The UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS) Community Advisory Board hosted a seminar, entitled “Impact of Systemic Racism on Current PrEP Uptake in Black and Latinx Communities: A Solution Oriented Approach for the Future” on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021 from 11:00AM-1:00PM, PST,  in collaboration with the Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center Program (PAETC), AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), and REACH LA.

The objectives of the seminar were to:

  • Discuss systemic racism within healthcare settings and how it impacts PrEP access and uptake in Black and Latinx communities
  • Provide key steps and resources to address systemic racism and implement the necessary changes at the provider-level
  • Highlight and share effective practices that improve access to and uptake of PrEP and other HIV prevention services

Opening remarks were given by James Aboagye and moderator, Natalie Sanchez. The seminar opened with a PSA video compilation discussing consumer PrEP experiences, produced by Thea Eskey. The meeting continued with a panel of speakers. Felipe Findley set the stage by addressing the history of racism in healthcare and tied it to consumer experiences and lack of trust in the healthcare system, Nina Harawa, laid out informative data detailing PrEP uptake and health outcomes in Los Angeles county, Miguel Bujanda from REACH LA, shared best practices around HIV testing and PrEP services via a telehealth model which provides access to PrEP for priority communities, Lorenzo Banda of Watt’s Health shared some experiences and considerations for reaching communities from the perspective of a peer navigator, and Terry Smith of APLA, closed with an informative presentation on important considerations for providing sexual health services post-pandemic that would help increase access especially to communities that may already be hardly reached.

The seminar continued with an interactive breakout discussion led by facilitators with a goal of developing key recommendations, strategies and best practices to address systemic racism at different levels in the healthcare system and increase PrEP uptake. Finally, to close out the day’s event, a provider/consumer panel discussion led by Damone Thomas, featuring Chandi Moore and Felipe Findley highlighted some real world experiences around the effects of systemic racism in PrEP access. CAB Co-chairs, Brandon Harrison and Natalie Sanchez gave the closing remarks, and participants left feeling enriched and motivated to take active steps to address systemic racism in the healthcare settings they work in or partner with.

Watch Conference Video Recording here

 

See featured speakers’ presentations (PDF slides) for download: