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	<title>Blog In Black</title>
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	<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress</link>
	<description>Afrocentric Program Design</description>
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		<title>Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/facts-on-contraceptive-use-in-the-united-states/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/facts-on-contraceptive-use-in-the-united-states/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:38:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fact Sheet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=754</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WHO PAYS FOR CONTRACEPTION? • One-quarter of the more than 20 million American women who obtain contraceptive services from a medical provider receive care from a publicly funded family planning clinic. • In 2008, 7.2 million women, including 1.8 million teenagers, received contraceptive services from publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States. • Federal employees are guaranteed insurance coverage for contraceptives. • Nine in 10 employer-based insurance plans cover a full range of prescription contraceptives, which is three times the proportion that did so just a decade ago. • Twenty-seven states now have laws in place requiring insurers that cover prescription drugs in general to provide coverage for the full range of contraceptive drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  FIRST YEAR CONTRACEPTIVE FAILURE RATES   facts-on-contraceptive-use-in-the-united-states  &#8220;Facts&#8221; provides an interesting snapshot into the use of family planning, natural and artificial. As NFP Awareness Week 2010 draws to a close, I&#8217;d like to take a close look today at &#8220;Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States,&#8221; released in June 2010 by the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood.Incorrectly referred to by many news sources not to mention commentators on the web as a &#8220;study,&#8221; &#8220;Facts&#8221; is really just a compilation of data on the use of various forms of family planning. As such, it relies on multiple studies performed by other organizations over different periods of time, which complicates efforts to get a clear sense of how the data contained therein correlates. via Notes on the Guttmacher Institute&#8217;s &#8220;Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States&#8221;.]]></description>
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		<title>8 Tips for Telling Your Partner a Health Secret &#124; Sexual health news</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/telling-your-partnerl-health-news/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/telling-your-partnerl-health-news/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:23:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pamphlets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sex education]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=746</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sharing a secret Dating someone new means sharing idiosyncracies, emotional baggage, and experiences that have shaped your lives. But what if that includes a health secret? Jill*, a 33-year-old New Yorker, knows that finding Mr. Right also means telling him she has bipolar disorder. Though she takes medication, she still lives with symptoms like insomnia and a nervous smoking habit. So how much should you reveal about a health secret? If you’re considering spilling the beans, here are eight tips to help. Practice what to say Rehearse with a friend or therapist, says Ken Robbins, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Laurie Davis, an online dating expert, suggests asking a friend what sounds most intimidating and then smoothing it over. Mark Snyder, a 32-year-old writer from New York City, used to dread telling a new boyfriend that he was a recovering alcoholic. “I often blurted out, ‘Oh, I don’t drink. Sorry.’” However, as he got used to talking about his condition, “so did the ease with which I told a man not to expect a tequila-scented smooch at the end of the night,” he says. Continue Reading » via 8 Tips for Telling Your Partner a Health Secret &#124; Sexual health news.]]></description>
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		<title>The Prison Industrial (Retirement) Complex, by the Numbers &#8211; COLORLINES</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/the-prison-industrial-retirement-complex-by-the-numbers-colorlines/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/02/the-prison-industrial-retirement-complex-by-the-numbers-colorlines/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:56:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fact Sheet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[incarceration]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=726</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Human Rights Watch released a report last week, Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States, that details a new challenge created by the extreme sentences dished out over the past generation. According to the report, in 2010 there were 124,400 prisoners—8 percent of inmates—aged 55 or older, which is an increase of 57.3 percent from 2009. This is due to the number of inmates serving life sentences and the many others serving sentences of 20 years or longer. Roughly half of people who get life sentences are black, according to the Sentencing Project. The report pointed out that about one in 10 state prisoners is serving a life sentence and 11 percent have sentences longer than 20 years. Some sentencing reform advocates have warned that, as the case against the death penalty builds steam, it’s crucial that lawmakers and advocates alike keep in mind the core problem: a sentencing system that empowers prosecutors and limits judicial discretion, leading to widespread extreme sentences. Prisons aren’t equipped to properly care for the geriatric prisoners who fall ill and need daily living assistance. In 2007, 46 percent of inmates aged 55 and over died in state prison. As Jamie Fellner, the author of the report, told the New York Times, “Age should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card, but when prisoners  are so old and infirm that they are not a threat to public safety, they should be released under supervision. Failing that, legislatures are going to have to pony up a lot more money to pay for proper care for them behind bars.” via The Prison Industrial (Retirement) Complex, by the Numbers &#8211; COLORLINES.]]></description>
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		<title>The Meth Epidemic &#8211; Video</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/the-meth-epidemic-video/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/the-meth-epidemic-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:24:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[treatment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=711</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Introduction &#124; The Meth Epidemic &#124; FRONTLINE &#124; PBS. Speed. Meth. Glass. On the street, methamphetamine has many names. What started as a fad among West Coast motorcycle gangs in the 1970s has spread across the United States, and despite lawmakers&#8217; calls for action, the drug is now more potent, and more destructive, than at any time in the past decade. In The Meth Epidemic, FRONTLINE, in association with The Oregonian, investigates the meth rampage in America: the appalling impact on individuals, families and communities, and the difficulty of controlling an essential ingredient in meth—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine—sold legally in over-the-counter cold remedies. In Congress, a bipartisan coalition has called for international controls on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, either of which is essential for making meth. Many states have forced cold medicines containing these ingredients off retail shelves and behind the pharmacy counter &#8212; a move that may become a national requirement. Methamphetamine abuse started in California and Oregon but spread rapidly into the Midwest. Now the drug has reached the East Coast. &#8220;Meth has made a steady march across the United States,&#8221; says Steve Suo, a reporter for Portland&#8217;s The Oregonian who has followed meth from the beginning. &#8220;Right now you have Mexican methamphetamine flooding in through Atlanta, and from there [it] fans out both south and north.&#8221; The discovery of meth labs in states from Maine to Florida foreshadows a new crisis on the East Coast: &#8220;They can expect to see increased car theft, increased identity theft, … domestic violence, child neglect, drug overdoses and just a lot of mayhem,&#8221; says Suo. Indeed, statistics show that meth can trigger a surge in other crimes: In Oregon, a staggering 85 percent of property crime, as well as a majority of muggings, car thefts and identity thefts, have been linked to the drug. Meth&#8217;s destructive power comes from its impact on the user&#8217;s brain. &#8220;Dopamine is the brain&#8217;s primary pleasure chemical,&#8221; says UCLA professor and meth expert Dr. Richard Rawson. &#8220;If you take a hit on a pipe or an injection of methamphetamine, you get an increase from zero to about 1,250 units. … This produces an extreme peak of euphoria that people describe as something like they&#8217;ve never experienced.&#8221; Researchers have found that meth creates this high by destroying the very part of the brain that generates dopamine, which makes them unable to feel pleasure from anything except more meth. &#8220;It actually changes how the brain operates,&#8221; Rawson continues. &#8220;It&#8217;s a wonder anyone ever gets off meth.&#8221; According to the World Health Organization, meth abuse worldwide is worse than that of cocaine and heroin combined. &#8220;The Meth Epidemic&#8221; tells the story of two potential solutions to the crisis and examines why neither was fully tried. In the mid-80s, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration first proposed controlling the retail sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in cold medicines by having customers register at the counter and limiting how much they could buy. Pharmaceutical companies, however, resisted the DEA&#8217;s plan. Allan Rexinger, a lobbyist [...]]]></description>
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		<title>STD Rates Climb Among MSM, Blacks</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/std-rates-climb-among-msm-blacks/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/std-rates-climb-among-msm-blacks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:05:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fact Sheet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CDC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[STD]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=651</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Undetected and untreated STDs can increase a person’s risk for HIV and cause other serious health consequences, such as infertility. STD screening can help detect disease early and, when combined with treatment, is one of the most effective tools available to protect one’s health and prevent the spread of STDs to others. STDs in the United States: A Look Beyond the Data STDs primarily affect young people, but the health consequences can last a lifetime Young people represent 25 percent of the sexually experienced population in the United States, but account for nearly half of new STDs. The long-lasting health effects are particularly serious for young people: Untreated gonorrhea and chlamydia can silently steal a young woman’s chance to have her own children later in life. Each year, untreated STDs cause at least 24,000 women in the U.S. to become infertile. Untreated syphilis can lead to serious long-term complications, including brain, cardiovascular, and organ damage. Syphilis in pregnant women can also result in congenital syphilis syphilis among infants, which can cause stillbirth, death soon after birth, and physical deformity and neurological complications in children who survive. Untreated syphilis in pregnant women results in infant death in up to 40 percent of cases. Studies suggest that people with gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis are at increased risk for HIV. CDC and Partners Working to Expand STD Prevention Efforts CDC closely tracks STDs to guide prevention programs and clinical recommendations for STD services. CDC also funds state and local health departments and community-based organizations to implement and support local prevention efforts to reduce risk behavior and increase STD and HIV testing among populations at greatest risk. Through the Get Yourself Tested multimedia campaign, CDC, MTV, and the Kaiser Family Foundation are raising STD awareness among young people. CDC assists health departments in local gonorrhea prevention efforts to best reach at-risk persons in areas where disease burden is greatest. CDC recently conducted a series of regional gonorrhea control discussions with STD program directors to help identify the most at-risk populations and develop action plans to reduce disparities. CDC supports the Infertility Prevention Project, which promotes chlamydia screening and treatment for low-income, sexually active women in family planning and STD clinics. CDC and public health partners are working to implement CDC’s Syphilis Elimination Plan, including using local data to create targeted action plans to reach those at greatest risk, particularly young black men and MSM. Snapshot CDC report, 2010 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance]]></description>
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		<title>Heroin City &#8211; National Geographic Channel</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/heroin-city-national-geographic-channel/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/heroin-city-national-geographic-channel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:16:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heroin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HIV/AIDS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[injection drug user]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=699</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Vancouver, British Columbia is enveloped in a heroin addiction epidemic, with many of its addicts dying of AIDS each year. via National Geographic Channel.]]></description>
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		<title>Video:  AHF Elizabeth Taylor Rose Parade Float Construction Time-Lapse (1/1/12)</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/video-ahf-elizabeth-taylor-rose-parade-float-construction-time-lapse/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/video-ahf-elizabeth-taylor-rose-parade-float-construction-time-lapse/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:07:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Humanitarian]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dame Elizabeth Rosemond &#8220;Liz&#8220;Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) Taylor was cofounder of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) with Dr. Michael Gottlieb and Dr. Mathilde Krim in 1985. Her longtime friend and former co-star Rock Hudson had disclosed having AIDS and died of it that year. She also founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) in 1993, created to provide critically needed support services for people with HIV/AIDS Taylor was honored with a special Academy Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1992 for her HIV/AIDS humanitarian work. AHF Healthcare Centers &#124; AHF Pharmacy &#124; FreeHIVTest.net FreeSTDCheck.org &#124; Out of the Closet Thift Stores &#124; Positive Healthcare &#160; &#160;]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/video-ahf-elizabeth-taylor-rose-parade-float-construction-time-lapse/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>How ‘homophobic’ Are You?</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/how-homophobic-are-you/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2012/01/how-homophobic-are-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:52:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Outreach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homosexuality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=675</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Take the quiz. When finished calculate your scores. homophobia questionnaire For much of this century, homosexuality was defined by the medical and scientific community as a psychiatric disorder. In the last several decades, however, “homosexuality” has been removed from the diagnostic manual of disorders, and research emphasis has shifted to the other side of the problem: the study of the negative, sometimes pathological, reactions to homosexuals by heterosexuals. The term “homophobia” has gained currency as a one-word summary of this widespread problem. Since the early 1980′s, scientists attempting to measure homophobia have developed a number of different homophobia scales and questionnaires. In 1996, as part of his study on homophobia, Dr. Henry Adams and his colleagues at the University of Georgia developed their own “Homophobia Scale” by modifying scales used by other researchers in earlier studies. It’s a 25-item questionnaire “designed to measure your thoughts, feelings and behaviors with regards to homosexuality.” The instructions stressed: “It is not a test, so there are no right or wrong answers.” FRONTLINE has reproduced this “Wright, Adams, and Bernat Homophobia Scale.” It is not a perf via How ‘homophobic’ Are You? . Assault On Gay America &#124; FRONTLINE &#124; PBS]]></description>
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		<title>inSPOT &gt; Tips for Telling Your Partners</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2011/12/inspot-tips-for-telling-your-partners/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2011/12/inspot-tips-for-telling-your-partners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:18:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[partner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=662</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[AS ADAPTED FROM THE AMERICAN SOCIAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION While it may sound daunting to think about talking to your recent sex partners, perhaps also including your primary partner, and telling them that you&#8217;ve been diagnosed with an STD, it&#8217;s important to let them know as soon as possible so they can get treatment, too. If these are people you have regular sexual relationships with, it can be even more important to discuss this because if one partner is untreated, many STDs can be passed back and forth indefinitely. Remember, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are treatable STDs, where antibiotics work. However, if left untreated, syphilis can do extensive damage to your internal organs and neurological system, and gonorrheal and chlamydial infections can spread to other parts of your body. Talking to your partners about your diagnosis will not only reduce the stigma associated with getting an STD, but will help take care of the health of you, your sex partners, and the entire community. You have to come to terms with your own diagnosis before you start talking to your partners. It&#8217;s unrealistic to expect other people to understand if you&#8217;re uncomfortable with the diagnosis yourself. How well-informed are you? Do you know the facts about STDs? You want to feel confident and knowledgeable before you explain the infection to someone else. You can also always call the CDC National STD Hotline with questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-227-8922 or 800-342-2437. In addition to talking to you personally, they can mail you brochures and information to have on hand to give to your partners. Continue Reading » via inSPOT &#62; Tips for Telling Your Partners.]]></description>
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		<title>Majority of People Living With HIV in U.S. Aren’t in Successful Treatment &#8211; New America Media</title>
		<link>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2011/12/majority-of-people/</link>
		<comments>http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/2011/12/majority-of-people/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:46:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[healthcare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HIV/AIDS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[treatment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bloginblack.org/wordpress/?p=654</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Less than a third of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are in successful enough treatment that they will remain healthy and reduce the likelihood of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners, according to the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials believe they must dramatically boost that number in order to control the epidemic, which has ravaged black communities in particular and is still growing among black gay and bisexual men. The CDC released its latest update on the HIV/AIDS epidemic on Tuesday, in advance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. This spring marked 30 years since the public health agency first reported on the condition that would later be identified as HIV infection. Roughly half of those living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are black, as are roughly half of those who are newly infected each year. Reducing what’s called a patient’s “viral load” is a core part of HIV treatment. The more virus that’s circulating in your blood, the weaker your immune system becomes and the more likely you are to develop a fatal illness. Treatment specialists believe a viral count under 550 copies of the virus per milliliter of blood is the magic number to stay healthy; go above that mark and you should start taking anti-retroviral drugs, they say. But CDC officials have also said that a viral load below 200 meaningfully reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to a sexual partner. Tuesday, the CDC reported that only 28 percent of the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV have viral counts that low. That news comes as a dampener to big, promising news earlier this year, when researchers found that successful treatment lowered the likelihood of transmitting HIV by a shocking 96 percent. Federal health officials also estimate that 20 percent of people with the virus remain unaware altogether of their status because they have not been tested. CDC has long pointed out that new infections are driven overwhelmingly by people who don’t know they are HIV positive. Continue Reading » via Majority of People Living With HIV in U.S. Aren’t in Successful Treatment &#8211; COLORLINES.]]></description>
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