Mobile Version - November - December 2015

From the Director Dr. Jonathan Mermin

Over the next few weeks, we will see multiple releases of information on HIV prevention, treatment, and care. In late November, CDC will release Vital Signs, a monthly report that highlights CDC's winnable battles, focused on HIV prevention efforts. The following week, we observe World AIDS Day and join the White House Office of National AIDS Policy as they release the Action Plan for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated through 2020. This prolific period will culminate at the National HIV Prevention Conference here in Atlanta. The theme for this year's conference is “Accelerating Progress: Prevent Infections. Strengthen Care. Reduce Disparities” and communicates a focus on the interaction between prevention and care, the continuum of care, and decreasing disparities in access and outcomes. Note that discount registration for the conference ends November 6, so if you haven't registered, please do so quickly. I look forward to the upcoming activities and seeing you at the Conference.

2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study Results Released

Last month, CDC released the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS). The SHPPS report provides a detailed look at the state of school health across the nation within 10 school health topic areas, including health education, health services, and safe and healthy school environments. Results are from a nationally representative sample of schools, health education classrooms, and physical education classrooms. One of the study's key findings is that since 2000, the percentage of middle and high schools providing services specifically for LGB students and HIV counseling, testing, and referral services has increased significantly. More than 600 schools, nearly 500 health education classrooms, and over 750 physical education classrooms responded to the survey.

Metropolitan Statistical Areas Still Bear Highest Burden of HIV

CDC recently published a supplement to the 2013 HIV Surveillance Report titled, Diagnosed HIV Infection among Adults and Adolescents in Metropolitan Statistical Areas [MSAs]–United States and Puerto Rico, 2013. MSAs are defined as areas with a population of 500,000 or more. Although the number of new diagnoses in the United States has remained stable, the data from the report show that people living in MSAs, especially MSAs in the South, have higher rates of HIV diagnoses and prevalence. Also published recently were two HIV special reports. The first, HIV Infection, Risk, Prevention, and Testing Behaviors Among Heterosexuals at Increased Risk of HIV Infection National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) 20 U.S. Cities, 2013, highlights the latest findings from the NHBS program that monitors behaviors among at-risk populations. The second article, Behavioral and Clinical Characteristics of Persons Receiving Medical Care for HIV Infection Medical Monitoring Project United States, 2012, provides the latest on the findings of the Medical Monitoring Project that assesses clinical and behavioral characteristic of HIV-infected adults who are receiving outpatient treatment.