a woman points to a computer screen with 3d data models on it.

HIV education study seeks to reach transgender women via social media influencers

Transgender women are significantly more likely to have HIV than the general population, while studies show they are less likely to engage in HIV prevention strategies. The disconnect may exist because they receive insufficient information about prevention medicine, possibly due to systemic bias. Transgender women have reported challenges receiving support from healthcare providers. And pharmaceutical companies, though they devote large budgets to advertising Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs that can help prevent HIV, tend to leave transgender women out of their campaigns....
Social and Behavioral Sciences
LGBTQ Health
Research
a hand holding a transgender pride flag

Study highlights importance of access to gender-affirming procedures

New findings from a College of Public Health study add to the growing body of literature that gender-affirming procedures, such as hormone therapy or surgery, have positive psychosocial benefits for transgender people who undergo such procedures. The study also finds that barriers to accessing healthcare providers raise expectations of future discrimination, potentially leading individuals to forego these procedures and the quality-of-life benefits they can bring. “These findings come at a time when state legislatures are advancing bills that aim to restrict access to, and i...
Research
LGBTQ Health
Social and Behavioral Sciences
a lawyer sits at a table with a client

NIH-funded study explores benefits of legal support in HIV care

Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) grew out of the understanding that a person’s health is affected by more than just biology. Research has shown that social and structural determinants like housing conditions, employment and immigration status can impact physical and mental health and contribute to health disparities between different populations. A medical-legal partnership is an innovation that adds the expertise of a lawyer to the healthcare team, integrating care for the patient in one place and helping clinicians, case managers and social workers address structural prob...
School of Social Work
LGBTQ Health
Two men talking to one another in a park

TEP intervention is a promising model for engaging high-risk populations

Individuals of transgender experience are disproportionately affected by HIV, but resources for prevention and treatment within the mainstream healthcare system can be limited. Often, it’s grass-roots organizations that fill the healthcare gap for this community. In Philadelphia, the homegrown Trans Equity Project has been delivering peer-based health education and support to transgender individuals since 2003. A new research effort seeks to understand whether this local program, which provides a six-session HIV risk reduction program, could provide a model for other organizat...
School of Social Work
LGBTQ Health