Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Governments Should Increase Efforts To Reduce Stigma, Improve Access To HIV Services Among MSM, UNAIDS Executive Director Sidibe Says
Governments worldwide should take action to eliminate stigma and discrimination against men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women and transgender people and improve their access to HIV services, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said recently, the Stabroek News reports. Sidibe added that governments also should create social and legal environments that respect human rights and ensure universal access to HIV prevention and treatment.According to the News, Sidibe in the statement said that the "failure to respond effectively has allowed HIV to reach crisis levels in many communities of men who have sex with men and transgender people." Efforts to reverse the spread of the virus among vulnerable populations must be evidence-based, grounded in human rights and support efforts to decriminalize same-sex sexual contact, he added, noting that more than 80 countries prohibit same-sex behavior. According to the News, UNAIDS and the United Nations Development Program have launched a campaign that aims to increase access to HIV services among MSM and transgender populations. UNAIDS estimates that in some regions HIV prevalence among MSM is more than 20 times higher than among the general population. In addition, HIV prevention services only reach 10% to 30% of MSM, the News reports. The UNAIDS plan outlines several factors that hinder access to HIV services for MSM, including an unwillingness of governments and donors to invest in services for MSM and fear of stigma and discrimination. Paul De Lay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said, "Countries must be rigorous in monitoring the evolution of their epidemics and recalibrate their HIV programming to respond to the needs of those most at risk," adding that programs targeting MSM "must be based on local epidemiological and social realities to be effective" (Stabroek News, 5/17).

Young Leaders Head For Junior 8/G8 Summit In Rome
What
News of the day
CWRU Receives 5 Million Dollars From Ohio Third Frontier Commission
The Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM), comprised of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland Clinic (CC), University Hospitals (UH), and Athersys, Inc. has received 5 million dollars from Ohio"s Third Frontier Commission under the Research Commercialization Program. The funding will help support new and innovative stem cell technologies including two commercial, four emerging and three pilot projects. This funding will be matched by each of the projects to create a $10 million grant benefiting stem cell and regenerative medicine in Ohio.
Health Insurance

Government-backed Youth Programme Pilot Didn't Reduce Teenage Pregnancies

A government-backed youth development pilot programme in England, aimed at reducing teenage pregnancies, drunkenness or cannabis use, didn"t reduce teenage pregnancies and other outcomes and might have increased pregnancies, according to research published on bmj.com. The authors, led by Meg Wiggins of the Institute of Education, University of London and Chris Bonell at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, were commissioned by the Department of Health to carry out an independent evaluation of the Young People"s Development Programme (YPDP) in England. Initiated in 2004, YPDP was informed by the US Children"s Aid Society-Carrera programme which significantly reduced teenage pregnancies in disadvantaged areas of New York city. However, a 2005 study of attempted replications elsewhere in the United States did not find such benefits and there have been calls for further evaluation. The study included over 2,500 young people aged 13 to 15 years who were deemed by professionals to be vulnerable or at risk of teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, or school exclusion. Participants were either taking part in YPDP (intervention group) or a youth programme not receiving YPDP funds (comparison group). Measures including pregnancy, weekly cannabis use, and monthly drunkenness were assessed at 18 months. Key results reveal significantly more pregnancies among young women in the YPDP group than in the comparison group (16% versus 6%). Young women in the YPDP group also more commonly reported early heterosexual experience (58% versus 33%) and expectation of teenage parenthood (34% versus 24%). Significantly more young people in the YPDP group also reported truanting in the previous six months than in the comparison group. The authors found no definite explanation for the findings. For example, one obvious explanation is that young people in the YPDP group were more at risk at the start of the study, yet the authors show that YPDP group participants were no more sexually active than those in the comparison group and adjusted for other differences. Other plausible causes may involve participants being exposed to more risky peers and being labelled as problematic. They conclude that any further implementation of such interventions in the UK should be only within randomised trials. They also suggest that participants should be targeted by social disadvantage rather than behavioural risk and that wider socioeconomic and education influences on young people"s health need to be addressed. These results suggest that, at best, the programme had no impact, and at worst had a negative impact, says Douglas Kirby, a senior research scientist based in the United States. But this does not mean that all youth development approaches are ineffective, he writes. For example, programmes may be more effective when implemented by charismatic staff, when they facilitate access to reproductive health services, when the staff connect with the teenage participants, or when the staff give a strong clear message about avoiding unprotected sex. Furthermore, there is evidence that different types of youth development programs can have a positive impact on sexual risk behaviour and reported pregnancy rates. Link to paper Link to editorial British Medical Journal


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009