HIV Research & Clinical Practice

Sexual Health and HIV in LGBTQIA+ Populations

Per the WHO, “LGBTQIA+ health refers to the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or queer.” Individuals within this community represent a broad spectrum of experiences of whom are considered a priority population with respect to HIV and STIs due to marginalization and historic neglect by healthcare systems.

Added to this LGBTQIA+ health is currently under attack in many parts of the world, with certain countries being unable to even discuss the existence of LGBTQIA+ individuals, let alone how to provide care for these communities. Things are further complicated by these separate communities often being lumped together despite each group facing unique healthcare concerns. This has a direct impact on HIV acquisition and prevention efforts within each of these populations. It is for this reason that we would like to create a collection of articles, breaking down the unique healthcare needs with respect to HIV acquisition of each community and provide best practices with respect to LGBTQIA+ healthcare.

Within this article collection, we would like to shed light on the most up to date research with respect to HIV and STI acquisition and prevention each unique community within the LGBTQIA+ community, including communities that are covered less in LGBTQIA+ health such as women who have sex with women (WSW), trans masc individuals, asexuality, and intersex individuals. We also would like to cover topics that are universal to the sexual health of this broad, diverse community including how to discuss pleasure, when to use gender neutral pronouns, and how best to screen for STIs and HIV in each group.

Keywords

• LGBT Health
• HIV Screening
• STI Screening
• Sexual Health
• Health disparities

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 31 Marth 2027.

Please contact Zhiyuan Zhang at [email protected] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Guest Advisors

Dr. Joseph Cherabie is the Senior Medical Director of Clinical Research and Special Projects at Howard Brown Health and is on the Board of Directors of HIVMA. He previously was the Medical Director of the WashU PrEP clinic, the Medical Director of the St. Louis STI/HIV Prevention Training Center, and a Clinical Ambassador for the CDC “Let’s Stop HIV Together Campaign”.

Dr. Gretchen Snoeyenbos Newman is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Wayne State university, is the Director of the WSU Adult HIV Program, and the HIV Clinic Director.

Aniruddha Hazra, MD, is a board-certified physician specializing in infectious diseases and is committed to increasing awareness and preventive care for communicable diseases. Dr. Hazra’s practice primarily focuses on sexual health and wellness, including LGBTQ health, delivering access to important health information and specialized infectious diseases care. Along with a commitment to his patients, Dr. Hazra also teaches and mentors medical students, residents and fellow, providing guidance and training throughout their medical career. He is currently director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program here at the University.