A Training Program to Address HIV-Related Health Disparities in MSM

描述（由申请人提供）：艾滋病病毒是近30年前在美国首次发现的。从那时起，男同性恋者受到艾滋病毒/艾滋病的影响比国内任何其他社会群体都要严重。男同性恋者所遭受的健康差异是深刻的：虽然在大多数行为调查中，男同性恋者占所有男性的比例不到5%，但这一亚群体目前占美国所有新感染艾滋病毒的近60%。美国疾病控制与预防中心最近的一项分析计算出，男男性接触者感染艾滋病毒和梅毒的可能性分别是异性恋男性的60倍和61倍，感染艾滋病毒和梅毒的可能性分别是女性的54倍和93倍。因此，如果我们要成功地在美国预防艾滋病毒的持续传播，明确关注男同性恋者的艾滋病毒预防是必不可少的。艾滋病毒/艾滋病研究的结果通常支持这样的结论，即男同性恋者在许多社会心理健康问题上的发病率远高于异性恋者。越来越多的证据表明，这些社会心理健康问题集中在男同性恋者身上，相互放大影响，加剧了感染艾滋病毒/艾滋病的风险。这些“相互交织的流行病”或“综合病症”是越来越多的文献关注的焦点，它们表明，如果我们要找到更有效的方法来应对男男性行为者中的艾滋病流行，我们必须找到方法来解决多种社会心理健康状况，这些状况加剧了艾滋病毒风险，本身也构成了这一人群的重要健康风险。这项T32申请要求为匹兹堡大学的两名博士预科生和一名博士后培训生提供初步支持，以开展与艾滋病毒相关的男男性接触者健康差异研究，并在五年资助期结束时增加对四名博士预科生和两名博士后职位的支持。T32培训项目将利用现有的LGBT健康证书项目的资源，该项目本身是在匹兹堡大学公共卫生研究生院（行为与社区健康科学、流行病学与传染病和微生物学院系）几个国际公认的博士和博士后培训项目的背景下提供的。T32培训项目组织了一批国际公认的学者参加培训。因此，该项目将为学员提供男男性行为者健康差异研究的背景，重点是艾滋病毒/艾滋病预防研究，所有这些都在位于一流公共卫生研究生院的更大的博士和博士后培训项目的背景下进行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): HIV was first discovered in the United States nearly 30 years ago. Since that time MSM have been more severely impacted by HIV/AIDS than any other social group in the nation. The health disparities suffered by MSM are profound: while MSM account for less than 5% of all men in most behavioral surveys, this sub- population currently accounts for nearly 60% of all new HIV infections in the United States. A recent CDC analysis calculated that MSM are 60 and 61 times more likely to be infected with HIV and syphilis, respectively, than heterosexual men and 54 and 93 times more likely to be infected with HIV and syphilis, respectively, than women. A clear focus on the HIV prevention among MSM is therefore essential if we are to successfully prevent ongoing HIV transmission in the United States. Findings from HIV/AIDS research typically support the conclusion that gay men suffer far higher rates of numerous psychosocial health problems than those found among heterosexual men. Evidence is also accruing to show that these psychosocial health problems cluster among gay men, amplify the effects of each other and work to fuel risk for HIV/AIDS. These "intertwining epidemics" or "syndemics" are the focus of a growing literature and suggest that if we are to find more effective ways to respond to the AIDS epidemic among MSM, we must find ways to address multiple psychosocial health conditions that fuel HIV risk and in themselves constitute important health risks in this population. This T32 application requests initial support for two pre-doctoral and one post-doctoral trainee to for training in research on HIV-related health disparities among MSM at the University of Pittsburgh, with increased support to four pre-doctoral and two post-doctoral positions by the end of the five year grant period. The T32 training program will drawn on the resources of an existent Certificate Program in LGBT Health, itself given within the context of several internationally-recognized doctoral and post-doctoral training programs at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh (in the Departments of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Epidemiology and Infectious Disease and Microbiology). The T32 training program organizes an internationally-recognized group of scholars to participate in trainee. Thus, this program will give trainees a background in health disparities research among MSM, focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention research, all within the context of larger doctoral and post-doctoral training programs situated within a top-ranked graduate school of public health.