CHICAGO, April 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As the premier
LGBT health
care organization in the Midwest, Howard Brown
Health Center
(HBHC) has been a forerunner in HIV medicine since
the disease
became rampant in the 1980s. Now, in an ongoing
global effort,
the Center 's "China Project" has taken
a significant leap forward
this month by staging the first-ever HIV rapid
testing and
counseling within at-risk communities in China.
A month-long visit to Zhejiang Province on China's
southeast
coast resulted in Howard Brown staff working in
gay bars and
brothels, conducting HIV testing, counseling,
and prevention among
gay men and female sex workers -- populations
shunned by society
and most seriously threatened by the spread of
HIV.
Three HBHC staff members, including Executive
Director Keith
Waterbrook, spent two weeks implementing the initial
hands-on
phase of a five-year process. A fourth Howard
Brown representative
remained for an additional two weeks to oversee
Chinese health
care outreach workers as they continue implementation
of this
groundbreaking effort.
The journey was not without obstacles. "It's
a very delicate
situation," says Waterbrook after over thirty
visits to China, "to
get involved with these at-risk populations in
China." Finally,
Waterbrook urged his hosts to stay the course,
and The China
Project moved forward. "I nodded. They nodded.
It was thumbs-up."
Underlying fears of Chinese health staff and
bar owners would
not deter the effort to use Abbott Laboratories'
donated Rapid HIV
tests in Hangzhou and Ningbo, two economically
flourishing cities
that, like all metropolitan communities, house
significant at-risk
populations. Of thirty gay men who tested over
the first two
weekends, one tested positive for HIV. But well
over a million
Chinese are said to be infected, many unaware
of their HIV status.
"They are where we were back in the early
1980s," according to
Scott Cook, director of community services at
Howard Brown and one
of the center's delegates to China. "The
stigma around HIV is
still very significant over there." Because
of the stigma, Cook
acknowledged the need for anonymous testing and
confidential
treatment. "People will not seek treatment
(in China) unless they
are sure it is confidential. Confidentiality is
a necessity, and
the Chinese are working on it."
While Waterbrook, Cook, and Dan Taussig oversaw
and conducted
testing in the bars and brothels, Howard Brown
Medical Director
Dr. Leigh Roberts visited hospitals in both cities
to begin
creation of outpatient services related to HIV.
In evaluating
medical needs and the ability of these hospitals
to care for HIV-
positive patients, Roberts was struck most by
her experiences with
Chinese physicians. "The doctors were deeply,
deeply hungry for
information (about HIV)," she says, adding
that some hospital
staff are clearly afraid to care for HIV-infected
persons.
Chinese health workers, trained by Howard Brown
staff, will
continue Saturday night testing in a Hangzhou
gay bar and brothels
(referred to by the Chinese as "recreation
centers") in Ningbo --
a practice once unheard of but finally, a reality.
"It was very
moving to me that we were going to make history
here," says
Roberts. "These moments make history."
Howard Brown Health Center is the Midwest's
premier Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender health care organization,
and leads
the region in addressing comprehensive health
care needs of people
in the LGBT community. HBHC is a multi-site operation,
including
Triad Health and the Brown Elephant Resale Stores.
The Center
provides an expansive network of programs and
services through a
qualified staff of licensed health care practitioners,
renowned
research professionals, and prominent community
leaders.
