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Community Health

CLUB 1509: Addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in communities of color

January 10, 2017

Note: this post was written by Maurice McCants-Pearsall, MBA, who serves as a project coordinator for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AIDS Activities Coordinating Office , and originally appeared in the special 2016 World AIDS Day issue of the Philadelphia Gay News.  We thought it was a terrific overview of the CLUB Read more...

Lead Navigation Specialist Eran Sargent, MSW

Community Health

New model for HIV prevention launching this fall

August 29, 2016
Growing up as an adolescent of color and as a member of the LGBT community, I can vividly recall the fear and angst I would experience at even the slightest mention of HIV. It was a virus that was never thoroughly explained or a topic that was never truly explored, but I was always very scared to know my own status because of the negative things I heard. This was a sentiment that was very common among my friends and peer groups.  Even now, for many reasons, such as stigma and discrimination, I believe people are still afraid to have candid conversations about HIV, sexual health, and Read more...

Community Health

Don't let one headline scare you away from PrEP

February 26, 2016
You may have seen the news this week about the first documented a case of an individual contracting HIV, a multi-drug resistant strain, while apparently adhering well to the daily regimen of Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).  According to a story published on the “POZ” website on February 25, 2016:
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Community Health

Bringing HIV Awareness to Every Day

February 25, 2016
Every February, the prevention team at Mazzoni Center observes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with educational programming, outreach activities and HIV testing at events and in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. February 7 has passed but, for people living with HIV, every day brings awareness to the virus and the stigma that still exist.
 
Another day we celebrated in February is Valentine’s Day. For those who are single it can be a day to dread. This holiday can even be harder for those living with HIV, as love, romance and relationships may Read more...
PrEP Truvada Pre Exposure Prophylaxis

Community Health

More Proof That PrEP Works

November 10, 2015

It’s been three years since the FDA approved PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) for use by HIV-negative individuals to prevent them from being infected with HIV.  When PrEP as treatment was first introduced, there was a great deal of excitement in the provider community, particularly among those of us who specialize in treating people with HIV and those at higher risk of contracting it.  In its original clinical trials PrEP showed remarkable efficacy as a prevention tool.

Earlier this fall researchers at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco released what I Read more...