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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Chris Viveiros THE FENWAY INSTITUTE TO HOST GROUNDBREAKING APRIL 26 – 27 MSM HEALTH THINK-TANK WITH RESEARCHERS AND HEALTH LEADERS FROM ACROSS U.S. On April 26 and 27, 2010, The Fenway Institute will host a meeting of some of the United States’ top researchers, key stakeholders, and public health leaders to discuss the current state of knowledge about the sexual health of American men who have sex with men (MSM) and the implications of these findings for HIV and STD prevention programs and further health research. The meeting is being sponsored by the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Office of AIDS Research and, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, with additional support from The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and John Snow, Inc., and will be held at The Fenway Institute’s Ansin Building conference center. Recent global and national statistics reveal that HIV and STDs are continuing to spread among MSM at concerning rates. Clinical researchers, public health officials and community leaders need to develop new strategies for culturally appropriate and effective prevention interventions. Attendees at the April 26 – 27 meeting, “The Sexual Health of Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: HIV/STD Prevention Plus,” will discuss HIV and STD transmission within the broader context of sexual health, and will address many of the structural, social and cultural factors that influence individual sexual health. Topics include:
The meeting will also look to the future, by bringing together leading policymakers and community leaders to discuss the gaps and the opportunities in HIV/STD prevention programming and policy. The meeting is closed to the press, but select participants will be available to speak with interested reporters after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27. Please contact Chris Viveiros at 617.927.6342 or cviveiros@fenwayhealth.org to schedule an interview. Dr. Kenneth Mayer, Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute noted, “Despite several decades of intensive biomedical and psychosocial research in HIV and STD prevention, rates of new infections continue to rise among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). The goal of this meeting is to review what we know, what we need to learn, what works, what are best practices, what isn’t working, and to develop an action agenda that can link front line clinical services, researchers, public officials, and advocates in a coordinated manner, in order to improve community health.” Nearly 100 of the country’s leaders in sexual health research, policy, and programming have been invited to share their ideas and findings as part of a “think-tank” that will encourage new ideas and innovation. After the meeting, a supplement will be published to a leading peer-reviewed journal so that a much larger and broader audience can then apply the information from the meeting to their own work and study. Under the direction of Dr Kenneth Mayer and in conjunction with an Organizing Committee consisting of colleagues from the USPHS, and respected leaders in academia, as well as national community leaders, The Fenway Institute is overseeing the development and implementation of the conference. For nearly forty years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. The Fenway Institute is the home of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health, the first federally-funded research center to focus specifically on sexual and gender minority population research. More online at www.thefenwayinstitute.org. |
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