Testing and Hearing HIV Test Results Together

via The Associated Press, by Carla K. Johnson

CHICAGO — Newly dating and slightly anxious, two men bared their arms for blood tests and pondered the possibility that one of them, or both, could be infected with HIV.

An innovative program — called Testing Together — would allow them to hear their test results minutes later, while sitting side by side.

In this Jan. 5, 2012 photo, Dominic Poteste, left, and Eric Zemanovic pose before taking HIV tests together at the Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago.

Testing Together, now under way in Chicago and Atlanta, takes an unusual approach: It encourages gay male couples to get tested together and hear their results together.

In this Jan. 5, 2012 photo, Dominic Poteste, left, and Eric Zemanovic pose before taking HIV tests together at the Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago.

Testing Together, now under way in Chicago and Atlanta, takes an unusual approach: It encourages gay male couples to get tested together and hear their results together. 

.Eric Zemanovic, a dental hygienist, and Dominic Poteste, a restaurant server, had been dating two months after a yearlong friendship. In the past, they'd both practiced safe sex and got regular HIV tests.

Both are in their early 30s. They'd grown up when AIDS meant an early, horrible death. So, whenever they heard about friends testing positive, they felt pangs of fear.

Poteste explained: "There's always an anxiety that comes with getting tested, even though 99 percent of the time I've been safe and been careful, there still is always ..."

His voice trailed off.

"A slight possibility," Zemanovic completed the sentence.

"A slight possibility," Poteste agreed.

Testing Together, now under way in Chicago and Atlanta, takes an unusual approach: It encourages gay male couples to get tested together and hear their results together.

After delivering the results, a counselor talks with the couple about what to do next, including agreements they may want to make with each other about sex and health.

Are we agreeing to be monogamous? Is any sexual activity outside the relationship OK? How are we going to protect each other from infection? Couples address these questions and more.

The idea is to bring honesty to sexual relationships, said one of the researchers behind the program, Rob Stephenson of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.

Relationships offer only "mythical protection" from HIV, Stephenson said. Some couples may have avoided talking about each other's HIV status, thinking, "If he were HIV positive he would have told me," or "If he wanted to know, he would have asked."

Poteste and Zemanovic, the newly dating Chicago couple, differed in their past approaches. Zemanovic was in the habit of asking his sex partners about their HIV status; he was "neurotic" about it, he said.

Poteste hadn't been as sexually active as his new boyfriend, but he hadn't always asked the questions: Have you been tested? What's your status?

"You have an assumption that if there's something this person could do to potentially hurt me, they would tell me," he said.

Zemanovic hoped getting tested together and discussing results with a counselor would build trust between them.

Poteste hoped the counselor could help them start a conversation so they could ask and answer difficult questions.

It started in Africa more than 20 years ago. Researchers believe couples testing has successfully reduced the spread of AIDS among married, heterosexual couples in some African regions.

One study that looked at couples where one spouse is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative estimated that couples testing was cutting the rate of transmission by more than half.

In Washington, D.C., where the rate of HIV infection rivals some African nations, some community agencies allow couples to test together. Family and Medical Counseling Service Inc. has been testing about 145 couples together annually since 2008. Most are heterosexual couples.

In Chicago and Atlanta, Testing Together, funded by the MAC AIDS Fund, hopes to test 400 couples by the end of the year.
___
Each participant in Testing Together signs a consent form that addresses receiving counseling, testing and results with a partner in the same room at the same time with a trained counselor: "I hereby consent to allow my partner to know the results of my HIV test," it begins.

The program challenges conventional practices in the United States, where HIV testing is usually private and for individuals only. At most other clinics, a man who asks if his partner can be there when he hears his test result is denied because of patient confidentiality concerns.

There are two trends fueling Testing Together. One, the number of gay Americans telling the U.S. Census they're living with same-sex partners nearly doubled in the past decade, to about 650,000 couples. About half those same-sex partnerships are gay men.

What's more, a new line of research suggests that up to 68 percent of new HIV infections in gay men come from a main sex partner, not from casual sex, in part because main sex partners are more likely to forgo condoms.

Counselors are trained on how to deliver test results, with particular emphasis on how to tell partners the most difficult news: one partner has the virus and the other doesn't.

With these so-called "HIV discordant" couples, counselors have a great opportunity to reduce the spread of the virus by helping the couple learn ways to protect the uninfected partner, primarily through correct and consistent condom use.

Counselors are trained to dispel myths. If the couple thinks the test result means one partner has been unfaithful, the counselor might point out that the infected partner could have acquired HIV before the partner became a couple.

If the couple believes the virus is "sleeping" and can't be transmitted, the counselor might explain that HIV can be transmitted even if there are no signs or symptoms.

If the couple believes their status is proof that precautions aren't needed, the counselor might explain that HIV could be transmitted in the future as the infected partner's virus levels rise.

Sam Hoehnle is a counselor in the Chicago program. "It never becomes easier emotionally" to deliver the news to an HIV discordant couple, Hoehnle said. He tells the HIV negative partner his results first, then spends more time and attention on the HIV positive partner.

He's seen partners support each other, but he acknowledges he can't read minds. A show of compassion could mask anger or fear.

"You don't know what's happening internally, in their heads, about how they're feeling about each other," he said.


Read the rest

L.A. To be First City to Mandate Condoms in Porn?

via Queerty, by Evan Mulvihill

A measure that would require actors in porn films to wear condoms qualified to be on the ballot next June in L.A., the adult-film capital of the United States.

The AIDS Healthcare Center collected around 71,000 signatures for the measure, almost double the 41,000 needed to get on the ballot.

Although condom usage is fairly widespread in mainstream gay porn, most major straight-porn companies don’t use them consistently.

Rising tensions about AIDS in the porn industry have reached a fever pitch in the past year: An AIDS scare based on a positive result from star Derrick Burts put a halt on the entire U.S. porn industry this August.

Just a few weeks ago, the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, a testing center partially funded by the porn industry, was shut down after being criticized by Burts and called a “sham clinic” by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

The ballot initiative has its detractors: L.A. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich says she believes the issue is for the state to regulate, not the city or county, and has filed papers saying so.


Read the rest

Aim for HIV Test Record in London for World AIDS Day

via PinkNews, by Staff Writer

The record attempt will take place at G-A-Y Bar on London's Old Compton Street

G-A-Y Bar and the 56 Dean Street NHS clinic are seeking participants to set a new world record for the most HIV tests administered in an eight hour period.

Dr Alan McOwan, Lead Consultant at 56 Dean Street, said: “We will be using the world’s fastest HIV antibody test, which provides a result in just 60 seconds.

“One in 20 gay men in London has undiagnosed HIV and two-thirds of undiagnosed men think that they are negative. Testing early can add 16 years to someone’s life.”

G-A-Y will be donating £10 for every test performed at one of nine testing stations around the venue to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The record setting attempt will run from 2pm to 10pm on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2011, and will be held at the G-A-Y bar on Old Compton Street.

Registration forms can be picked up from the venue in advance or completed on the day

Read the rest

Hey Peter, Is it true Howard Brown let's you get HIV tested with your Boo?

Peter Pointers is Chicago's most trusted source for gay, sexy, healthy info with an all-access pass to nationally known health and wellness experts. Go ahead, ask Peter for Pointers. Visit his page on the LifeLube site and read answers to commonly asked questions too.



Q: I heard that Howard Brown Health Center has a program that encourages male couples and sexual partners to get tested together for HIV.  Is that true?
 
A: Yes, you are correct! Getting an HIV test can be difficult, if not downright scary—and having a conversation with your partner(s) about HIV results can bring up a lot of other issues. Thanks to a new service developed by researchers from Emory University and funded by the MAC AIDS Fund, Howard Brown Health Center, and two clinics in Atlanta, can provide an opportunity to lessen those challenges among sexual partners.

I spoke with Sam Hoehnle, Project Coordinator of “Testing Together” at Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago.  Mr. Hoehnle said that “Testing Together” provides an opportunity for gay and bisexual men in relationships to get tested and receive their results together (at the same time, in the same room), with a trained counselor present to discuss the results. Testing with your partner and receiving your results together is a great opportunity to start (or continue) a healthy conversation about HIV in your relationship, and allows you to talk openly about building a plan to address HIV (and other STI) risks. The service is designed to focus on the future, not on what each person has done in the past.

Different types of couples can also benefit from this intervention. In the United States most infections occur between men and their primary sex partner. You or your partner may be infected with HIV and not even know it. Testing Together gives an opportunity for you and your partner to discuss how HIV may impact your relationship.

If you are positive you can still use the service. If you meet the screening criteria, Testing Together can provide an opportunity for you to share your status with your partner, in a controlled setting, with a trained counselor who will help start a discussion with you and your partner to discuss the realities of HIV in your relationship.

Some people may be concerned about how this service will affect their relationship, especially if they have different results.  While, there is no way to know what direction your relationship will take after finding out each other’s HIV test results, in Africa, where the service was started, most couples with different results stayed together. Every relationship is different. Knowing your partner’s status will start a conversation with honesty and trust.

The process of testing is relatively easy. You and your partner will be screened separately to see if you are eligible for testing. If you are eligible and agree to be tested together, then you will meet with a counselor to start a discussion about the testing process and how HIV impacts you in your specific relationship. The counselor will then provide the results for the test with you and your partner, at the same time and in the same room. Once you both know your status, the counselor will work with you both to determine the best way to minimize the risk of HIV in your relationship.

Only four clinics in the U.S. are offering this service for male couples. The two locations in Chicago are Howard Brown Health Center and the Broadway Youth Center (for people under 25 years of age).

Howard Brown offers the service during regular Walk-in Clinic hours and the Broadway Youth Center on Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm-8pm.

In Atlanta, services are offered at our partner sites AID Atlanta and Ric Crawford Clinic (formerly AID Gwinnett).

For more information about Testing Together you can go to www.testingtogether.org or check the program out on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter @TestingTogether.

TOMORROW - Howard Brown is hosting a community forum at their Sheridan location (4025 North Sheridan Road, Chicago) on Thursday, November 3rd - TOMORROW - from 6:30p - 8:00p. 

 

This forum is an opportunity for the community to learn more about the service. A representative from Emory University and Howard Brown Health Center will be there to present on couples HIV counseling and testing. The forum will also feature a question and answer portion. And light refreshments!

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Be well,
Peter Pointers
peterpointers@lifelube.org
www.lifelube.org/experts.php

Testing Together

via thegavoice, by Ryan Lee

The sexual transmission of HIV is often believed to be associated with promiscuity, but gay and bisexual men are far more likely to contract the disease while in a relationship than from a casual sex partner.

“If you look at new HIV infections among men who have sex with men, about two-thirds of new HIV infections come from main sex partners,” said Patrick Sullivan, an associate professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Sullivan and Emory researchers have adapted a strategy that has been used since the late 1980s for heterosexual couples in Africa, where HIV transmission often takes place within marriage, to help gay male couples in the United States learn their HIV status alongside their partners.

After a year of research conducted at AID Atlanta, “Testing Together” was officially launched in September, and “gives people a forum and a supportive place in which to have conversations that may be more difficult to raise individually,” Sullivan said.

“We made some important changes in the intervention [that has been used to test couples in Africa] to make it appropriate for male couples in the US,” Sullivan said. “For example, one of things that is addressed in the intervention is the issue of agreements.

“We know that most male couples in the United States have some kind of explicit agreement about whether or not they can have sex with partners outside their relationship.” he said.

 “We feel like ‘Testing Together’ is an important opportunity for guys to have a safe place to talk about that agreement and clarify it.”

According to data collected for the initiative, about 90 percent of gay male couples have had discussions about whether it is acceptable to have sexual partners outside of the relationship, with more than half of the couples identifying as strictly monogamous.

Of those monogamous couples, one quarter of partners acknowledged having sex outside of the relationship within the past year, and only one quarter of those men informed their primary partner about the lapse in monogamy.

“So the reality is that although most male couples in our research report that they have agreements toward monogamy, people are human and sometimes people step out of those agreements,” Sullivan said.

 “One of the things we do in this intervention is we give couples the chance to talk openly about what they want to do if that slip-up happens, and this isn’t a conversation that’s always comfortable to raise with your partner.”

The “Testing Together” intervention — which is financed by the MAC AIDS Fund and currently available at AID Atlanta, the Ric Crawford Clinic (formerly AID Gwinnett) and a gay health clinic in Chicago — emphasizes a “future forward” approach that helps it avoid being a high-anxiety “confessional” for partners, said Lamont Scales, prevention programs manager at AID Atlanta.


Read the rest

VIDEO: Check Him Out!

Conversion [lucky to know]

This is the first in a wonderful new series of intensely personal posts via the CROWOLF blog that we are delighted to share with our LifeLube family. As CROWOLF explains, "this is the first of a series of articles that Marc will be writing for my site on his recent conversion to being HIV positive.  Finding out this information can be a life changing event, and it’s not difficult at all to find yourself thrown into the deep end of the pool and unable to tread water.  Everything from finding a medical service provider, learning the in’s and outs of being covered under the Ryan White Care Act, a medical regiment, and having “the chat” with your partner that you’re positive can be overwhelming. Marc feels that sharing this new path he’s on will have a two-fold positive impact: he’ll be able to sort things out in his own head as he writes things down, and maybe someone reading this change in his life will benefit from realizing they’re not alone." 

by Marc Alexander (not his real name)

There is no good way to find out that you are HIV positive, but how I found out was particularly bad. It was early in the morning on Friday September 1st. I had just gotten home from dropping my mom off at U-Haul where she was picking up a truck that would take my furniture down to my new apartment. It had been three and a half months since I had graduated from college and I had recently finished my second week of graduate classes. I was looking forward to my birthday only a few months away. I had just let the movers hired to pack the truck into the apartment to survey what needed to be moved and we were simply waiting for my mom to come home. I had lost my keys and gotten a loan refund check in the mail from my grad school. That was when my doctor called.

I had known in the back of my mind that something was up when I didn’t get a quick negative from my tests. My doctor didn’t know if I had already moved to my new place, so he broke his established protocol and told me over the phone instead. I had known that there was something strange going on with my blood work because it had been almost five days since I got tested and I hadn’t heard back yet. Normally I get the all-clear call within two days. I had become a bit worried, but I had just pushed it to the back of my mind. The fear came flooding back, however, when I heard my doctor on the phone.

He told me that the test was back and the results were not good. When he said that, it felt like something heavy had fallen from my head deep into my gut. Like an elevator crashing. I immediately responded, “Oh god, what do I have?” I was impatient to hear it, in a way, and frightened to death of what the results were. I ran through in my head the full list of STDs I had been tested for and their symptoms and treatments. I was less concerned about HIV than I was ones that could actually cause huge immediate problems. My biggest fear was syphilis. But in the mere moments before my doctor spoke again, I had managed to worry about everything.

Then it came: “You tested positive for HIV.”

I remember that moment with vivid clarity, can still feel everything I felt. The chairs had all been taken outside for the movers to put in the truck, I couldn’t sit down. I stumbled a bit. It felt like a thin slit had been cut below my chest, between the bottom of my ribs, and someone was slowly and methodically pulling my intestines through. It honestly felt like something was being pulled from my body. I pressed my hand to where the sensation was coming from and entered the denial stage of grief. My first thought was that I was dreaming, but I knew that wasn’t true. Then I began to question if it was a false positive, but I had my blood drawn and a Western Blot test done, something I have never known to be wrong. I felt crippled and like my entire life had shrunk down to keeping my composure and trying to stay clear while on the phone with my doctor. I asked him questions I already knew the answer to, but I had started to doubt everything I knew about HIV.

My doctor wanted me to come in that day and see him, but I had a busy day of moving before me and my mom had walked in the door. Seeing her walk in was a reminder that there were other people who were going to be affected by my conversion. I knew I was going to have to be strong and not let the news cripple me. I would have my break down later, but my mom needed me to be strong and help with the move. She needed me to keep it together. But she also needed to know in case I broke down during the move. She needed to know so that she could help me deal with the news.

My mom and I walked outside away from the movers and I told her I had just been diagnosed as HIV positive. Understandably, her first reaction was, “What?” But the second thing she said to me was, “Thank god you get tested as often as you do.”

Somehow my mom had said the very thing that I needed to hear at that moment. Earlier that summer she had been surprised at my habit of getting tested every three months, thinking it was a little excessive, but now she was praising me for doing so, for being brave enough to know. She helped me realize something very important in that moment. I am lucky to know, and I am happy to know. I’m not happy to have converted, but I am better off knowing the truth. I know the fear of the virus that can cripple people. Plenty of people will say that they don’t care what their status is, but that isn’t true. They do care; they are just frightened of the answer. But now that I know, I can be sure that I take precautions in my life. I can protect myself from opportunistic infections and stop myself from spreading the virus. A lot of the reason for the spread of HIV is lack of testing and education about testing. As far as I know, everyone I had sex with in the past six months knew their status, and knew their status was negative. Clearly one of them was either lying or doesn’t know. That means whoever infected me could be infecting others and getting sicker and sicker, all because they don’t know.

I am happier knowing. Now I know what I have to do and I can get on top of the virus. I have the tools in front of me and the support I need. I can do what needs to be done. I’m lucky. How many people are there now who are untested and don’t know what is happening to their immune system? It is frightening to think that something could be breaking you down without you being aware. I know, and I can use that fear to fuel my drive to live.

To be continued….

7th Annual Love Fest - August 28th in Chicago

The Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus (CBGMC) is pleased to present LoveFest, an end of the Summer celebration!

Our 7th annual event will include captivating performances by some of Chicago's most well-known entertainers! Also, don't forget to get your teams and talents together for a mini-ball, bid whist and volleyball tournaments, and so much more!

And most importantly, the Chicago Department of Public Health is sponsoring our 'Healthy Is Sexy!' (H.I.S.) village and will provide an assortment of screenings and information to ensure that we continue to live at our healthiest.

So come out and have fun! It'll be great opportunity to meet and mingle with the Caucus and our brothers and sisters! We better see you there!!!

More information about LoveFest.

Kick-Off Reception at Club Escape on Thur., Aug. 25.

New Campaign: Testing Makes us Stronger

lboards. “Your HIV test result expires every time you have risky sex. Stay strong and informed

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/132Ig)

Your HIV test result expires every time you have risky sex. Stay strong and informed.

lboards. “Your HIV test result expires every time you have risky sex. Stay strong and informed

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/132Ig)

Read about the CDC's new HIV testing campaign focused on gay black men which takes an assets-based approach to the effort - looks very nice. Some images from the campaign below. Waddya think?

Odds for Detecting HIV Varies By Method, New Study Finds

via At a Glance

The odds for effectively detecting HIV in African-American men vary by method, researchers have found. The study, which appears in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, suggests that HIV-prevention efforts must be multi-faceted, taking into account differences in within this demographic.

To do so, they examined three different avenues for testing among African American MSM in New York City and looked at which methods showed the highest rates of positive HIV tests. By linking a method for getting tested with positive HIV results, the researchers could then better understand which methods were most likely to identify new HIV cases.

The three approaches for HIV testing included the following:

·         Partner services, which involves identifying, locating, and interviewing HIV-infected persons to provide names and contact information of their sex and needle-sharing partners, notifying partners of their exposure to HIV, and providing HIV counseling, testing, and referral services to those partners;

·         Alternative venue testing, in which rapid HIV testing is conducted in bars, churches, or mobile units;

·         The social networks strategy, where HIV testers engage either HIV-positive individuals or those at high risk of seroconversion to become “recruiters.” Through active enlistment and coaching processes, staff build relationships and help recruiters engage people in their social circles into HIV testing.


Read more.

Abbott's HIV Combo Test Detects Infections Earlier, Provides Valuable Information to Help Prevent Further HIV Transmission and May Save Treatment Costs

via PR Newswire

Hospital and public health laboratories across the country are now detecting early-stage HIV infections much sooner than previous tests since the launch of Abbott's ARCHITECT® HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay, a combination antigen-antibody test, in 2010.

Researchers reported finding early stage infections in places not known for high HIV prevalence like Sioux Falls, S.D., where HIV infections are believed to be low.  Experts presented their observations this week at an Abbott-sponsored workshop at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual meeting.

This year marks 30 years since the first U.S. reports of HIV and AIDS. While there have been significant advances made in the detection and treatment of the virus, each year more than 56,000 people in the U.S. are infected with HIV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and one in five people don't know they have it. The CDC also has reported that more than half of new HIV infections are transmitted by recently infected, highly contagious individuals unaware of their HIV status.

The Abbott ARCHITECT HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay is the first test approved in the United States that can simultaneously detect both HIV antigen and antibodies. HIV antigen is a protein produced by the virus immediately after infection, whereas antibodies are developed days later as the body works to fight off the infection. Studies have demonstrated that Abbott's test may detect HIV up to 20 days earlier than antibody-only tests, which is important in controlling the spread of the virus. This is particularly important because individuals who receive false negative results remain unaware that they have HIV and are not able to take proper precautions.

Read more. 

How often do you get tested? Willing to do so 2, 3 or 4 times a year?

More Frequent HIV Testing May Protect Gay Men

via Internal Medicine News

More than half – 59% – of new cases of HIV in the United States in 2009 occurred in men who have sex with men, based on data from 7,271 of them, as published on June 2 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"Given the high prevalence of new HIV infection among MSM [men who have sex with men] who had been tested during the past year, sexually active MSM might benefit from more frequent HIV testing," such as every 3-6 months, the researchers wrote (MMWR 2011;60:694-9).

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed data from MSM in 21 cities that were collected as part of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System (NHBS). The MSM were aged 18 years and older (mean, 34 years); 44% were white, 25% were Hispanic, and 23% were black.

Overall, 680 (9%) of the MSM were infected with HIV. Although 29% of these had been tested during the past 6 months, 16% had never been tested. A total of 61% had tested negative for HIV during the past year. Of the 61%, 7% were positive for HIV when they were tested by the NHBS (15% of blacks, 7% of Hispanics, and 3% of whites).

In general, men with higher incomes and education were more likely to be tested. Testing rates were similar among different ethnicities. However, "the high proportion of HIV-infected persons among minority MSM, particularly black MSM, who had not previously received a diagnosis of HIV infection and were tested during the past year underscores that testing among these populations should be a priority for HIV testing programs," the researchers wrote.

The findings were limited by several factors, including the possible underreporting of HIV-positive status and high-risk behaviors, and the recruitment of study participants from bars and clubs in cities with a high prevalence of AIDS, the researchers noted.

But the results suggest that MSM could be tested every 3 months or every 6 months, instead of the annual testing currently recommended by the CDC, they added.

"MSM account for just [2%] of the U.S. population but represent more than half of all new [HIV] infections in the United States," CDC director Thomas R. Frieden said in a statement issued on June 2.

The statement and the current MMWR report appear on the 30-year anniversary of the publication of the first case of HIV in what became the MMWR, Dr. Frieden said. Although effective treatment for HIV is widely available, high-risk groups such as MSM should remain vigilant about prevention, and they should be encouraged to take advantage of new interventions such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, he emphasized.

Visit www.hivtest.org for HIV testing sites in your area.

Unprotected sex more likely in serious gay relationships

Study shows new prevention efforts need to address young gay couples

Source.


Gay young men in serious relationships are six times more likely to have unprotected sex than those who hook up with casual partners, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

The findings provide a new direction for prevention efforts in this population who account for nearly 70 percent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in adolescents and young adults in the United States and who also have the highest increase in new infections.

"Being in a serious relationship provides a number of mental and physical health benefits, but it also increases behaviors that put you at risk for HIV transmission," said Brian Mustanski, associate professor in medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of a paper on the research, published online in the journal Health Psychology. "Men who believe a relationship is serious mistakenly think they don't need to protect themselves."

About 80 percent of gay young men who are HIV positive don't know it, because they aren't being tested frequently enough, he noted. "It isn't enough to ask your partner his HIV status," Mustanski said. "Instead, both people in a serious, monogamous couple relationship should go and receive at least two HIV tests before deciding to stop using condoms."

The new Northwestern research shows HIV prevention programs should be directed toward serious relationships rather than the current focus on individuals who hook up in casual relationships.

"We need to do greater outreach to young male couples," said Mustanski, who conducted the research when he was at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This is one population that has really been left behind. We should be focusing on serious relationships."

To help reach this group, Mustanski plans to produce two videos for gay youth this summer that discuss having healthy relationships and HIV prevention. The videos will be available on www.impactprogram.org.

The study findings dovetail with recent Centers for Disease Control data showing the majority of HIV transmissions occur in serious relationships. Being in a committed relationship more strongly influenced whether a gay man had unprotected sex than using drugs with a partner, the latter doubling the risk. A new shift to focus research on committed gay couples is partly a result of the burgeoning same-sex marriage movement, Mustanski said.

The Northwestern study looked at the behaviors of a diverse population of 122 young men (16 to 20 years old when the study began) over two years in Chicago and the suburbs. The men are a subset of participants in Mustanski's ongoing longitudinal study on the sexual and mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. The study, named Project Q2, is the longest running longitudinal study of LGBT youth ever conducted.

Studying the health of sexual and gender minorities has become a new priority for the federal government. In March, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating researchers need to engage LGBT populations in health studies.

To meet that goal, Northwestern has just entered a partnership with the Center on Halsted, the largest social service center in the Midwest for the LGBT community. Mustanski's research program on the sexual and physical health of sexual minorities – called the IMPACT Program-- will now reside in the Center on Halsted, which has a large HIV testing program and youth program. The move will facilitate research with the LGBT community.

"This collaboration gives us a chance to learn from the staff of the Center about emerging issues in the community, so that we can make those issues a research priority," Mustanski said. "And we can share our latest findings on prevention and healthy relationships with the staff, so they can immediately apply that to their services. There is a lot that we can learn from each other."

"We are thrilled to have the IMPACT program at Center on Halsted," said Modesto Tico Valle, the chief executive officer of the Center. "LGBT people are often excluded from major research endeavors, and IMPACT's focus on our community's health and development is vital. By embedding itself in the Center, IMPACT will have firsthand access to a diverse array of LGBT people to inform their research. We, in turn, have an invaluable opportunity to put IMPACT's research findings into practice, improving our programs to better meet the needs of our clients."

Got STD Testing?

via RH Reality Check, by Kenneth Katz

Excerpt:

First, know which tests you need, and how often.

Get the following STD tests every three to six months, if you’re sexually active, regardless of how often you use condoms during sex and even if you’re having no symptoms (since many STDs, including HIV, can cause no symptoms):

    * A test for HIV, if your last test was negative or you’ve never been tested.
    * A blood test for syphilis.
    * A test of your urethra for gonorrhea and chlamydia, if you’ve had insertive anal sex or received oral sex in the past year (or since your last test). The urethra is the tube that takes urine through the penis. In the past, testing meant inserting a swab into the urethra. These days, fortunately, all it takes is a urine sample. The best tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia are called NAATs, pronounced like “gnats” and short for “nucleic acid amplification tests.” Ask for them.
    * A test of your rectum for gonorrhea and chlamydia, if you’ve had receptive anal sex in the past year (or since your last test). This is done with a (painless!) swab that’s inserted into your rectum. It should be tested with NAATs.
    * A test of your throat for gonorrhea, if you’ve given oral sex in the past year (or since your last test). This is also done with a swab. This can be a bit uncomfortable if you’ve got a strong gag reflex, since the swab hits the back of your throat. But it’s not too bad, and it only lasts a second or two. Then it’s tested with NAATs. (Note that CDC doesn’t specifically recommend chlamydia tests of the throat, but in practice most NAATs test for chlamydia and gonorrhea at the same time.)

You should also discuss with your doctor whether blood tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and herpes simplex virus type 2 are right for you.

Read the rest.

AFC Recommends More Frequent HIV Testing for Gay Men

On this, National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) calls for more frequent HIV testing among gay men and a re-doubling of efforts to combat the epidemic among this most-impacted population.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on September 23 that approximately one in five gay men in 21 American cities are HIV-positive, and 44% were unaware of their status. Chicago released its data from this study in July 2009 and found that a little more than 17% of gay men surveyed were found to be HIV-positive.

CDC researchers tested a total 8,153 gay/bi men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who participated in the 2008 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System. They found the highest infection rate, 28 percent, was among black gay/bi and other MSM. Eighteen percent of Hispanic gay/bi and other MSM were infected, as were 16 percent of white men.

In Chicago, where a total of 570 men were tested, HIV prevalence among black gay men was 30.1 percent - more than twice the rate of white gay men (11.3 percent) and Hispanic gay men (12 percent). At the time of the survey, 50 percent were unaware of their positive status.

“These staggering numbers illustrate the severe impact HIV is having on gay men of all colors in our community. The impact on gay black men is especially troubling, and completely unacceptable,” said Mark Ishaug, AFC President/CEO. “We must re-double our efforts to address these appalling disparities.”

Since the CDC release, much of the coverage has neglected to provide important context. In Chicago, 88 percent of the gay/bi men and other MSM who were unaware of their HIV infection had been tested at least once for HIV in their lifetime and 61 percent of those men had reported taking at least two HIV tests in the past two years.

“The good news is that a majority of gay men are getting tested annually, a clear illustration of their concern. However, these data reveals that annual testing is not sufficient. AFC recommends that sexually active gay men with multiple or anonymous partners get tested every three to six months, and should get tested for syphilis at that frequency as well,” said Jim Pickett, AFC Director of Advocacy.

Per the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the resources deployed to combat HIV in this country must match the epidemic. Since the burden of HIV/AIDS falls on gay/bi men and other MSM, more must be done to meet the needs of this under-served population.

“While the dollars need to follow the epidemic, we also need to improve our prevention efforts and broaden our strategy beyond a focus on individual level change,” said David Ernesto Munar, AFC Vice President. “In the fight against HIV in Chicago and across the country, we need to focus on gay men and fighting homophobia. We need to increase testing frequency, we need to ensure access to appropriate care and treatment, and we need to go beyond individual level strategies and address bigger, systemic challenges that contribute to the disparities we are seeing.”

AFC recently launched an initiative—known as Project IN-CARE (Identify, Navigate, Connect, Access, Retain and Evaluate) — that addresses these disparities by linking people to care and meeting the unique needs of individuals living with HIV, focusing on gay men of color. A collaborative effort , partner agencies include AFC, Brothers Health Collective, Howard Brown Health Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and Test Positive Aware Network and is funded by a 1.8 million dollar National AIDS Foundation Positive Charge grant for three-years.

As of July 2010, the Chicago Department of Public Health reported 20,871 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago, 79 percent male and 21 percent female. Blacks made up 53 percent of these cases, followed by 27 percent among whites and 17 percent among Hispanics. Gay/bi men and other MSM made up the majority of cases – 56 percent, followed by injection drug users (19 percent) and heterosexuals (17 percent.) Because it is estimated that 21 percent of individuals who are HIV-positive are not aware of their status, Chicago could have as many as 26,419 people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Art of Protection, presented by the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus

An HIV/AIDS awareness and testing event highlighting the artistic talents of the LGBTQ Youth

WHEN?
September 29th, 2010, 6:00 PM

WHERE?
ROOM 43 located at 1039 E. 43rd St in Chicago

WHO?
LGBTQ Youth ages 18 - 24 encouraged to attend

WHAT?

• The best poets, singers, dancers and rappers will be there, all fighting HIV through artistic expression.
• Free confidential HIV Testing will be provided by TaskForce Prevention and Community Services
• Following the show there will be a youth speed dating session and an after party.
• Refreshments will be served FREE for all youth 18-24

RING!
For more info call 312-629-2988 ext 12 or call 773-66 YOUTH

A Day With HIV in America - Take a picture, it lasts longer

A nationwide photo essay sponsored by Positively Aware magazine

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE WITH HIV?

Positively Aware wants you to think about that question. Because, whether you’re positive or negative, we are all affected by HIV.

On Sept. 21, take a snapshot of a moment from your everday life. Use your digital camera or cell phone camera, and capture a scene: Getting ready for work. Hanging out with friends. Spending a quiet moment alone. Caring for someone with HIV. The idea is to come up with your own response to the question, What does it mean to live with HIV?

Make it happen.

Get Your Game On, Play Smart

Rally the team
Suit up
Know your stats
PEP Talk

Play Smart trading cards were created by artists, commissioned by Visual AIDS and designed by John Chaich. It's an honest and straight-forward approach to promote harm reduction, HIV testing and post-exposure prophylaxis.

The back of each trading card features information you need to know to Get Your Game On and Play Smart.

Watch: Porn Star Wolf Hudson Gets Tested

Do you?

Free Rapid HIV Testing - Center on Halsted

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Click for info.