Conference: Impaired Decision-Making an AIDS

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has scheduled a two-day conference to explore wide-ranging issues related to drug abuse, impaired decision- making, and HIV/AIDS on May 8-9 at the Natcher Conference Center, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "Drug Abuse and Risky Behaviors: The Evolving Dynamics of HIV/AIDS" will focus on how drug abuse and addiction affect the spread of HIV/AIDS and how research can inform public health policy.

"Drug abuse and addiction continue to fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad," a NIDA news release said. "To address this significant public health threat, research is examining every aspect of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and addiction, including risk behaviors associated with both injection and non-injection drug abuse, how drugs of abuse alter brain function and impair decision-making, and HIV prevention and treatment strategies for diverse groups."

Drug-Impaired Decision-Making

Topics that will be covered during the two-day seminar include:

How drugs of abuse alter brain function, leading to impaired decision-making and risky behaviors, which in turn can facilitate the acquisition and transmission of HIV.

How and to what extent substance abuse influences sexual risk behaviors.

How substance abuse affects HIV/AIDS risk in diverse populations (e.g., adolescents, minorities, those involved with the criminal justice system).

How testing and counseling can be incorporated as a key component of HIV prevention strategies for drug-abusing populations.

A full agenda and speaker list is available online. More Information:

• Alcohol, Drugs Spell Trouble for HIV Patients
  
• NIDA Warns Young People of Drug-HIV Risks
  
• HIV / AIDS and Substance Abuse

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