December 14, 2017 – Ms. JuHyun Sakota, Manager of Data and Research at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), presented at this month’s Commission on HIV meeting, as part of the HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series.

She presented the results from the 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.  The data gave an indepth perspective of the key characteristics of individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles including demographic breakdowns by ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, health conditions, and service planning areas in Los Angeles.  According to the data presented, 2 out of 100 person ages 18 and over experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles have HIV/AIDS based on self-reported data.  From their data, significant increases in persons who have HIV/AIDS were reported in service planning area 4 (Metro), 7 (East LA), and 8 (South Bay) from 2016 to 2017.

To learn more about the data presented, download the slides from the presentation below and check back soon as we’ll be uploading the lecture on Youtube:

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

September 14, 2017 — A collaborative of 6 youth-serving agencies in Los Angeles evaluated the youth-friendliness of HIV testing services available. A total of 19 testing sites across the county were evaluated by youth utilizing a tool that focused on four core areas (confidentiality and privacy; youth-centered counseling; sex-positive health messaging; and youth-friendly environment). The findings of the evaluation highlight the need to update HIV testing training, protocols, and policies to focus on these core areas, which impact the acceptability of testing services for youth. This evaluation is a first step in improving the quality of services available for youth in Los Angeles. In addition, the presentation will include a discussion about the barriers and facilitators to accessing local HIV testing services among youth.

Recording: https://youtu.be/-Bbrx7WXFiQ

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

May 11, 2017 – In Los Angeles County, almost half of all people living with HIV are over the age of 50. This community has many unique medical and psychosocial care needs that often are not adequately met through the current portfolio of services.  Dr. Stephen Karpiak of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA) in New York presented research data from “Research on Older Adults with HIV” (ROAH), a national study examining clinical data and needs of aging people living with HIV (PLWH).  A team of presenters from APLA Health, including Jeff Bailey, Keshav Tyagi, and Dr. Matt Mutchler, also presented on preliminary findings from their “Healthy Living Project,” (HLP), a community needs assessment formally qualifying the service gaps and needs of aging PLWH in Los Angeles.

In sharing this information, the presenters anticipate that service providers and community members will learn about the complex needs of this sub-population of PLWH. The information presented offered information that inform how addressing the needs of older adults living with HIV can be integrated across multiple service delivery systems and bring additional service providers into the HIV service delivery system.  Ultimately, the discussion is to foster and leverage collaboration and partnership between organizations and the community in order to produce proactive and culturally appropriate ideas that will help aging PLWH enhance their quality of life.

2017 May Colloquium Slides

Recording: https://youtu.be/GzmHXNdQnHk

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

April 13, 2017 – AltaMed has become a pioneer in content marketing for the promotion of HIV prevention and PrEP services. Using a digital approach they have created online conversations in target populations resulting in increased awareness on PrEP, HIV treatment and prevention. The newly launched 3-part digital campaign,“Ask Me About PrEP,” was produced to increase awareness of PrEP and reach a broad audience including medical providers in health care settings, young Black MSM and transgender women. These campaigns are designed to follow the current trend in content marketing, which over the past two decades, has grown significantly as audiences shift to new media, consuming content in entirely new ways.

The videos model conversations around PrEP and answers key concerns around the use of this prevention strategy. The campaign also highlights scenarios where PrEP can be incorporated into a person’s daily routine and why it is a responsible option to preventing HIV.

Objectives:
1. Increase PrEP knowledge and access by communities most impacted by HIV, specifically young Black gay and bisexual men and transgender women.
2. Increase provider knowledge on the effective use of PrEP in primary care settings to address HIV disparities that remain in communities of color.
3. Identify strategies to increase PrEP knowledge and prescriptions to patients in a non-discriminatory and unbiased manner using digital media.
4. Learn how to incorporate PrEP in daily routine using digital media.

Recording: https://youtu.be/u31xTyz-V8U

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

February 9, 2017 – Dr. Sonali Kulkarni, Medical Director of the Division of HIV and STD Programs, and Dr. Leo Moore, Associate Medical Director & Clinical Prevention Specialist, both from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health presented “HIV Biomedical Prevention Efforts in Los Angeles County” at the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV meeting.

2017 February Colloquium Flyer
2017 February Colloquium Slides

Recording: https://youtu.be/WvjmjY_UiYM

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

October 13, 2016 – This panel presentation will include an overview of key federal and state law protections from discrimination applicable to people living with HIV. This includes discrimination in multiple settings, including healthcare, housing, employment and public accommodations. Attendees will learn about recent data on HIV-based discrimination in Los Angeles County, an overview of the laws that may apply, and the remedies available to individuals who may have faced illegal discrimination on the basis of HIV-positive status.

About the Presenters:

Ayako Miyashita is the Sears Law Teaching Fellow at the Williams Institute, a research institute focused on LGBT issues at UCLA School of Law. She also serves as the Director of the LAHLPP under the Clinical and Experiential Department at the law school. Ms. Miyashita directs the work of this legal services collaborative, serving Angelinos living with HIV who may be experiencing an unmet legal need.

Megan Yelorda is an Equal Opportunity Specialist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Pacific Region. In 2005, after completing her M.P.H. in global health at Loma Linda University, Ms. Yelorda began her career with the City of Kansas, Health Department, working as a health inspector in the Food Protection Program and later as a program recruiter for the Public Health Ambassador program. She joined OCR in 2009 and focuses on civil rights and Health Information Privacy (HIP) cases.

Michael Leoz is the Regional Manager for the Pacific Region of the U.S. DHHS’ sOffice for Civil Rights (OCR). He is responsible for the overall investigation and resolution of all complaints and compliance reviews arising out of the Pacific Region. Mr. Leoz is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and of the University of Southern California Law School and is admitted to both the State Bar of California and the U.S. Federal District Court, Central District of CA.

Angela Oh is an attorney mediator at the CA Dept. of Fair Employment & Housing. Her work focuses on providing individuals with an alternative dispute resolution process that facilitates early resolution of charges of discrimination. Ms. Oh believes that her work as a trial lawyer, a community-based advocate for civil rights, and her experience with conflict resolution provide a strong foundation for her current work which she sees as an essential and complementary alternative to litigation.

Paula Pearlman is the Assistant Chief Counsel of the Dept of Fair Employment & Housing. She works with a team of lawyers litigating high impact cases on behalf of the state of California in the areas of housing and employment, and is the former Executive Director of the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC).

2016 October Colloquium Slides – Meningitis
2016 October Colloquium Slides – Shigella Outbreak

Recording: https://youtu.be/YCeeQCqekfU

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

July 14, 2016 – Drs. Steve Shoptaw, Raphael Landovitz, and Jesse Clark presented “Moving Beyond Truvada for PrEP: The Next Generation of Biomedical HIV Prevention and What It Means for Los Angeles,” shared information about the new direction in biomedical HIV prevention and the opportunities it brings to the most at-risk populations in Los Angeles. The event was attended by over 120 community service providers, consumers, and Commission committee members.

Truvada, used as PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV in diverse populations and risk groups when taken daily as prescribed. Some individuals find it challenging to adhere to a daily medication; less than daily use may compromise protective efficacy. The next generation of PrEP agents will attempt to improve on the effectiveness, safety, tolerability, and acceptability of Truvada. Two new NIH sponsored multi-site clinical trials (HPTN 085 and 083) designed to help develop new PrEP agents and strategies for prevention will have participating sites in Los Angeles. These studies are an opportunity for at-risk MSM and transgender individuals who have sex with men to be a part of cutting-edge scientific research. HPTN 085 evaluates the safety of the broadly neutralizing antibody VRC01 as an intravenous infusion for HIV prevention; HPTN 083 compares daily oral Truvada to a long acting injectable antiretroviral (cabotegravir) for HIV prevention. Both studies will contribute critically important information to move the field of biomedical HIV prevention forward, and in the process bring new HIV prevention strategies to the most at-risk populations of Los Angeles County.

Recording: https://youtu.be/s_rxMEHv5Uw

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

June, 2017 – Dr. Milburn is a Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute Center for Community Health and Director of Research and Evaluation at the Nathanson Family Resilience Center. Her research interests include homelessness, substance abuse, mental health and family-based behavioral interventions. She has examined paths into and out of homelessness, as well as the risk for HIV among homeless youth in the U.S. and Australia. She has designed and implemented a behavioral intervention for homeless adolescents at risk for HIV and their families.

Recording: https://youtu.be/FqrCvIjwfEw

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!

May 12, 2016 – AltaMed’s English and Spanish telenovela webseries Sin Vergüenza (Without Shame) was developed to address the impact HIV has on the Latino community. Now in its second season, Sin Vergüenza highlights the importance of obtaining HIV medical treatment and support for coping with a diagnosis. While stigma and shame continue to be one of the greatest obstacles for persons living with HIV, AltaMed presented engagement metrics on the series to demonstrate the role telenovelas have in igniting conversation around high impact HIV prevention topics.

Please visit http://svseries.com or click here to watch the complete Season I and II of Sin Vergüenza.

Recording: https://youtu.be/QaDR-Q1kRLg

CHIPTS hosts a monthly HIV Research and Community Colloquia Series in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV to highlight current issues and conversations surrounding HIV. Click here for past lectures and check out the events page for more information on future Colloquia presentations!