LICENTIA COGITATIONIS

Introduction This is an ethnographic record of the founding of Molecular HIV Surveillance (MHS), Rapid Cluster Detection and Response program of **Department of Health, written as an email reply to my initial correspondence, which I have also included for reference. The author happens to be an old friend of mine, whom I did not know was responsible for the development of this program; but after learning about her integral role in operationalizing the call to action by CDC, I reached out immediately. Our historical relationship afforded me an opportunity to be more familiar about the issue and inquires I have about MHS, which prompted the following narrative. From the source email: I did the  outreach to laboratories  to try to get them to voluntarily submit the genotypes to us (since they weren’t legally reportable yet so, technically, they did not have to send us anything).  We had legislation working its way through  so we knew (and hoped) it would just be a ma...

My Story The following text is from a story I shared during community development events to cultivate a donorship for the nonprofit organization where I once worked. I hope that by reading this deeply personal account, you will empathize the unique situation in which those living with HIV find themselves; especially, considering the power of fear and stigma, shame, and self-denial to steal the hearts and minds of all of us when we first learn of an HIV diagnosis.  In imagining the emotionality and contextuality of my story, brainstorm ways to show your support as an ally of stigma-reduction and HIV decriminalization; and then write a letter from your own perspective to legislators before this Monday's (2/1/20) Virginia Senate hearing. If you are reading this past the time to advocate for Senate Bill 1138, then consider ways in which you have (re)produced HIV-related stigma in the world and how you might unlearn those ideas and ideals as a function of your solidarity with ...

My Public Comments on SB 1183: Repeal of HIV Criminalization Laws  https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+SB1138 SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED: Sexually transmitted infections; infected sexual battery; repeal.  Repeals the crime of infected sexual battery. The bill also repeals the crime of donating or selling blood, body fluids, organs, and tissues by persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus and the provisions regarding the testing of certain persons for human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B or C viruses. The bill contains technical amendments. The criminalization of HIV transmission, exposure and non-disclosure has become a critical preventive strategy to end the HIV epidemic, target interventions to reduce HIV-specific health disparities, ameliorate the effects of stigma and racial inequity in VA law, and thus advance the interests of public health, the Commonwealth   targeted interventions in public health aimed at reducing stigma and racial ineq...

Presentation Summary My presentation was on mercury poisoning in indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon caused by illegal goldmining activities. The article was posted on October 02, 2020 on the Anthropology News website, published by the American Anthropological Association. I often use this source for finding current issues in public health considered in anthropological contexts, which of course is my own background. The article reviews the history of mercury toxicity in the region and describes the population health outcomes for native peoples making a home of this now poisoned environment.   Mercury is an environmental pollutant that can travel far from its emission source, where it can damage human health and the environment. Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is estimated to be the largest source of global mercury emissions, and occurs in the context of power, race, and gender dynamics in mining communities; as well as a long history of encultured racism ...

  Forced Sex, MSM, and HIV/STIs   Introduction   This paper examines the role of sexual violence in young men and boys who identify as men who have sex with men (MSM), and surmises its effects on high risk behaviors and HIV/STI transmission and acquisition. There is limited research on sexual violence as a predicate for HIV/STI risk and drug use in MSM. Increasingly higher rates of HIV/STIs in MSM have driven researchers to investigate the behavioral correlates and demography of this sexual minority population, but few studies have considered the subjective experience of sexual violence and poverty as indicators for high risk sexual behavior, including HIV/STI transmission, and illicit drug use among MSM. The relationship between the prevalence and correlates of experiencing sexual violence by a male in MSM and risk for drug use and STIs highlights the need for evidence-based multi-component interventions to address syndemic health disparities in this unique and d...

I recently read through the CDC's DETECTING AND RESPONDING TO HIV TRANSMISSION CLUSTERS : A GUIDE FOR HEALTH DEPARTMENTS (2018), and have more questions than I began with, especially regarding the scope of technological functions and surveillance strategies, the ethical implications and social effects in prioritized populations, and the cultural toll it will have in the minoritized community with a history of mistrust for public health institutions.  Medical Monitoring Project ( VDH Stakeholder Meeting: 2015) -Ongoing supplemental surveillance system assessing behaviors and clinical characteristics of persons w/HIV who have received outpatient HIV medical care.  -To learn more about the experiences and needs of people receiving care -Funded by CDC HIV Incidence Surveillance  - Provides estimates of the number of new HIV infection over a certain period of time. - Incidence refers to persons newly infected with HIV in a specified time period, whereas a person newly diagnose...