Conference Focuses on HIV Care and Treatment
Photo: Leslie Kossoff
The National Institute of Nursing Research recently hosted “Strengthening the Impact of Community Health Workers on HIV Care and Viral Suppression in the U.S.,” a conference in support of the HHS initiative to reduce new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent in 5 years and by 90 percent by 2030 as proposed in Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.
The 2-day conference launched an NIH Office of AIDS Research-funded initiative to establish evidence for engaging community health workers to close the gap between antiretroviral therapy prescription and viral suppression, a crucial step in preventing the transmission of HIV, improving lives and ending the HIV epidemic. Community health workers can be a bridge between communities and the health care system and are associated with improved health outcomes, enhanced disease management and reductions in health care delivery costs.
The trans-NIH event brought together representatives from CDC, HRSA and OASH, researchers, health professionals, nurse scientists and community health workers to identify research gaps, share best practices and learn from each other and explore collaborations.
Keynote addresses were delivered by Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, principal deputy assistant secretary of health; Dr. Joia Mukherjee of Harvard Medical School and chief medical officer of Partners in Health; and Dr. Michael Mugavero, professor of medicine and senior scientist, Center for AIDS Research, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Conference cosponsors included the NIH Office of AIDS Research, NIDA, NIMH, NIMHD and the Tribal Health Research Office.—Adrienne Burroughs