HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis, and Harm Reduction Digest

January 3, 2024

NACCHO News and Announcements

DIS Subcommittee Recruitment

Are you a disease intervention specialist (DIS) and interested in the opportunity to work with your national DIS colleagues? If so, join NACCHO’s DIS Subcommittee! This group was recently established under NACCHO’s Subject Matter Expert Workgroup- the HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis Workgroup (HSHW) and provides local DIS with the opportunity to frame NACCHO’s DIS work. Through this subcommittee, NACCHO aims to elevate and support the work of DIS through information and resource sharing, as well as peer engagement. This is an excellent opportunity for DIS to bring valuable perspectives and insight from a field that only your workforce knows best!

If interested in this opportunity, please complete the interest form here by the deadline (1/5/24). If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to STI Senior Program Analyst, Daisha Washington.

Congenital Syphilis Community of Practice

Join NACCHO’s Congenital Syphilis (CS) Community of Practice (CoP)! Through this opportunity, local health department staff can engage in collaborative learning and knowledge-sharing activities that enhance their capacity to implement or scale-up interventions to address CS and syphilis among individuals of child-bearing capacity. The CoP is scheduled to resume in February 2024 and is open to any health department staff with interest in working to address congenital syphilis in their community. If interested and to learn more about the CS CoP, visit here. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to STI Senior Program Analyst, Sonia Almonte.

Sexual Health Services in Jails Webinar (Part 1)

Wondering how STIs are being addressed in jail settings? If so, join NACCHO for its “Sexual Health Services in Jails” webinar session on Wednesday, January 10th at 2pm EST as we discuss several jail projects across the country, including Yuba County Health and Human Services, Northern Nevada Public Health, and Orange County Corrections/Health Services Department. During the webinar, we will discuss how these jail projects have been implemented, key staff involved, as well as lessons learned/best practices. If interested, register here.

Sexual Health Services in Jails Webinar (Part 2)

Join NACCHO on Wednesday, February 21st at 2pm EST for part two of our Sexual Health Services in Jails series! During this session, we will highlight several jail projects across the country, including Seattle-King County, Pueblo County, Alabama Department of Public Health, and San Francisco Department of Public Health. Similar to the first session, we will discuss how these projects were developed/implemented, key staff involved, as well as lessons learned/best practices. We hope you can join us and if interested, please register here.

HIV, STI, and Hepatitis Resources and News

Registration Open for STI Engage 2024: Shaping the Nation’s Health

Registration, sponsorship and exhibitor options, preliminary schedules and more are now available online.

Registration is open for STI Engage 2024: Shaping the Nation’s Health. We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. on June 2-5, 2024 for the STI sector’s biggest and most important in-person gathering. STI Engage 2024 will provide you with the most current information on cutting edge strategies in STI prevention, research, and care. Through our signature plenaries, breakout sessions, and networking events, you will have an opportunity to hear directly from the nation’s STI leaders and your peers across the country as we explore how our collective work on the nation’s STI epidemic is shaping the nation’s health.
Register here.

Understanding the Impact of Herpes Simplex Virus: A Community-Based Survey

Something Positive for Positive People (SPFPP) is conducting an anonymous survey for individuals diagnosed with Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), with the goal of better understanding the experiences of those diagnosed with HSV to better serve the community. Learn More.

News to Note

Use of Doxycycline to Prevent STIs according to Provider Characteristics – CDC

Emerging Infectious Disease, Vol 30, Number 1 – January 2024 Use of doxycycline to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may lead to antimicrobial resistance. The authors analyzed attitudes toward this practice between US providers who commonly and less commonly treat STIs. Providers who more commonly treat STIs are more likely to prescribe prophylactic doxycycline and believe that benefits outweigh potential for increased antimicrobial resistance.

Upcoming Opportunities

Managing Comorbidities in People with HIV Over 50 | MidAtlantic AETC

January 17, 2024

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the importance of HIV screening in sexually active older adults.
• List and describe several age-related conditions and comorbidities associated with HIV.
• Describe the changing clinical care landscape for patients over the age of 50 with HIV.
• Additional objectives forthcoming.

Register here.

Understanding the Power of Cultural Humility in the HIV Community | MidAtlantic AETC

February 21, 2024

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Define cultural humility versus cultural competence.
• Delineate aspects of cultural humility that impact patient care for those with and at risk for HIV.
• Describe what is meant by viewing cultural humility through a “trauma-informed lens.”
• Discuss how cultural bias can affect decision making by patients, staff, and the healthcare team.

Register here.

Ending the Syndemic: Harm Reduction, PrEP and PEP: Preventing HIV | Indian Country ECHO

February 27, 2024

Staff serving American Indian & Alaska Native people are invited to participate in the Ending the Syndemic: Harm Reduction, PrEP and PEP: Preventing HIV virtual training. This 2.5-hour virtual training program is designed to aid clinicians in effectively integrating Harm Reduction, Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) services in Indian Health Service, Tribal and Urban Indian clinics to prevent HIV.

Register here.