Research & Interest

Dr. Frank Galvan received his doctoral degree in social welfare from UCLA in 1998. He is an Assistant Professor at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. He has also been a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California since 1984. In addition to his roles in CHIPTS, he is also an investigator with the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (Drew CARES) at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. His primary research interests include HIV prevention among Latinos, alcohol use among HIV-positive people, and coping with living with HIV.

Dr Galvan is presently the principal investigator of three studies. Two are funded by the Universitywide AIDS Research Program (UARP) of the University of California and one is funded by NIH. One UARP-funded project compares two HIV testing outreach protocols with Latino gay men, one that includes HIV testing within a broader health promotion and another that offers only HIV testing. The aim of this study is to determine if an HIV testing outreach protocol that incorporates a broader health promotion focus results in a higher number of individuals who test for HIV in comparison to the standard HIV testing outreach protocol and identifies more people as being HIV-positive. The second UARP-funded study examines the HIV-related high-risk behaviors of Latino immigrant day laborers. The third study is funded through a Center grant to Charles R. Drew University from the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The principal aims of this pilot study are to obtain more-comprehensive information about alcohol consumption by HIV-positive people by using a clinical diagnostic measure of actual alcohol abuse and to identify the issues related to alcohol consumption that may be particularly relevant for alcohol prevention programs for HIV-positive African Americans and Latinos.

Selected Publications

• Galvan F (1999). Sources of personal meaning among Mexican and Mexican American men with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Multicultural Social Work 7(3/4), 45-67.
  
• Galvan F, Bing E, Bluthenthal R (2000). Accessing HIV testing and Care. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 25, S151-S156.
  
• Galvan FH, Bing EG, Fleishman JA, London AS, Caetano R, Burnam MA, Longshore D, Morton SC, Orlando M, Shapiro M (2002). The prevalence of alcohol consumption and heavy drinking among people with HIV in the United States: Results from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 63(2), 179-186.
  
• Galvan FH, Burnam MA, Bing EG (2003). Co-occurring psychiatric symptoms and drug dependence or heavy drinking among HIV-positive people. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs SARC Supplement No. 1, 153-160.
  
• Galvan FH, Caetano R (2003). Alcohol use and related problems among ethnic minorities in the United States. Alcohol Research & Health 27(1), 87-94.
  
• Galvan FH, Brooks RA, Leibowitz AA (2004). Rapid HIV testing: Issues in implementation. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 18(1), 15-18.
  
• Morales LS, Cunningham WE, Galvan FH, Andersen RM, Nakazono TT, Shapiro MF (2004). Subgroup differences in access to medical and dental care among Hispanics infected with HIV in the United States. American Journal of Public Health 94(7), 1119-1121.
  
• Galvan FH, Collins R, Kanouse DE, Burnam MA, Paddock SM, Beckman R, Mitchell SR (2004). Abuse in the close relationships of people with HIV. AIDS & Behavior 8(4), 441-451.
  
• Cohen DA, Kanouse D, Iguchi M, Bluthenthal R, Galvan F, Bing E. Screening for STDs in non-traditional settings: A personal view. (In press, International Journal of STDs and HIV).
  
• Russak SM, Bing EG, Ortiz DJ, Galvan FH. Protecting our militaries: A systematic literature review of military HIV/AIDS prevention programs worldwide. (In press, Military Medicine)