Virtual meeting
Via Zoom
Description
This training will focus on the sexual health-related risks associated with substance use disorder. The impact of survival sex and sex work on the well-being of both men and women and strategies to reduce violence and infections in this population will be explored. Pharmacological interventions for HIV prevention including nPEP, PrEP, and the concept of U=U will be reviewed. Participants will be able to define STI testing strategies for the SUD provider and treatment considerations for patients on medication for addiction treatment.
The harm reduction series is a 10-part education series for healthcare providers and SUD treatment programs to better understand Harm Reduction principles and harm reduction strategies as best practice in SUD treatment. The series will provide participants with an hour long didactic with a 30 minute Q+A. Each session is taught by an educator from the Grayken TTA team and an expert community member with boots on the ground experience in the specific topic area. Participants may attend all sessions or select specific courses. Continuing education credits are offered for each session.
Intended audience
Medical providers, nurses, social workers, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors (LADC), Certified Alcohol/Drug Counselors (CADC), Community Health Workers (CHW), recovery coaches, counselors, Licensed Mental health Counselors (LMHC), and members of the community.
Speakers
Justin Alves, MSN, FNP-BC, ACRN, CARN, CNE (he/him)
Justin is a clinical nurse educator with Boston Medical Center's Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance, where he contributes to peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based clinical guidelines, development and delivery of continuing education programs, and other resources for providers supporting patients with substance use disorders. Justin is also a nurse practitioner at Boston Medical Center and the nursing director of two housing first programs operated by the Justice Resource Institute, Inc. He has expertise in infectious diseases and their co-occurrence with substance use disorders, community outreach, and harm reduction. Justin's work in HIV/AIDS includes being president of the Boston Chapter of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, consulting for the New England AIDS Education Training Center, and other positions. He currently sits on the stimulant work group for the Opioid Response Network (ORN), the advisory board of the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and the item writing committee for the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB). Justin received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Northeastern University in 2013, his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2020, and his Post-Master's Family Nurse Practitioner certificate from the University of Massachusetts-Boston in 2023. He also holds certification as a Certified Addiction Registered Nurse (CARN) through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB), certification as an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN) through the HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board (HANCB), and is a certified nurse educator (CNE) through the National League of Nursing.
Mary Wheeler, Harm Reduction Specialist (she/her)
Mary Wheeler began working in the HIV prevention field in 1999 as a volunteer outreach worker for JRI Health in Boston. From 1999 until 2001, Mary worked as the street outreach coordinator for an outreach program that provided services to sex workers and people who use substances.
From 2001 until 2005, Mary worked for both the Cambridge and Boston syringe services programs prior to working in Lynn.
In 2005, she took a position at Healthy Streets Outreach Program in Lynn, which provides services to sex workers and people who use substances. Healthy Streets is also one of the first MA DPH Naloxone Distribution sites, serving towns on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Mary is currently the Program Director at Healthy Streets Outreach Program, which is now a program of Health Innovations Inc., where she has been for almost 10 years.
Objectives
Following this training, participants will have the knowledge necessary to:
- Illustrate the correlation between substance use and higher risk sexual activity.
- Assess a sexual health history of patients using substances.
- List at least 2 medical interventions to reduce the risk of infections associated with higher risk sexual activity.
- Identify the increased risk of violence associated with people who engage in survival sex or sex work and review strategies to mitigate these risks.
Sponsored by
Boston Medical Center Grayken Center for Addiction TTA, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (DPH/BSAS)
Funding for out of state attendees is provided by the Opioid Response Network (ORN).
Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI083343 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Credits
- CME (1.50)
- Nursing (1.50)
- Social work (1.50)
- LADC (1.50)
- CADC (1.50)
- Recovery coach (1.50)
- LMHC (1.50)
Visit the BMC Grayken Center for Addiction TTA website for accreditation information and to register: https://www.addictiontraining.org/training/register/event/?category=126&date=&type=&start=28&id=1359&pkIDed=1445
