News 2015
NIH-Led Study to Assess Community-Based Hepatitis C Treatment in Washington, D.C.
Henry Masur, M.D., Chief, Critical Care Medicine Department, National Institutes of Health
Officials from the National Institutes of Health and the city of Washington, D.C., launched a clinical trial to examine whether primary care physicians and other health care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can use a new antiviral therapy as effectively as specialist physicians to treat people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The trial, which will involve 600 adult D.C. residents infected with HCV alone or co-infected with HCV and HIV, also will examine the long-term effects of the treatment.
Read more: NIH-Led Study to Assess Community-Based Hepatitis C Treatment in Washington, D.C.
Missouri Gov. Endorses Work Requirement As Part Of Medicaid Expansion Plan
Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Governor of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, Nixon was first elected Governor in 2008
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said he was willing to work with Republicans on a plan to expand the state's Medicaid program and even offered endorsements for conservative ideas that have drawn reproach from some health advocates.
Read more: Missouri Gov. Endorses Work Requirement As Part Of Medicaid Expansion Plan
PrEP Clinics: A New Weapon in the Fight Against HIV
Neena Smith-Bankhead, M.S., Chief Research Officer, R.E.D Institute, AID Atlanta, Inc.
No tool should be left unused in the fight against HIV.
However, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a prevention method in which those who are not HIV positive take a daily dose of the pill Truvada to ward off infection, has not received the widespread attention that many HIV/AIDS advocates would like, and awareness of it in the Black community is alarmingly low.
Read more: PrEP Clinics: A New Weapon in the Fight Against HIV
Black Voices: Youth-Focused Digital Outreach with Greater Than AIDS
A young man from the District of Columbia tells his story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce0HE2DK7JI
#SpeakOutHIV conversations is an LGBTQ youth-focused campaign from Greater Than AIDS that emphasizes around relationships, healthcare, and community; it's a dialogue geared toward eradicating stigma, and it's driven by the power of digital stories and social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. This campaign is so important because between 2008-2010, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted a 22% increase in new infections among gay men ages 13-24. This makes #SpeakOutHIV's focus on youth that much more critical and increases its potential impact.
Read more: Black Voices: Youth-Focused Digital Outreach with Greater Than AIDS
In This Issue
For the past several years, I have been telling Black Americans that we have the tools to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I'm am even more convinced of that as PrEP clinics—specialized programs where people at risk of HIV can learn about pre-exposure prophylaxis and the other biomedical options available to them—begin to open in communities around the country. Tamara Holmes explores this new option in our toolkit to create an AIDS-free generation.