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Health Care Disparities

• GLBT Safe Zone Training: Randy McCrillis
  Director, Student Diversity Programs and Services, UNLV
  
  The Safe Zone program is an educational program that will help educate the community in order to create a safer more civil community for all individuals, particularly our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) members.  The core of the program has been designed with the following four goals in mind.
  
  (1) Increased visibility and knowledge for GLBT people and concerns in the community.
  (2) Increased support for GLBT people.
  (3) Increased understanding of civility and respectful interactions.
  (4) Increased safe spaces for GLBT people.  
  
  After the training sessions each participant will receive resource material and a Safe Zone sticker used to indicate they have been through the training and are an “ally”.  The Safe Zone sticker is a message to GLBT individuals that the person posting it is a understanding, supportive, and trustworthy individual.  GLBT individuals will know they can come to these allies for help, advice, or just to talk with someone who is supportive of their sexual orientation. The symbol also means that homophobic and heterosexist comments and actions will not be tolerated, but will be addressed in an educational and informative manner.  
  
  The message that the Safe Zone program will send out is one of understanding, non-judgment, and knowledge of GLBT persons' needs and concerns. It is symbolic of the willingness and commitment on the part of a commitment on the part of a community to provide an atmosphere of unqualified acceptance and assistance.

• IFMSA Global Exchanges [Saturday 2-3:15pm]
  Courtney Barry
  AMSA Global Health Action Committee Premed Representative
  
  Tentative Description: IFMSA exchanges involve US student chapters hosting foreign medical students for clinical and research exchanges, as well as US students going abroad and being hosted by foreign medical students. The presentation will discuss what goes into it these exchange programs, and why participating in a program like this is better to ensure that knowledge is flowing both ways.

 

•  Sex Workers Health [Tentatively scheduled for Friday 3-4:15]
  Susan Lopez, Amanda Brooks
  
  One of the most common reasons for public angst about prostitution is the presumption of a connection between sexually transmitted diseases, public health, and prostitutes as "vectors of disease". As such, sex workers who are honest with their medical practitioners about their profession suffer from prejudices against them, and medical professionals tend to "genitalize" their care. As we will explore, nothing could be further from the truth. Sex workers have been proven to be exceptionally knowledgeable about their own sexual health, serving as educators of the public (i.e., their clients), and when charged with a peer-to-peer approach to fighting HIV and AIDS, have proven to be one of the most effective groups doing such work globally. Clearly, all professions come with a certain set of specialized needs, and sex workers are no different. During this presentation, we will explore and debunk popular myths about sex work and public health, look at policy approaches around the world and their successes, failures, and challenges, and investigate the actual experiences of sex workers and their health practitioners. We will also explore the specific needs of sex workers, and how medical practitioners could equip themselves to address issues unique to particular areas of sex work. The presentation will last 45 minutes, and we will have 30 minutes for questions and answers.
  
  Susan Lopez is co-founder and assistant director of the Desiree Alliance, a 501c3 dedicated to organizing sex workers for their civil, labor, and human rights. She is also founder and director of SWOP-Las Vegas, which works towards addressing local sex workers' issues. Susan is also a freelance researcher currently working on a project with graduate researchers at UNLV. Formerly an exotic dancer for 15 years, she has worked in 54 clubs in 49 cities all over the world, and has visited the red light areas of many more. She has also done extensive international research on sex work, erotic labor organizing, and governmental and public policy approaches to sex work. She has her BA from UC Berkeley in Peace and Conflict Studies, and her MSc from London School of Economics in Social Policy and Development.
  
  Amanda Brooks is a former stripper, independent sex worker and author. She has appeared on Fox Business News and The O’Reilly Factor discussing Internet escort work. She is a board member of SWOP-East and Desiree Alliance. Amanda recently interviewed Elisabeth Pisani (“The Wisdom of Whores”) for XBN (a sex worker Internet radio show) and founded Pledging Action – a condom-donation program for sex workers in Santiago, Chile whose program-funding has been cut by the USAID anti-prostitution pledge. Amanda’s book series, The Internet Escort’s Handbook, discusses escort-related health issues as well as issues of receiving needed medical care. She has a bachelor’s degree. She will soon began traveling to experience active sex work in a variety of countries and legal systems around the world.

Medical History and Progression

• Screening a section from the documentary Unnatural Causes about diabetes in an American Indian tribe, the Tohono O'odham; presenting a few other cases and then leading a discussion on solutions to health disparities in the populations we work with;  workshops on undoing racisim, issues related to health equity and health disparities.