Description: The U.S. Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC/DASH) is working in collaboration with several national organizations and selected states to address the HIV prevention needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents.
Objectives: The presentation will discuss the latest research on risk behaviors among these youth, including how victimization often drives risk behaviors. The presentation will describe initiatives that are addressing the environment in schools and youth-serving organizations to make them safer and culturally competent environments for these youth, which, in turn, facilitates providing effective HIV prevention. The initiatives presented will include: providing staff development training for CDC program officials; outlining collaborative activities among ten national non-governmental organizations that address high risk behaviors among gay youth; creating materials to address the special needs of minority youth who are also gay, lesbian, or bisexual; and convening an expert panel of researchers to examine the comprehensive health needs of these youth. In addition, the presentation will describe an initiative to convene officials from state departments of education, community-based organizations, state departments of health, and youth themselves to create state action plans for addressing the HIV prevention and other health needs among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents.
Conclusions: By providing a forum for national non-governmental organizations and states to collaborate on HIV prevention issues among a high risk population, the CDC and its partners are forging new ground in the fight against HIV infection among a high priority population.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the risk behaviors among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning youth. 2. Discuss the HIV prevention efforts that are being targeted at gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning youth in and out of school
Keywords: Adolescents, Gay
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.