On June 4, 2021, the Southern California HIV/AIDS Policy Research Center (SCHPRC) hosted a launchmeeting for San Diego County, organized on the heels of a regional listening session led by the NIHOffice of AIDS Research. During this launch event, we were able to focus on policy research needs in San Diego County and to engage in vital conversations about the most pressing needs related to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis and overdose. This is a summary of our discussion.
As many of you know, the FDA is considering a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The briefing document, written by Dr. Sabrina L. Smiley (We The People) and colleagues at the UC Merced Nicotine & Cannabis Policy Center, outlines four essential points from research and science that community organizations should know as they communicate with citizens and other organizations. This is a freely available resource, and has been written specifically to help ensure communities know the facts about this long-awaited decision. This flavor ban would ultimately help move us toward greater health equity.
HIV rates among Latino men who have sex with men are not decreasing at the same rate as they are decreasing among white MSM. This is a matter of concern as Latinx people are the largest racial/ethnic minority group affected by HIV in California. Currently, the California Department of Public Health in partnership with county health departments, community health centers, healthcare providers and non-profit service providers are collaborating to expand PrEP access throughout California to help curb HIV disease transmission. The state-funded payment assistance program for PrEP-related costs has been a key development in facilitating PrEP uptake. In this study, ... [Read More];
On this International Sex Worker Rights Day, we examine the criminalization of commercial sex trade and frameworks seeking to regulate it across the globe. Preventing the spread of disease, including sexually transmitted infections and HIV, are powerful levers for justifying the existence of such laws. This brief seeks to answer the question—what is the evidence that criminalization of sex work has positive effects on public health?We find that the public health justification for criminalization and regulation is not supported by the weight of scientific evidence. Structural innovations to shift law and policy around the criminalization and regulation of sex trade ... [Read More];
Los Angeles County is one of the 8 priority counties in California under the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan. Despite longstanding efforts, disparities in HIV burden persist, especially among racial/ethnic minority MSM. PrEP is a key pillar of the federal, state, and local plans to end the HIV epidemic. Microsimulation modeling can help us make decisions on how to allocate limited resources by examining the predicted tradeoffs between effectiveness, fairness, and disparity reduction across racial/ethnic groups. This infographic illustrates the potential impact of three PrEP allocation strategies.
Send this to a friend