Chemsex, Disordered Eating & Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Clients: How Limited and Non-inclusive Healthcare Undermine the Health of the Population

This opening keynote will provide a context for understanding the limitations of healthcare and healthcare providers in delivering effective service to LGBTQ people. Drawing from the literature, consideration will be given to the unique healthcare challenges of LGBT populations, obstacles for LGBTQ people face accessing high quality care, and the mistrust that LGBTQ people experience with healthcare. A brief overview will be provided of the 3 main foci of the conference: chemsex/addiction, disordered eating, and intimate partner violence as that manifest in the population.

Perry N Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, is a public health psychologist, infectious disease epidemiologist, applied statistician, researcher, educator, and advocate. He is also an actively sought-out expert for television, print, and other mass media. For three decades, the focus of his research has been on the emergence, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases, specifically, HIV, HPV, and other sexually transmitted infections, and more recently SARS-CoV-2. His program of study has sought to disentangle the biological, behavioral, psychosocial, and structural mechanisms that predispose people and populations to these infectious diseases, and the synergies of infectious disease with mental health burden – including drug abuse – in sexual, gender, and racial, and ethnic minority populations. Dr. Halkitis is currently dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and professor in the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Urban- Global Public Health. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior & Prevention Studies (CHIBPS) and a primary member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Global Health Institute. He holds the status of Professor Emeritus at the College of Global Public Health at New York University. Dr. Halkitis is the author of numerous books, including his 2019 book, Out in Time: The Public Lives of Gay Men from Stonewall to the Queer Generation. His 2013 book, The AIDS Generation: Stories of Survival and Resilience, is a 2014 Lambda Literary Award nominee. He has authored some 300 peer-reviewed academic manuscripts and also actively disseminates knowledge to mainstream media, appearing frequently on television, radio, print, and podcasts.

Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Clients

In Dr. Stults’s workshop participants will learn about intimate partner violence (IPV) among sexual and gender minority (SGM) people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations. Specifically, participants will learn about the prevalence, etiology, and health consequences of IPV for SGM communities.