KQED’s Post

On this #TransgenderDayofRemembrance, we remember those in the trans, gender fluid and nonbinary community taken from us by violence. We remember our friends and family lost merely for living as their true selves. In our mourning, we renew the call: Trans people deserve a world of safety, where they can live as themselves and pursue their dreams without prejudice. The fight to end the HIV epidemic cannot be achieved without full transgender equality. Read more in our blog, linked below. https://bit.ly/3ur4xna #TDOR

https://letsync.ucsf.edu/ - The LetSync Study. A study for racial/ethnic minority LGBTQ+ folks to create a smartphone app for improving health. (J Tan, E Moore, G Obando CAPS/PRC) Are you in a male couple relationship? The LetSync study is enrolling male couples where one partner is Black and living with HIV. You and your partner will be asked about health and how you use technology. Compensation is up to $390 per couple. All study visits are confidential. For more information and how you and your partner can enroll, email LetSync@ucsf.edu or call (510) 214-6945. Visit - https://letsync.ucsf.edu/

Service and activism are inextricably linked in the struggle for LGBTQIA+ liberation. From the Stonewall riots to the HIV/AIDS crisis to the fight for trans rights today, queer and trans people have always been at the forefront of movements for social change, courageously imagining and creating a more just future for all. As we celebrate Pride, let us also acknowledge the work that still lies ahead. In a world where LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly those with multiple marginalized identities, still face discrimination, violence, and barriers to opportunity, we all have a responsibility to act as allies and advocates. Happy Pride, changemakers. Let's keep marching towards justice, together. - Ryan & Thomas Growney SG’24 #NewServiceAcademy Image description: A desaturated image of fists raised with rainbow bracelets, overlaid with the words "Happy Pride" and the URL "ServiceAcademy.org."

There is still time to apply for the HCAI Grant Program, submissions close on Sept 30th. Funding will be considered for 501(c)3 organizations whose mission aligns with ours, and that address one or more of the following areas for members of the LGBTQ+ community. For the full list of parameters, please refer to our grant guidelines. 1. Basic needs support and assistance 2. Substance abuse that impacts treatment and care 3. Equality in community life (work, housing, education, and access to healthcare) 4. Mental health support and services 5. Stigma and discrimination 6. HIV/AIDS education, prevention and support 7. Advertising/marketing or similar services that specifically support the program for which the grant is being requested

Our recent short report in Sexual Health (with my lovely co-authors Drs. Mance Buttram and Matthew S. Ellis, PhD, MPE) found that individuals living in states with lower LGBTQ equality in the US were significantly less likely to be aware of #doxyPEP – an important evidence-based biomedical strategy that is effective at preventing bacterial STIs, particularly syphilis and chlamydia, among gay and bisexual men and trans women. (Full article: https://lnkd.in/g5GZuW8Z) Inequities find a way creeping in when there are exciting new advances afoot. An understanding of how social determinants of health structure the implementation of interventions is crucial. This has been clearly seen with HIV PrEP. We need more research focused on how social determinants of health impact the uptake of novel biomedical advances, with a distinct focus on equity and communities who are disproportionately impacted. Let's work to ensure that everyone who can benefit from #doxyPEP knows that it exists, how it works and has access to it. Incidentally, I'm also saddened that my final factsheet for aidsmap is on the topic of #doxyPEP (https://lnkd.in/gfWPt58y).

Today is #ZeroDiscriminationDay, led by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day and UNAIDS is calling for the protection of human rights as a path to protecting health for all. According to UNAIDS "The recent, well-coordinated and well-funded global pushback against women’s rights, against the human rights of LGBTQ people, against sexual and reproductive health and rights, against democracy and against civic space is not only a threat to everyone’s freedom, it is a threat to everyone’s health." "In response to this threat, the AIDS movement and allies are “pushing back against the pushback, reminding world leaders of their commitments to uphold all human rights for all people. As communities across the world stand up for rights, the United Nations is not only on their side but by their side." More information can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gWEuwNwj

February is LGBT+ History Month and this year's theme celebrates the LGBT+ community's contributions to the field of #Medicine. 🌈🔬 Arguably one of the community's biggest impacts was in the development of modern #PatientAdvocacy, a topic we discussed with Neil Bertelsen as he relayed the story of how HIV patients shaped a whole new approach to patient/regulator engagement. "What happened in those last years of the 1980s was something that we hadn’t seen before: a genuine coming together of both the medical community and the patient community, where we became hand-in-glove, basically learning at the same speed." We stand on the shoulders of these giants 🙏 Learn more about how HIV patients became the architects of modern patient advocacy here 👇https://hubs.li/Q02jtNd-0 #LGBTPlusHistory #UnderTheScope

Comment below with health equity facts, figures, impacts around Queer Health that startle, impress, or worry you. Example: For no discernible reason, HIV prep meds aren’t given a separate ndc from treatment meds; causing unnecessary administrative burden on payers, providers, and patients - and can cause confusion in insurance payments and unnecessary patient out of pocket expense. #healthequity #pride #lgbtq #healthdisparities

“REMEMBER AND COMMIT” is the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day which marks the 35th remembrance of this event to serve as a reminder of the global struggle to end HIV-related stigma, an opportunity to honor those we have lost, and a rallying cry to commit to working toward a day when HIV is no longer a public health threat. “HIV disproportionately affects members of the LGBTQ+ communities of color, particularly cisgender Black and Latino gay and bisexual, transgender women, and Black women.” “While HIV diagnoses decreased overall and among white men who have sex with men between 2009 and 2018, new cases remained stable among Black/African-American men who have sex with men and increased among young people aged 25-34 and Latino men who have sex with men. While Blacks/African Americans make up only about 13% of the U.S. population, we accounted for 43% of HIV-related deaths in 2018.” As a result, “Researchers suggest that culturally appropriate, tailored interventions may help communities respond to the unique needs of people in—or at the intersections of—these groups.” #healthequitynow #worldaidsday #communityhealth #survivingourblackness #

The time for change in our criminal legal system is NOW. Want to learn more about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV in the criminal legal system? Read our 2022 Protected & Served? report and fact sheets on HIV, sex work, and the TGNCNB experience by visiting ProtectedandServed.org ✨ #ProtectedandServed #EndLGBTQDiscrimination #EndtheStigma #LegalSystem