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On June 2-3, 1970, the first Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) seminar was held at the University of Minnesota, and the Program in Human Sexuality was born.  This June, forty years later, the PHS faculty just completed our course in human sexuality required for all first-year medical students, which included a SAR seminar. One could barely recognize the format from the earlier years. We sit on chairs rather than pillows, and we listen to panels of people describing their sexual lives rather than being bombarded with sexually explicit media. However, the goals of the seminar remain: to explore sexual attitudes and behavior, to become "askable" physicians, to separate one's personal values from professional sexual health care, to help physicians become more comfortable in bringing up the topic, and ultimately to provide compassionate, non-judgmental, science-based sexual health care.

The SAR seminar formed the basis of the sexual health curriculum that developed at the University of Minnesota Medical School and has continued through today. The sexual health course of study at the University was one of the first comprehensive curricula developed in the United States. In the 1970s, many medical students had great difficulty talking to their patients about sexuality - especially when it differed from their own. In the 1980s, there was a conservative swing in sexual politics and the medical school curriculum was sharply being attacked under the accusation of "irrelevancy." By the end of the 1980s, more attacks centered around issues of privacy which made conducting small group processing very difficult. In the 1990s, we saw a new kind of medical student who was more interested in holistic medicine and primary care. That shifted in the latter part of the 1990s and early part of the new millennium as students moved away from primary care due to low reimbursement rates and high student debt.  Now we are seeing student motivation shift again - and we hope that health care reform will bring more emphasis on primary care that is holistic and focused on psychosocial issues as much as on new technologies. At each juncture, it has been a challenge to preserve and evolve the sexual health curriculum. Fighting for this and adapting our curriculum has made us one of the survivors and we have remained as a model program in the world.

We are at a period in time where we are facing a public health imperative to provide integrated health care services that address physical, mental, and sexual health. Yet we are losing ground in terms of comprehensive sexual health curricula in our medical schools. We are an endangered species! The movement towards integrated learning in medical schools makes "stand alone" courses very vulnerable. While integrated learning works for many issues, when integrated, the complexities and nuances of human sexuality tend to be over simplified or eliminated. We have seen a national trend to eliminate human sexuality courses - which were already too few and not very comprehensive. For example, I have been part of the human sexuality curriculum at Mayo Medical School for over 25 years and it has evaporated in the last two years.

While some of the current medical students are well informed by sexual information available through the Internet or a sound sexual health education, many students have had limited sexual health education because of "abstinence-only education" programs. In spite of a deficit in basic knowledge, we are seeing students who are eager to provide patient-centered, science-based care.

Due to all these factors, we are in desperate need of a revitalization of sexual health curricula across the country and around the world. New approaches need to be developed that fit within the new paradigms of medical school education. However, there is no forum or vehicle for strategizing how we might do this. I am eager to organize a summit of medical school educators, but I have yet to find a sponsor. With universities facing enormous financial crises and travel budgets slashed, it is difficult to find the resources to make this vision a reality. We are at a critical juncture, and I feel we are losing ground day by day. This is one of the many reasons that establishing the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education is so very important. We need to find a champion for this cause.

I can only assure you that this issue is at the top of my agenda and I am trying to figure out a way to address this. If you have any thoughts or ideas on this I would love to hear from you phs@umn.edu

PHOTO: Keith and Virginia Laken, authors of Making Love Again: Hope for Couples Facing Loss of Sexual Intimacy, help to instruct the 2010 U of M Medical School SAR. Keith Laken is an active memeber of the PHS Leadership Council. 

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What began on June 2, 1970, with the first Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) in Minnesota quickly grew into a world-renowned center specializing in human sexuality. For 40 years, the Program in Human Sexuality has been a leader in the field of human sexuality through innovations in research, education, clinical service, and advocacy. We are proud to celebrate our 40 years of service and we look forward to new advances in sexual health.

PHS students, faculty, supporters, and SAR group faculty and small group leaders are invited to join us in Minneapolis, MN, on October 1 - 2, 2010, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of PHS. The formal program will begin with an event on Friday evening and continue through the day on Saturday. The weekend will include reminiscence from the early days, reports on current projects, an update of the PHS strategic vision, and a special recognition of Rev. Dr. James Siefkes. We encourage you to meet informally with friends and colleagues on Thursday evening, Friday day, and Saturday evening.

Save the date. More details will follow. Please respond with interest, questions, or contact information by email to phs@umn.edu

Help us to connect with people who should be invited. You can forward this information to a friend or send their name and email address to phs@umn.edu

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A new book, SAR Sexual Attitude Reassessment Seminars: A Retrospective of SAR Early Years in Minnesota, has been written by former PHS faculty about the founding and development of the unique educational program SAR. The programs were designed for medical and seminary students and professionals from all service areas as a means to help them develop healthier attitudes and greater comfort in dealing with sexual issues brought to them by their clients, parishioners, and patients.

Beginning in the 1970s and still offered today, thousands of people have attended SAR seminars at the University of Minnesota Medical School. SAR written by Karin Weiss, PhD, and edited by Dorothy Boen, JD, is a memoir for those who have been part of the experience, and a fascinating account for others.

Order a copy of SAR

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Katherine Rachlin, PhD, visited the University of Minnesota campus on March 26, 2010, to deliver a key note address and an informal talk at PHS. Rachlin presented "Challenging Assumptions About Identity Expression" at the Beyond the Boxes: Emerging Trends in LGBTQ Mental Health conference hosted by the U of M GLBTA Programs Office, Queer Student Cultural Center, and the Minnesota LGBT Therapists Network.

Rachlin is a gender specialist and sex therapist in private practice in New York, NY. In her address to mental health care providers, heath care professionals, educators, and the public, Rachlin discussed the assumptions regarding gender identity and gender expression that providers and educators make about the transgender individuals that they serve. She explored the many ways that mental health providers can be helpful to individuals seeing support for gender-related issues. Rachlin said,

Beyond the boxes - we do not think only in terms of people who transition or people who don't transition. We think in terms of self expression and choices--whatever that expression is. Gender queer people often have gender presentations that challenge gender norms just as transsexual people may strive to achieve an expression that conforms to gender norms. The common theme is expression. Often we assume that choices of expression are exclusively driven by internal identity. But that is not the case. Choices regarding expression are highly complicated and driven by many factors other than identity. In therapy, it is important to acknowledge that identity and choices are separate. Embrace identity and be practical about choices. It is traumatic for a transman told that he is not truly male because he does not want surgery or the transwoman told that she is not really a woman because she does not want to come out at work and risk losing her job. The connection between identity and transition choices pervades traditional thinking about transgender mental health and is reflected in our laws which often state that people will not be recognized as another gender until they change their bodies. Gender queer people may be forced to choose an expression that does not reflect the complexity of their internal identity because living outside the binary may be too difficult. . . .  I believe that we don't give enough weight to personality variables in determining transition choice. Variables such as the tolerance for ambiguity or uncertainty, tolerance for risk, tolerance for discomfort, need for affiliation, need for approval, extroversion and introversion, inclination towards conformity, dependency or independence, values regarding self-sacrifice, religious obligations, family obligations, feelings about medicine, doctors, and surgery . . . all of these may affect the decisions one makes regarding their gender expression, though they are not about gender at all!

During her visit to PHS Rachlin shared with faculty and staff that as a therapist she enjoys helping individuals, couples, and families become more comfortable with themselves and their own sexuality and said, "I am inspired by seeing people do the thing that seemed impossible to do when the started therapy." In addition to her gender work, Rachlin specializes in multiple partner relationships and strives to help families negotiate ways to make it work.

Rachlin is a member of the Board of Directors for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and expressed excitement about the direction of that organization and its contributions toward supporting transgender health care world wide. Rachlin has presented her work at national and international conferences. Most recently, she delivered a speech titled "A Fresh Look at The WPATH Standards of Care" at the IFGE conference in Washington DC. One of her recent articles pending publication is "Challenging Cases for Experienced Therapists - A Clinical Dialogue," written with Arlene Istar Lev, LCSW-R, CASAC after a presentation they gave at GLAP's conference in New York City. Another article pending publication is "Hysterectomy Experiences of Female-to-Male Transgender Individuals," written with Griffin Hansbury, MSW, and Seth Pardo, MA.  
 
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On June 9, 2010, the US State Department announced a new policy regarding changing gender designation on passport documentation and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad. In the new guidelines proof of genital reconstruction surgery is no longer a requirement for a passport gender designation change.

Starting June 10, 2010, passport applicants who wishes to change their gender designation will need to present certification from an attending medical physician that he or she has undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition.

Coordinator of Transgender Health Services at PHS and president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Walter Bockting, PhD, said, "While we strive toward removal of gender markers from identification documents, these new guidelines appropriately recognize one's social gender role, regardless of one's genital status. It will provide greater comfort and safety for transsexual, transgender, and gender variant individuals and their families."

The new policy and procedures are based on standards and recommendations of WPATH, recognized by the American Medical Association as the authority in this field.

U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual - Volume 7 Consular Affairs 7 FAM 1300 Appendix M
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/143160.pdf

Walter Bockting, PhD, was quoted in "New Passport Rules Ease Switch for Transgenders," Time, June 12, 2010.

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On May 17, 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government has the right under the Constitution to detain individuals that are deemed to be "sexually dangerous" beyond the completion of their criminal sentence.

The 7-2 decision in US v. Comstock (No. 08-1224) reversed a judgment from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the decision upholds the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act signed by President Bush in 2006.

The opinion of the court, written by Justice Breyer states that an individual in custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons may be civilly committed if the Government can provide "clear and convincing evidence" that the individual

1. has previously "engaged or attempted to engage in sexually violent conduct or child molestation,"

2. currently "suffers from a serious mental illness, abnormality, or disorder," and

3. "as a result of" that mental illness, abnormality, or disorder is "sexually dangerous to others," in that "he would have serious difficulty in refraining from sexually violent conduct or child molestation if released."

PHOTO CREDIT: Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

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With your help, we can work to create a sexually healthy world. Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, MD, is teaming up with the PHS to advance comprehensive science-based sexual health education. Elders and PHS are responding to the current public sexual health crisis by creating the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education.

We have raised $766,866 of our $2 Million goal. You can help us reach our goal by donating today. Together we will help to change the direction of sexual health in this country and around the world.

By establishing the Elders Chair, PHS will work to create comprehensive life-long sexual education curricula, to increase the number of health care providers trained in sexual health care, and to expand scientific research in sexuality education. Sexual health education is about more than disease and preventing pregnancy, and we will work to promote sexual health throughout every stage of human life, from adolescence through adulthood.

PHS has proven success in educating medical professionals, sexual behavior research, and advocating for science-based public policy. Through the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education we will build on our strengths to advance sexual health education.

Advancing Science-based Sexual Health Education
The Program in Human Sexuality is positioned to make the next important advances in sexual health and will begin to do so with the creation of the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education. The faculty member who holds the endowed faculty position at the University of Minnesota Medical School shall focus their efforts on the following:

Improve Education for Health Care Educators and Providers
The Chair holder will improve and expand the Program in Human Sexuality's course for medical professionals that strives to increase the understanding of future healthcare providers on the importance of sexual health and the diverse manifestations of sexuality in their future patients. The Chair holder will seek to create a "template" program that could be modeled by other medical schools and health profession educators.

Creation of Comprehensive Life-long Sexuality Education Curricula
The Chair holder will create age-appropriate sexual health education that will work to promote sexual health throughout every stage of human life, from adolescence through adulthood, creating a sexually "literate" society that is educated about sexuality and able to make informed decisions.

Promote Public Policy Supporting Science-based Sexuality Education
The Chair holder will promote change in public policy through education, community engagement, editorial publication, legislation, and other means to help create an informed sex-positive public and direct government policy towards the creation of a sexually healthy society.

Expand Scientific Research in Sexuality Education
The Chair holder will serve as a catalyst for the creation of new research initiatives that study the effectiveness, efficiency, cost, and goals of sexual health education with the goal of unlocking new scientifically-sound understandings of sexuality and creating more effective teaching methods for disseminating this information.

Get involved
Receive Elders Chair updates and connect to a network of supporters through Facebook and Twitter. You can also contribute your ideas through Facebook discussions or by emailing elders@umn.edu

Tell 10 friends about the Sexual Health Revolution starting at the U of M

Make a donation of any amount to the Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education

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On May 7, 2010, former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, MD, delivered the first John Money Lecture in Pediatric Sexology at the University of Minnesota. Her lecture, "Revolutionizing Our Sexually Dysfunctional Society: Are Americans Ready to Talk, Listen, and Learn?" covered the public health issue of sexual health and the fundamental changes required to move our society forward.

Lecture video (if the video does not appear, view here)



Throughout her career as a pediatrician, state health director, and US Surgeon General, Elders advocated that providing every citizen with a comprehensive sexual health education will not only improve the health of individuals, but advance the health of our communities and our society. She promotes the essential training of health care providers and education professionals as well as improving access to sexual health information and sexual health services.

Elders's lecture was the first lecture at the University of Minnesota in the John Money lecture series that will be hosted by the Program in Human Sexuality annually. The world premier John Money lecture was given on June 24, 2009, by Anke Ehrhardt, PhD; her presentation "Gender, Youth, and Partner Choice," was the plenary lecture at World Association for Sexual Health 19th World Congress for Sexual Health in Göteborg, Sweden.

John Money's family established the John W. Money Endowed Fund at the Program in Human Sexuality which provides funding for the:
•    John Money Lecture in Pediatric Sexology lecture series hosted at the Program in Human Sexuality in conjunction with the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology regarding developmental sexology
•    John Money Plenary at the Biennial World Conference of Sexual Health sponsored by the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS)
•    John Money Award for sexology research sponsored by the Eastern Region of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)

As a pediatric psych-endocrinologist and researcher, John Money, PhD, was a giant in the field of sexology. He was a professor of pediatrics and medical psychology at Johns Hopkins University from 1951 until his death in 2006 at the age of 85. Money developed a comprehensive theory of sexuality - which is still unrivaled. He posited the notion of the strong influence of nature - but recognized that there were critical periods in which the environment could play a positive or negative influence - and even influence a person's gender identity. He developed several theories and related terminology during his career, including "gender," "gender identity," and "gender role," as well as the concept of lovemap and lovemap pathologies. He founded the first sex reassignment program in the United States which was quickly followed by the program at the University of Minnesota and then at other universities. Money was a pioneer in the treatment of intersex conditions in the late 1950s and 60s and established the first standards of care for children born with intersex conditions, which have only recently been revised.

Lecture co-sponsors included
Boynton Health Service
Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics
Healthy Youth Development Prevention Research Center, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine
Immunization Action Coalition
Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention, and Parenting (MOAPPP)
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
School of Public Health
SHADE (Sexual Health Awareness and Disease Education)
Youth and AIDS Projects, Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine

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On June 5, 2010, Rev. Dr. James "Jim" Siefkes, a founder of PHS, was awarded the Humanitarian Award by American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) at their 42nd Conference "Bridging Educational, Medical, and Clinical Issues in Sexology" in Pittsburgh, PA. The Humanitarian Award is given to individuals for their contribution to the field of human sexuality through a private endeavor, charitable event(s), public awareness campaign, sex-positive educational offering, or political platform and who have received national and/or international recognition for the contribution.

Siefkes is a genuine humanitarian and a true pioneer in human sexuality. For 33 years he worked in the Department of Congregational Social Concerns in the national office of the American Lutheran Church (later the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). In his work with local parishes he discovered there was little awareness of mission as anything more than traditional understandings and practice. He designed a program to broaden the understanding of mission called MATRIX. In brief, the Matrix process amounted to gathering groups of clergy, spouses, and laity and "holding class" on the streets and in the throes of the issues of the day. Issues addressed and experienced included racism, drugs, campus riots, ecology, the Vietnam war, conscription, conscientious objection, runaway kids, emerging lifestyles, women's issues, men's issues, hunger, singles, and human sexuality. Matrix proved a way to introduce social justice and ministry on the side of people suffering from oppression as critical to understanding the mission of the church.

Siefkes pioneered convergence between national religious bodies, sexuality, and science with special care given to the areas of sexual health, sexual orientation, as well as physical, psychological, and intellectual disability. He was one of the founders of PHS as well as several other programs and institutions that provide effective services locally and nationally, and that provided the information internationally. In the early years Siefkes served as adjunct Medical School Faculty and as an advisor to PHS.

In his award acceptance video, Siefkes said,

I have come to understand human sexuality at the very ground of our being and consciousness. This in turn provides nourishment for the spiritual dimensions of life and human relationships, and may even put us in touch with the mystery of the transcendent. Healthy and meaningful relationships are important for existence that is fully human. As the globe becomes ever more crowded and threatened... the importance of creating relationships that are symbiotic- not antibiotic; loving- not hostile; fear allaying -not fear producing; personally edifying and uplifting; becomes ever more urgent. All this in order to make this world a place in which it is easier to love and be loved.

Siefkes's work has been featured in numerous articles in the national press including the National Observer, The Advocate, and New York Times. He worked with ABC for two documentary TV shows on Christianity and Sexuality and Christianity and Homosexuality. Beginning in 1974 he served for seven years on the board of Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and on the Venereal Disease Committee of the Boy Scouts of America. He has authored articles and books on sexuality including Findings of the Action Research Project in Human Sexuality for Clergy and Helping Persons, which was distributed in the US and 12 other countries. His work has also been on behalf of Native Americans, including the American Indian Movement and Wounded Knee Trials; black Americans; traumatized veterans and Consultation on the Whole Person.

Siefkes shares the honor with notable winners such as: Elma Cole, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, Nadine Strossen and the American Civil Liberties Union, Phil Harvey for his philanthropic investment in supporting the sexual health of millions of people in the developing world, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Governor Arne Carlson and Senator Linda Runbeck of Minnesota for legislation supporting sexuality education.

Siefkes will also be honored at the PHS 40th anniversary celebration scheduled for October 1 -2, 2010 in Minneapolis. Please save the date and join us for the event.

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April 28-29, 2010, Eli Coleman, PhD, participated in a technical consultation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on "Promoting a Public Health Approach to Sexual Health in the United States." This effort will help to articulate the initiatives for a national strategy to advance sexual health and revitalize the goals and guidelines from The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior released in 2001 by Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD.

Coleman said, "It has been almost 10 years since the US Surgeon General released this Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior. Since then, our nation has faced a myriad of interconnecting sexual health problems and we have lacked a comprehensive national strategy to promote sexual health. I applaud the CDC for re-activating Dr. Satcher's vision of a sexually healthier society and developing strategies to meet that goal."

The CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) launched the initiative in recognition that sexual health is an essential component of overall individual health, that individual sexual health has a major impact on the health of communities, and that a national dialogue is critical in improving population health. The group will work to identify initiatives aimed at implementing a public health approach to promote age-appropriate sexual health. One that is consistent with the best available science, including healthy, respectful, and responsible sexual behavior, for all Americans over their lives.

Consultants have been challenged to identify actions around six goals including:

1.    Increase healthy, responsible, and respectful sexual behaviors and attitudes.

2.    Increase the ability and awareness to make healthy and responsible choices, free of coercion.

3.    Promote healthy sexuality, healthy sexual functioning, healthy relationships, and respectful sexual rights for all persons throughout the life span.

4.    Optimize and educate about reproductive health choices.

5.    Increase access to effective preventive, screening, treatment, and support services that promote sexual health.

6.    Decrease adverse individual and public health outcomes including HIV/STDs, viral hepatitis, unintended pregnancies, and sexual violence.

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Bean Robinson, PhD, was honored with the Faculty Mentor Award presented by the PHS postdoctoral fellows at the Family Medicine and Community Health Commencement on June 9, 2010. Graduating fellow G Zachariah White, PsyD, presented the award. He said of Robinson, "Bean is extremely genuine and is emotionally available and supportive. She creates a culture of feedback and thereby treats postdocs as colleagues. Her personality is lovely, and she brings fun, enthusiastic, and sex-positive energy to her work! She is multiculturally aware, competent, and responsible. She is an experienced and committed supervisor. She is passionate about sex and relationship therapy!"

Robinson said,

I am all too aware that I am getting older and entering the later stages of my career. I guess I'm in the developmental stage that Erik Erikson would call "Middle Adulthood" with a focus on generativity (vs. self absorption or stagnation). Erikson says that the significant task of this stage is to perpetuate culture, care of others, and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society. Thus, I'm all too aware of the importance of replacing me and other sexuality professionals by training the next generation of sex therapists and researchers. We have a rigorous two year fellowship, and it is rewarding to see the fellows develop their skills. Each fellow we graduate helps to strengthen the field of sexual science, and I take great comfort in that.

Robinson has mentored postdoctoral fellows since 1991.  She received her BA in sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and her MA in counseling psychology and her PhD in family social science from the University of Minnesota. She received NIMH funding to complete a postdoctoral training in Asian-American mental health and research methods at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Robinson is currently a Minnesota licensed psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, and an associate professor at the PHS. Prior to coming to PHS in September, 1991, she was the senior researcher at the Wilder Research Center (1984-1991) and, concurrently, was the consulting psychologist for the White Bear Lake Area Community Counseling Center (1980-1991). She has served as the executive director of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) since 1996.

The focus of Robinson's professional activities has been in the psychology of human sexuality and sexual health, treatment outcome research/effectiveness, and obesity and body image. Her current area of emphasis within human sexuality is exploring and developing sexual health via HIV prevention in minority communities, most notably the African American, African-born, Hmong, men who have sex with men, bisexual, and transgender communities. She is a researcher-clinician who investigates healthy behavioral and psychological change and tries to develop new methods, techniques and programs to promote sexual and psychological health. Her current research project, titled "Opening Pandora's Box: Somali Women, Sexuality, and HIV/STD Prevention," will be the first to examine HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Somali women of all sexual orientations with the ultimate goal of meeting the critical need to reduce HIV and STD transmission among African-born Americans in Minnesota (and the US) as African-born Americans have the highest HIV/AIDS rates of any ethnic group.

Robinson has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed and other journals and books, has been the principal or co-investigator on research grants, and is on the editorial boards of 11 scientific journals. She has been a practicing clinician for her entire career. She is an active teacher, providing for the clinical training of psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and medical students and residents, has developed HIV/STD prevention curricula, and has given numerous presentations at professional meetings.

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The faculty of the Program in Human Sexuality invite you to explore the latest in sexual health research. PHS faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and research collaborators present their work at our monthly Faculty Research Presentations. Join us on the following days at 12-1 PM at PHS, 1300 South 2nd Street, Room 142, Minneapolis, MN 55454. To reserve your seat or to request notice of future presentations please email phsresearch@umn.edu.



You can now listen to past presentations on the PHS website.

July 14, 2010
Sharon Lund, PhD

"From Their Perspectives . . . East African-born Men Living with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota"

The number of new HIV infections diagnosed among African-born persons in Minnesota has steadily increased since the mid-1990s. African-born persons make up less that 1% of the Minnesota population, yet they accounted for 11% of new HIV infections in 2009. Currently, there are 374 confirmed cases of African-born HIV seropositive males living in Minnesota. This presentation will describe how East African-born men in the Twin Cities metro area are living with HIV/AIDS through in-depth, face-to-face personal interviews with a sample of East African-born HIV seropositive men and others who interact and know this community. The purpose of this study is to understand the risk factors, sexual behaviors, and context of HIV transmission among East African-born HIV seropositive men living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in order to design and tailor effective evidence-based HIV prevention intervention programs and services for this population.


August 11, 2010
G. Zachariah White, PsyD

"Successful Resolution of Sexual-Religious Identity Conflict: A Qualitative Study of Processes and Outcomes"

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