Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) refers to all men who engage in sexual activity with other men, regardless of sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s, to better study and communicate the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS between all sexually active males, not strictly those identifying as gay or bisexual, but also for example male prostitutes. The term is often used in medical literature and social research to describe such men as a group. It does not describe any specific kind of sexual activity, and which activities are covered by the term depends on context. An alternative term, males who have sex with males is sometimes considered more accurate in cases where those described may not be legal adults.
A syndemic or synergistic epidemic is the aggregation of two or more concurrent or sequential epidemics or disease clusters in a population with biological interactions, which exacerbate the prognosis and burden of disease. The term was developed by Merrill Singer in the early 1990s to call attention to the synergistic nature of the health and social problems facing the poor and underserved. Syndemics develop under health disparity, caused by poverty, stress, or structural violence and are studied by epidemiologists and medical anthropologists concerned with public health, community health and the effects of social conditions on health.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention, commonly known as PrEP, is a form of medication used to prevent HIV infection, the cause of HIV/AIDS.
Economic epidemiology is a field at the intersection of epidemiology and economics. Its premise is to incorporate incentives for healthy behavior and their attendant behavioral responses into an epidemiological context to better understand how diseases are transmitted. This framework should help improve policy responses to epidemic diseases by giving policymakers and health-care providers clear tools for thinking about how certain actions can influence the spread of disease transmission.
A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral sex, or sometimes manual sex. STIs often do not initially cause symptoms, which results in a risk of passing the infection on to others. Symptoms and signs of STIs may include vaginal discharge, penile discharge, ulcers on or around the genitals, and pelvic pain. Some STIs can cause infertility.
Frederick Wabwire-Mangen is a Ugandan physician, public health specialist and medical researcher. Currently he is Professor of Epidemiology and Head of Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Makerere University School of Public Health. Wabwire-Mangen also serves as the Chairman of Council of Kampala International University and a founding member of Accordia Global Health Foundation’s Academic Alliance
The affected community is composed of people who are living with HIV and AIDS, plus individuals whose lives are directly influenced by HIV infection. This originally was defined as young to middle aged adults who associate with being gay or bisexual men, and or injection drug users. HIV-affected community is a community that is affected directly or indirectly affected by HIV. These communities are usually influenced by HIV and undertake risky behaviours that lead to a higher chance of HIV infection. To date HIV infection is still one of the leading cause of deaths around the world with an estimate of 36.8 million people diagnosed with HIV by the end of 2017, but there can particular communities that are more vulnerable to HIV infection, these communities include certain races, gender, minorities, and disadvantaged communities. One of the most common communities at risk is the gay community as it is commonly transmitted through unsafe sex. The main factor that contributes to HIV infection within the gay/bisexual community is that gay men do not use protection when performing anal sex or other sexual activities which can lead to a higher risk of HIV infections. Another community will be people diagnosed with mental health issues, such as depression is one of the most common related mental illnesses associated with HIV infection. HIV testing is an essential role in reducing HIV infection within communities as it can lead to prevention and treatment of HIV infections but also helps with early diagnosis of HIV. Educating young people in a community with the knowledge of HIV prevention will be able to help decrease the prevalence within the community. As education is an important source for development in many areas. Research has shown that people more at risk for HIV are part of disenfranchised and inner city populations as drug use and sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) are more prevalent. People with mental illnesses that inhibit making decisions or overlook sexual tendencies are especially at risk for contracting HIV.
HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may be instituted by governments and community-based organizations as public health policies.
A rectal microbicide is a microbicide for rectal use. Most commonly such a product would be a topical gel inserted into the anus so that it make act as protection against the contract of a sexually transmitted infection during anal sex.
For the American comedian and raconteur, see Myron Cohen.
Education is recognized as a social determinant of health. Education has also been identified as a social vaccine against contracting HIV. Research suggests a negative linear relationship between educational attainment and HIV infection rate, especially the educational attainment of women and girls.
Thomas J. Coates is the Director of the multi-campus University of California Global Health Institute, a UC-wide initiative established to improve health and reduce the burden of disease throughout the world. He is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Founding Director of the UCLA Center for World Health, a joint initiative of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Health, He has conducted extensive research in the realm of HIV and is the Michael and Sue Steinberg Endowed Professor of Global AIDS Research within the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA and Distinguished Professor of Medicine. Health-related behavior is of particular interest to Coates. Throughout his career as a health expert, his theory-based research has been focused on interventions aimed at reducing risks and threats to health
Jeffrey T. Parsons is an American psychologist, researcher, and educator; he was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) and was the Director of Hunter College's Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training, which he founded in 1996. Parsons was trained as a developmental psychologist and applied this training to understand health, with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention and treatment. He was known for his research on HIV risk behaviors of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), HIV-related syndemics, and sexual compulsivity. He resigned his positions at CUNY on July 3, 2019, following a year-long university investigation of misconduct allegations against him. In 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that he was required to pay a $375,000 settlement for engaging in fraud against the federal government for many years.
Elizabeth Anne Bukusi FAAS is a research professor working within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, and global health. Bukusi's main areas of research focus around sexually transmitted infections, women's health, reproductive health, and HIV care, prevention and treatment. Bukusi is the Chief Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and led a "landmark" study on the use of PrEP in Kenya.
Fred Mhalu is a microbiologist and medical researcher from Tanzania. His main area of study revolves around infectious diseases and intervention. Ever since 1986, he has been a main contributor to the information about AIDS in Africa. As a co-coordinator of a Tanzanian-Swedish research collaboration called TANSWED, he was involved in many research projects that lead to multiple publications in medical journals. His more recent research on HIV/AIDS involves studying breast cancer in HIV prevalent areas, evaluating prevention of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV-1, and observing sexual behaviors of high risk populations for HIV-1.
Sunil Suhas Solomon is an Indian academic and associate professor of Medicine, in the Division of Infectious Diseases, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr Sunil is also the chairman of YRG Care. His work revolves around epidemiology, clinical management and access to HIV and HCV services for at risk populations.
The Swiss Statement, or the Swiss Consensus Statement, was an announcement published in January 2008 by the Swiss Federal Commission for AIDS/HIV outlining the conditions under which an HIV-positive individual could be considered functionally noncontagious—namely, adherence to antiretroviral therapy, a sufficiently low viral load, and a lack of any other sexually transmitted diseases. While lacking the backing of complete, fully randomized clinical studies, the Commission felt the contemporary evidence for non-contagiousness for people on antiretroviral treatment was nonetheless strong enough to warrant official publication.
Michel Alary is a Canadian academic, doctor of preventive medicine and a health researcher. He is a Professor of Social and Preventive Medicine at Université Laval and the director of population health research at the Research Centre of the CHU de Quebec – Université Laval. He also serves as a Medical Consultant at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. Alary has published over 260 research papers and has produced major reports for the World Bank and UNAIDS about HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. He also evaluated the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS Initiative for which his project received the Avahan Recognition Award. He has conducted epidemiological and preventive research on blood-borne infections, HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) among the most vulnerable populations in developed and developing countries.
Godefridus Johannes Petrus "Frits" van Griensven is a pioneering Dutch scientist in epidemiology, sociology and public health. Most of his work is on addressing the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men and other HIV key populations.
