Historical Context of Medical Mistrust

Historical Context of Medical Mistrust

Opening plenary of the medical mistrust symposium hosted by the California Prevention Training Center, UCLA HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services, and Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center on March 10 and 11, 2021.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Oni Blackstock presents “Medical Mistrust: What Is It, Its Roots, and How to Address It”.

Watch all recorded videos from the event on our YouTube Medical Mistrust SymposiumOpens in a new tab playlist.

Coming Together for Sexual Health

Coming Together for Sexual Health is a podcast for providers and advocates passionate about health equity and inclusive care. We unpack both the how and the why of improving sexual and reproductive health. From root structural problems to improvements in clinical care, we keep the attention on people most impacted by STIs, HIV, and emerging infectious diseases.

We are powered by leading sexual health trainers at UCSF’s California Prevention Training Center. Join our sex-positive conversations with expert clinicians, public health leaders, and community members wherever you get your podcasts.

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Podcast Episode

Vagina Obscura: A Conversation with Rachel E. Gross
Meet Rachel E. Gross, science journalist and author of Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage. In this first part of a two–part conversation, Rachel shares how her personal experience with bacterial vaginosis inspired…

Moving from Bias to Engagement Using Cultural Humility

Developing cultural humility involves understanding the impact that unconscious bias and medical mistrust and distrust have on client engagement.

Being able to recognize and address this can improve your relationships with clients.

Join California Prevention Training Center Capacity-Building Assistance Specialist Deborah Wyatt-O’Neal to learn how cultural humility and unconscious bias affect client engagement in care. Discover techniques to address biases and practice humility to better support clients and honor their humanity.

Utilize the player tools below to navigate through the course.

Addressing Social Determinants of Health Through Structural Interventions

On hold due to COVID-19. Will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

The course demonstrates the intersectional link between HIV, Social Determinants of Health (SDH), and Structural Interventions (SIs). It provides a structured framework and necessary tools to address the SDH and structural barriers impacting the communities they serve.

The conditions in which people are born, live, learn, play and age greatly influence the health of individuals and communities. By critically examining the role of neighborhood conditions, education, income/wealth, and the socio-political climate, this training will strengthen participants’ understanding of the social determinants of health and their roles in shaping health outcomes of diverse populations.

Examples of programmatic, structural, and policy interventions will be discussed to illustrate how public health departments, advocates, and policymakers can effectively address HIV-related SDHand advance equity for populations and communities that have experienced persistent barriers to good health and high rates of HIV infections.

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Cultural Humility

As individuals, we have our own cultural and life experiences which impact how we view the world, how we make decisions, and how we view others. As providers, it is critical that we are aware of our own personal views and how they may contrast with the beliefs, cultures, and goals of those we serve. These differences can adversely affect our ability to understand the needs of our clients, reach them effectively, and engage them in care and prevention services.

This training provides an overview of the concept and principles of cultural humility, which include lifelong learning and critical self-reflection, recognizing and challenging power imbalances, and institutional accountability. Practicing the principles of cultural humility can improve our ability to meet the diverse needs of the multicultural communities we serve.

This training is appropriate for anyone (direct service provider to policymaker) who is interested in working to address health disparities in their service area.

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Understanding Boundaries

On hold due to COVID-19. Will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

Personal and professional boundaries are an integral part of any provider-client relationship. This is particularly true for those in the medical and social service delivery fields. Boundaries represent invisible structures imposed by legal, ethical, and/or professional standards. The ability to set and maintain boundaries is critical to ensure effective and successful interactions with clients as well as colleagues.

This training explores the importance of personal and professional boundaries. We look at the ways in which maintaining good boundaries improves client relationships and builds self-sufficiency. We define what constitutes personal versus professional, and legal versus ethical boundaries. Through didactic learning and experiential exercises, participants work to identify the most appropriate actions in situations that may arise when working with clients or colleagues.

This training is appropriate for any organization that has experienced challenges with boundaries or would like to proactively develop a boundary-aware culture.

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Strength-Based Approach

On hold due to COVID-19. Will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

The Strengths-Based Counseling Model (SBCM) has been used effectively in different settings to promote overall health. This model or approach marks a shift from a traditional deficit-based perspective to one which recognizes clients’ strengths and competencies. It has been successfully implemented via ARTAS to link clients living with HIV to medical care.

This two-day training describes the SBCM and how it can be applied to a variety of concerns and settings related to HIV prevention and care. The principles, techniques, and application of this approach are described, demonstrated, and practiced.

This training builds provider skills in the effective use of the SBCM so they may help clients reduce their risk and promote their engagement and retention in services. The training is appropriate for any community-based organization or health department interested in the application or integration of a strengths-based approach into their service delivery model.

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Developing Structural Interventions

On hold due to COVID-19. Will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

Social determinants of health are important factors to address in HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs. These determinants, such as racism, homophobia, lack of education, poverty and inadequate housing contribute to the vast HIV infection disparities in the United States. Structural interventions (SIs) can influence social determinants by increasing availability, accessibility and/or acceptability of HIV resources and services. They can also provide effective mechanisms for organizational change.

This two-day course uses didactic and interactive exercises to apply SI concepts to HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs. Focusing on the HIV Prevention in Care Continuum, participants will use a specialized logic model to develop a plan for implementing a structural intervention in their work setting.

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S3 E12: Four Decades of Sexual Health: History of the CAPTC

S3 E12: Four Decades of Sexual Health: History of the CAPTC

Director of the CAPTC Dana Cropper sits down with Gail Bolan, MD, and Alice Gandelman to discuss the founding of the CAPTC and its work in supporting sexual healthcare providers over the last 33 years. We learn about the forces that shaped the sexual healthcare field. Our guests unpack how the CAPTC developed alongside the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, the surprising relationship between HIV work and STI response, strategies to meet sexual healthcare needs both within and outside of sexual health clinics, and the ever-present need for greater training for providers around testing and treatment of STIs. We learn about how behavioral interventions were centered in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the importance of centering social determinants of health and larger structural forces in prevention and treatment efforts. They also discuss their hopes for opening up discussions about sexual health and de-stigmatizing the topic in the greater community. 

Read the transcript of the episode here.

Resources:  

HHS/Viral Hepatitis Action Plan 

Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US (EHE) 

Provision of Quality of STD Services (CDC) 2020 

San Francisco City Clinic 

Health HIV

National Coalition for Sexual Health 

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Gail Bolan, MD, was the Director of the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2011 through 2020. Prior to joining CDC, she directed the California Prevention Training Center for 23 years. She served as the Chief of the STD Control Branch at the California Department of Public Health and the Director of the San Francisco City and County STD Prevention and Control Program from 1997 to 2011 as well as Medical Director of the San Francisco City Clinic from 1987 to 1997.  

Alice Gandelman was the Director of the CAPTC from 1994 through 2021. She oversaw growth and development of CAPTC in numerous training and capacity-building programs in STD, HIV, sexual, and reproductive health.  

CAPTC History