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 BREAKOUT SESSIONS #3 

Friday, June 25th
10 - 11 AM PST

 Room #1: "Intergenerational approach to reducing HIV stigma

Veronica Leonard, MSW, MSPH

Latino Network

Vanessa Peña-La Torre, MPH, CHES

Portland Public Schools

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Description: Latino Network embarked on providing culturally specific healthy sexuality education to families with youth 13 and older over 7 years ago. The focus of programming was on building intergenerational communication that decreased stigma and cultural biases around sexuality. This allowed participants to view sexuality with a more holistic lens that reduced harm and strengthened the parent or trusted adult - child relationship. One of the areas we focused on was HIV education, with the lens on prevention and risk reduction for both our adult and our youth sexuality education programs. We will present adaptations we made to an evidence based curriculum for youth, particularly on the HIV lesson, with the goal to increase cultural relevance and reduce both internalized and externalized stigma and promote acceptance, respect and understanding of people living with HIV. We mirrored those adaptations in our parent curriculum, written for community by community and based on evidence, to then be able to practice culturally relevant conversations across the generations.

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Objectives: 

  1. Develop a framework for conducting cultural adaptations

  2. Implement curricular activities that promote intergenerational conversations

  3. Identify opportunities to foster parent-child connectedness through a workshop format

 Room #2: "REAL Equity: A framework for responding to the capacity-strengthening needs of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) offering HIV prevention to Latinx in the South

Gabriela Betancourt, DrPH, MPH, MA

Bolivar X. Nieto, MA   

Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA)

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Description: As we are collectively experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic, extant health disparities and inequity are further magnified when resources, services and policies do not respond equitably to those systematically and systemically placed most vulnerable in our current societal and political structures and institutions. Given this, culturally responsive and trauma-Informed interventions are critical if we want to effectively produce health equity and sustainably improve sexual health outcomes and wellbeing. The REAL Equity framework, developed by the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA), centers the importance of social determinants of health, and recognizes the roles that racism, sexism, systems of criminalization and incarceration, and societal stigma play in reducing the likelihood of optimal health and wellbeing. The framework leverages the resources, expertise and infrastructural capacity of LCOA to respond to salient regional public health concerns of community-based organizations offering HIV prevention and supportive services to Latinx communities in the Southern United States. This workshop will inform participants of the development of our Responses to organizational- and community- strengthening needs by utilizing three loci of expertise: Evaluation, Action and Learning. Participants will be guided through the nine processes (3 strategies and 6 activities) that inform technical assistance responses to ensure that equity is included as a long-term intervention impact goal as defined by the following 6 key indicators: (E)vidence-Base, (Q)uality Assurance, (U)tilization, (I)ncidence, (T)ransmission, and (Y) direction change. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters and panelists and discuss methods, guiding principles and considerations for the implementation of the framework in program delivery.

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Objectives: 

  1. Identify key domains of consideration for the development of technical assistance responses to increase the capacity of CBOs offering HIV services 

  2. Understand the utilization of the REAL Equity framework in practice

  3. Discuss opportunities for applicability

  4. Learn the roles of evaluation, action and learning for improved health outcomes that ensure equity.

 Room #3: "HIV Prevention and CARE services in Oregon" 

 Myriam Polanco, CAREAssist Program Coordinator

 Joseph Ramirez, HIV Prevention Specialist

OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY - Public Health Division

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Description: The Oregon Health Authority’s HIV Prevention and Care Assist Programs will present on the status of HIV prevention and care services available in the state of Oregon. The primary focus will be to discuss the role that Oregon AIDS Drug Assistance Program plays in helping people living with HIV and share how current prevention efforts are reaching Latinx communities. Through discussion of current and historical community relationships the focus will be in addressing gaps in services within Latinx communities and work to identify new avenues in order to provide culturally responsive resources on HIV/STI testing, PrEP/PEP, the Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) Campaign and navigation care systems once diagnosed. We will highlight current trends in Oregon to underscore the necessity to support these impacted communities, expand partnerships, and identify strategies to achieve the goal of ending new HIV infections in Oregon and connecting everyone with HIV to care so they can live healthy lives.

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Objectives: 

  1. Identify historic and ongoing partnerships addressing HIV prevention among Latino/a/x communities in Oregon.

  2. Develop and expand partnerships with community-based organizations, groups, and members to achieve the goal of ending new HIV infections in Oregon and connecting everyone with HIV to care so they can live healthy lives.

  3. Access and elevate the needs of our communities to implement new engagement strategies that work for and are developed by the communities most in need.

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