INVITED SYMPOSIUM: HEALTH EQUITY IN HIV/AIDS PREVENTION: HIV Prevention Research Target Populations through the Lenses of Behavioral, Contextual, and Political Environments

Efforts to prevent the acquisition and transmission of HIV are at a crossroad. Several efficacious behavioral and biomedical approaches are now available for HIV prevention. However, optimal uptake of these approaches requires consideration of how behavioral, contextual and political environments may hinder or facilitate populations to use them consistently and as prescribed. Our three speakers provide examples of HIV prevention research that target different populations through these lenses of consideration. Dr. Keith Horvath will present on what HIV prevention efforts are being developed with the use of mHealth among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM), including HIV testing. Dr. Hansel Tookes will present a case study in advocacy and policy efforts toward implementing syringe exchange programs in Florida by demonstrating how change can be effected through research that highlights problems seen every day in a clinical setting. Dr. Adam Carrico and associates, noting that the great majority (over 83%) of all primary and secondary cases of syphilis in the US are among MSM, delve further into the rates and correlates of syphilis reinfection in this population, concluding that syphilis prevention efforts targeting MSM should address the unique needs of those who are HIV+. Collectively, these presenters detail some of the contexts which must be considered to provide and encourage uptake of different HIV prevention strategies amongst some of the populations who are most at-risk for HIV in the U.S.