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Syndemics is the evaluation of how social and health conditions arise, in what ways they interact, and what upstream drivers may produce their interactions. The word is a blend of "synergy" and "epidemics". The idea of syndemics is that no disease exists in isolation and that often population health can be understood through a confluence of factors that produces multiple health conditions that afflict some populations and not others. Syndemics are not like pandemics ; instead, syndemics reflect population-level trends within certain states, regions, cities, or towns.
Merrill Singer is a medical anthropologist and professor emeritus in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut and in Community Medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center. He is best known for his research on substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, syndemics, health disparities, and minority health.
Substance abuse prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention, is a process that attempts to prevent the onset of substance use or limit the development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances. Prevention efforts may focus on the individual or their surroundings. A concept that is known as "environmental prevention" focuses on changing community conditions or policies so that the availability of substances is reduced as well as the demand. Individual Substance Abuse Prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention involves numerous different sessions depending on the individual to help cease or reduce the use of substances. The time period to help a specific individual can vary based upon many aspects of an individual. The type of Prevention efforts should be based upon the individual's necessities which can also vary. Substance use prevention efforts typically focus on minors and young adults — especially between 12–35 years of age. Substances typically targeted by preventive efforts include alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, coke, methamphetamine, steroids, club drugs, and opioids. Community advocacy against substance use is imperative due to the significant increase in opioid overdoses in the United States alone. It has been estimated that about one hundred and thirty individuals continue to lose their lives daily due to opioid overdoses alone.
Kenya has a severe, generalized HIV epidemic, but in recent years, the country has experienced a notable decline in HIV prevalence, attributed in part to significant behavioral change and increased access to ARV. Adult HIV prevalence is estimated to have fallen from 10 percent in the late 1990s to about 4.8 percent in 2017. Women face considerably higher risk of HIV infection than men but have longer life expectancies than men when on ART. The 7th edition of AIDS in Kenya reports an HIV prevalence rate of eight percent in adult women and four percent in adult men. Populations in Kenya that are especially at risk include injecting drug users and people in prostitution, whose prevalence rates are estimated at 53 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are also at risk at a prevalence of 18.2%. Other groups also include discordant couples however successful ARV-treatment will prevent transmission. Other groups at risk are prison communities, uniformed forces, and truck drivers.
HIV Clinical Resource is a health information service in New York State, which provides clinical information and guidance on HIV for the use of healthcare providers and patients.
Barbara C. Wallace is a clinical psychologist and the first African-American woman tenured professor at Teachers College of Columbia University. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association within divisions 50 and 45. She is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Equity in Health.
Jean J. Schensul is a medical anthropologist and senior scientist at The Institute for Community Research, in Hartford, Connecticut. Dr. Schensul is most notable for her research on HIV/AIDS prevention and other health-related research in the United States, as well as her extensive writing on ethnographic research methods. She has made notable contributions to the field of applied anthropology, with her work on structural interventions to health disparities leading to the development of new organizations, community research partnerships, and community/university associations. Schensul’s work has been dedicated to community-based research on topics such as senior health, education, and substance abuse, among others.
Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor with the University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. Rotheram is the professor-in-residence in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is the Director of the Global Center for Children and Families at UCLA and the former director of the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services.
Janet L. Mitchell was an American physician known for her advances in perinatal HIV/AIDS treatment. During the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. Mitchell developed protocols for health treatment of pregnant women who were HIV positive or at risk for developing AIDS. She advocated against mandatory testing and testifying before Congress, she advocated in favor of an inclusive approach to health care and social services. One of her innovations derived from a study that saw a 70% decrease in HIV transmission to babies when AZT was administered to their mothers during the pregnancy.
Deborah Leah Birx is an American physician and diplomat who served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Donald Trump from 2020 to 2021. Birx specializes in HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. Starting in 2014, she oversaw the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program to support HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in 65 countries. From 2014 to 2020, Birx was the United States global AIDS coordinator for presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and served as the United States special representative for global health diplomacy between 2015 and 2021. Birx was part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from February 2020 to January 2021. In March 2021, Birx joined ActivePure Technology as Chief Medical and Science Advisor.
Wendee M. Wechsberg is an American biobehavioral social science researcher. She has utilized mixed methods research to develop and evaluate HIV prevention interventions for diverse populations, focusing on underserved women, adolescent girls, and couples who use substances since 1994. She is a pioneer in the scientific field of addressing gender inequalities in relation to the syndemic factors of substance use, HIV, and gender violence. She is known for the creation of the evidence-based Women’s CoOp HIV prevention intervention for women who used crack-cocaine and subsequent age-, gender- and culturally-sensitive global adaptations across more than three decades of HIV research.
Risky sexual behavior is the description of the activity that will increase the probability that a person engaging in sexual activity with another person infected with a sexually transmitted infection will be infected, become unintentionally pregnant, or make a partner pregnant. It can mean two similar things: the behavior itself, and the description of the partner's behavior.
Cynthia Ann Gómez is an American psychologist who works in public health. She is known for her work in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, health care access and health equity for minority individuals and committees. Likewise, one of her most major accomplishments was being the founding director of the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University. She has been a teacher and researcher, as well as a leader in both teaching and governmental positions.
Dr. Karen Hein is a pediatrician and health policy expert who founded the first comprehensive HIV/AIDS program for adolescents in the world.
Faye Z. Belgrave is a psychologist known for her research conducted for the benefit of the African American youth, specifically in the areas of substance abuse and HIV. She is currently a professor of Psychology and the founding director of the Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention (CCEP) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Scyatta A. Wallace is a developmental psychologist who studies how gender, race, and culture impact health outcomes of urban Black youth. In her community-based research and practice, Wallace emphasizes the importance of cultural competence and the need to diversify the workforce in health and mental health professions to better serve ethnic-minority communities. Wallace is an associate professor of psychology with tenure at St. John's University.
Prasanna Nair is an Indian-born doctor working in the United States. She works in primary health care with a specialty in pediatric endocrinology.
Ligia Peralta is a Dominican-born doctor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine in Maryland. Her research focuses on HIV and the transmission of HIV in adolescents, specifically those from under-served communities.
Native Americans are affected by noncommunicable illnesses related to social changes and contemporary eating habits. Increasing rates of obesity, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and social isolation affect many Americans. While subject to the same illnesses, Native Americans have higher morbidity and mortality to diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as certain forms of cancer. Social and historical factors tend to promote unhealthy behaviors including suicide and alcohol dependence. Reduced access to health care in Native American communities means that these diseases as well as infections affect more people for longer periods of time.
Yvette Calderon is an American physician who is Chair and Professor of Emergency Medicine in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research has focused on health disparities in Manhattan, with a particular focus on HIV and hepatitis C. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022.
References
- 1 2 3 "Changing the Face of Medicine | Dr. Lucille C. Norville Perez". www.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
- 1 2 "Lucille Norville Perez, M.D. '79". New York Medical College.