Health & Well Being
Ten Vermonters Attend National Gay Men's Health Summit
Health & Wellbeing
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row: Tom Aloisi, Michael Horn, Carey Johnson |
Ten
Vermonters Attend
National Gay Men's
Health Summit
by Tom Aloisi
Ten Vermonters were among more than 400 people who met in Boulder, Colorado, in July to tackle gay men’s health issues ranging from prostate cancer and chronic depression to HIV and substance abuse.
The Vermont contingent, which included both gay men and health care providers, was active on a variety of issues at the second National Gay Men’s Health Summit.
Dan Berns of Colchester attended many of the workshops on safety in the circuit party scene. “I wanted to find out nationally what was happening with recreational drug use and harm reduction,” he said. “I have been disappointed with the lack of information about drug use in the party scene in the past.”
Berns said he was pleased to learn that there are some grassroots organizations starting to investigate use of “party drugs” and the effects of these drugs when combined with alcohol. Surveys indicate, said Berns, that “78 percent of health emergencies at circuit parties have been related to alcohol being combined with party drugs.”
Dr. Michael Horn of South Burlington, who coordinates a hepatitis A and B program in Vermont, attended many of the workshops on issues related to the disease.
Horn said he hoped to increase the number of program participants in the Vermont community. Because sexually active men who have sex with men are at increased risk for hepatitis A and B, some providers recommend that they be immunized. Unfortunately, funding for the vaccine in Vermont is limited to children, and the vaccination series currently costs patients about $100.
Other hot topics at the conference were in research and public health areas.
Summit participants heard about new microbicide research that is looking at ways to lower the risk of HIV infection during sex. In the future, microbicides may be used in gels or lubricants to kill HIV during sexual contact.
The gathering also discussed the new Healthy People 2010 objectives, which for the first time have included GLBT health issues. The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is writing a companion document to strengthen the 2010 objectives. This companion document should be released in early 2001, and will be made available to Vermonters concerned with the health issues of the GLBT community. It is also hoped that the national 2010 objectives for the GLBT community will be presented in Vermont this fall.
There will be no national Gay Men’s Health Summit in 2001. Instead, the year will be devoted to local/regional organizing of day-long or weekend-long gay men’s health summits. More than a dozen regional summits have already been planned for next year, including a New England summit in Hartford, CT, in September, 2001.
For more information about the New England Summit or the Boulder Summit contact Tom Aloisi at tomaloisi@aol.com. For information about the September hepatitis A and B vaccination clinic, call Amy at 863-2437.