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In this brief article I hope to
share some of my enthusiasm about my work at GMHC, give
you a glimpse of what makes it special, and share some
examples of opportunities for research and community
collaboration.
The Institute for Gay Men's Health
at GMHC is committed to the promotion of health among
gay men and their affiliated communities. We have
diverse, talented and creative staffs who keep our work
on the cutting edge. I will briefly describe a few
examples of some of our really cool programs. In Fall
2006 we began work on Community Promise, a DEBI
intervention that we offer to young gay men and MSM in
the house and ball community. We conducted in-depth
community research to assess the "stage" of
change of the community target
population and then develop "role-model stories" based
on the stage and distribute these to the community
members. We recently released our first set of stories
at the annual GMHC House of Latex Ball (August 25, 2007). This
year's ball attracted over 3,000 youth and young adults
to an amazing community-level intervention that reaches
high-risk and at-risk youth with a fun event that
integrates HIV messaging, social-marketing campaign
materials, as well as testing and outreach by partner
organizations. 2500 brief surveys were completed by the
ball participants.
 In July 2007 the
NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
released some alarming statistics about increases in
syphilis among gay men and MSM. Within one day of that
announcement, Institute staff had developed a social
campaign, "Syphilis is Creeping Up," which was placed in
gay publications over the summer. Our GMHC HIV/STI
Testing Center saw increases in clients accessing STI
tests and increases in positive results for
syphilis. Evaluating the impact of social
marketing is needed but presents a challenge. |
 Over the last five
years, the Institute has worked on crystal meth
prevention campaigns. In 2006 and 2007 we presented a
City-wide campaign called "Hurricane Tina" with the
words "Like a hurricane, crystal meth affects
communities – not just individuals. How are we taking
care of each other?" This campaign, along with a
booklet and PSA, were extensively evaluated and
preliminary results indicate that it had a real impact
on the community.
The final example from Institute
programs is
www.mysexycity.com. MySexyCity is an animated interactive educational
website that offers users opportunities to engage in
virtual decision making about sexual behavior, substance
use and issues related to being gay. This was developed
as a joint project with AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA).
Exit surveys from an internet intervention such as this
provide us with interesting opportunities for research
and evaluation.
I have been in the unique position
to have participated in the
Community Collaboration Core
(CCC) of the HIV Center as a Governmental
representative from the NYC DOMHM (2003-05) and as a Community
representative from GMHC since late
2005. This has been an exciting collaboration, as the CCC has been working to develop and support a structure
that establishes an ongoing setting for exchange where
researchers and providers bri ng their knowledge to bear
to solve protracted and emerging public health
challenges. These efforts, in turn, help to expand the
boundaries of our prevention science and programs. Recently GMHC and the HIV Center have been looking at ways
in which we can enhance our collaboration. It's
great to be working together.
If you wish to learn more about
other programs at GMHC, visit
www.gmhc.org or reach out to me at
bills@gmhc.org. |
"The Institute for Gay Men's Health at GMHC
is committed to the promotion of health among gay men
and their affiliated communities."