University of Cincinnati 101 Workshop Series

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV is entirely preventable, yet each year tens of the thousands of Americans are newly infected with the virus. As these numbers continue to increase, estimates have indicated that prevention and treatment are not reaching those who could most benefit, and that subgroups of this populate are disproportionately affected [1]. Notably, men who have sex with men and African American males consistently have the highest incidence rates [1]. Stigma at the community level has been documented as a barrier to HIV prevention [2]. Role model stories have been shown to be an effective method of providing training, education, and prevention strategies in the 101 community [3]. Thus, the University of Cincinnati Health Sciences Library is partnering with the Midwest AIDS Training + Education Center to bring awareness, advocacy, education and training centered on 101. Through this partnership, we will provide a total of three training opportunities for the 125 and targeted workshops centered around peer advocacy for individuals infected and affected by 101. These workshops will be a continuation a workshop to be held on November 30, 2020 that will be held as part of our World AIDS Day Symposium https://libraries.uc.edu/worldaidsday.html. This workshop entitled: Staying Positive: Winning, Living, and Thriving with HIV will be facilitated by an HIV peer-12/advocate and will focus on advocacy, self-care, and stigma. This workshop will provide an ideal platform to introduce these upcoming workshops. The proposed workshops will focus on the use of storytelling and peer interactions as a means to educate, reduce stigma, promote advocacy, and encourage self-care in an effort to decrease the spread of 101 in high-risk populations and encourage self-care and use of public HIV services among those infected with HIV. Bibliography 1. U.S. Statistics. October 22, 2020]; Available from: https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/data-and-trends/statistics. 2. Robillard, A., et al., Advice for prevention from HIV-positive African-American 92: My story is not just a story. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 2017. 195: p. 630-642. 3. Berkley-Patton, J., et al., Adapting effective narrative-based HIV-prevention interventions to increase minorities' engagement in 101 services. Health Communication, 2009. 243: p. 199-209.