace strengths-based, stigma-informed strategies.

No-Cost, High Impact: The Power of Free STI Clinics in Driving PrEP Usage
2026-03-20 10:45 - 12:15 | Terrace
In 2023, in response to rising syphilis rates and persistent disparities in STI outcomes, we launched a free, community-based STI clinic to expand access to testing and treatment. Prior to this, our services were primarily focused on providing PrEP and HIV care to the LGBT population. In 2024 alone, the clinic served 871 patients—69% of whom identified as ethnic minorities, a population disproportionately impacted by barriers to healthcare access, including PrEP.
Given that three out of four new HIV diagnoses occur among minority populations, we leveraged the STI clinic as a public health intervention to increase PrEP awareness and uptake through routine testing encounters. This presentation will share outcome data demonstrating how integrated STI services supported early treatment, improved linkage to PrEP, and facilitated the identification and rapid initiation of care for individuals newly diagnosed with HIV.
We also highlight the critical role of HIV prevention specialists—trained in culturally responsive care and motivational interviewing—in conducting patient intake, sexual health assessments, and PrEP education. Our findings offer a replicable model for improving HIV prevention outcomes in diverse communities. By aligning STI testing with HIV prevention strategies and removing access barriers, we can advance health equity and reduce HIV transmission at the community level.

Maximizing STI Prevention: Addressing Missed Opportunities for Testing in Contraceptive Care
2026-03-20 10:45 - 12:15 | Terrace
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are a growing public health concern, particularly for women and girls, who experience disproportionately high rates and rising incidence. Barriers such as cost, transportation and geographic access, and appointment availability limit access to timely STI care. For those who do access family planning care, integrating STI testing into comprehensive visits can reduce the need for repeat appointments and improve health and wellbeing.
Using the 2015-2019 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we assessed the prevalence of missed opportunities for STI testing—in other words, the extent to which those who received contraceptive care in the last year with clinical indications for STI testing, did not receive it.
Our analysis found that one in four contraceptive clients for whom testing was warranted did not receive testing. At the bivariate level, those who paid with public insurance and received care at Title X facilities had lower odds of missed opportunities. However, after adjusting for covariates, these factors were no longer significant. Missed opportunities were more likely among adolescents and older clients, non-Hispanic White clients, those who are married or cohabitating, and clients without children. Notably, receiving patient-centered contraceptive care did not significantly reduce the likelihood of experiencing a missed opportunity for STI testing.
Following the presentation of these results, we will engage participants in a discussion to collectively interpret the results, to explore clinician and patient barriers to initiating testing, and brainstorm what patient-centered STI care interventions could be implemented in the context of contraceptive care.

Research to Practice to Capacity Building: Implementing Partner Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) in a Public Sexual Health Clinic
2026-03-18 16:00 - 17:30 | Studio C
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge worldwide and is associated with significant stigma, health care utilization and antibiotic use. Recurrence rates exceed 50% within 6 months in most studies. Until recently data supporting partner treatment to prevent BV recurrence were lacking; however, a recent clinical trial showed a clear preventive benefit from the concomitant treatment of cis-gender male partners (with oral plus topical antibiotics) of individuals with BV, with a more than 60% reduction in BV recurrences. This presentation will outline the current understanding of BV as a dysbiosis, the role of sexual transmission in pathogenesis, and the recent findings of the Australian StepUp* Trial. Practical suggestions will be offered regarding designing and implementing a policy to provide partner therapy for BV in clinical settings in the United States based on the experience at a walk in public Sexual Health Clinic. Essential components include the need for clinician and staff education given the major change in health messaging regarding the role of sexual transmission in the pathogenesis of BV, and the practical difficulties related largely asynchronous visits of patients and partners who seek health care in different places, difficulties with pharmacy instructions, and the myriad of clinical scenarios that arise which were not addressed in the StepUp trial given strict inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Doxycycline vs. Benzathine Penicillin G for Treatment of Syphilis: A Retrospective Analysis from a Large Sexual Health Organization
2026-03-18 16:00 - 17:30 | Studio C
Limited evidence suggests that doxycycline may be comparable to penicillin for the treatment of syphilis, but perhaps less so for latent stages. A total of 655 individuals were included, 539 who were treated with benzathine PCN G (BPG) and 116 treated with doxycycline. For our primary analysis, we included all RPR titers up to 24 months after treatment for all stages of syphilis treated from April 2022 through September 2023. The slope of RPR decline was compared between BPG and doxycycline groups. Demographics were similar between the groups. A linear mixed effects model, accounting for repeated measurements from the same patient over time, showed no statistically significant difference in the rate of decline between the two treatment groups. These findings suggest that doxycycline dispensed directly to patients, despite its need for daily dosing and adherence for 14-28 days, has treatment outcomes comparable to BPG.

Leveraging Quality Improvement to Improve HIV Outcomes
2026-03-18 16:00 - 17:30 | Studio C
In recent years, sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates in the United States have risen dramatically, with more than 2.4 million STIs reported in the United States alone (CDC, 2024). STIs can have a profound impact on health, including infertility, neurological and cardiovascular disease, stillbirths, and increased risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This growing epidemic demands urgent action to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of STIs. One strategy to address this issue is the application of quality improvement (QI) methodologies. QI is a structured, data-driven, organizational approach to improve the quality of care within healthcare systems. By focusing on quality improvement, healthcare organizations can streamline processes, increase efficiency, enhance patient satisfaction, and expand access to care. QI tools can empower teams to evaluate current systems, pinpoint areas that need improvement, and implement improvements where necessary. Through sustained QI efforts using tools and data-driven practices, we can move closer to ending the epidemic, achieve better health outcomes, and save lives.
