Citing pandemic missteps, Philly health commissioner seeks stronger community connections in 2023

Jose Demarco, an organizer with the HIV and AIDS advocacy group ACT UP Philadelphia, described an ongoing struggle, particularly among Black and Hispanic men, to expand use of the drug PrEP, which offers reliable prophylactic protection against HIV. A 2021 study in the medical journal JAMA found Black and Hispanic people at risk of HIV exposure “need more targeted and culturally appropriate” outreach to encourage them to take PrEP.

The city health department’s collaboration allows him to relay to health personnel information he hears at symposiums ACT UP hosts that people might not say to a government official.

“People aren’t going to be as open and honest in dialoguing with someone from the health department,” he said.

Read full article here: https://www.inquirer.com/health/philadelphia-public-health-department-cheryl-bettigole-covid-community-20230122.html#loaded