The Fenway Institute is one of three domestic sites studying the safety and effectiveness of using antiviral medications in HIV-uninfected people to prevent transmission, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP.  Fenway is part of the first study being conducted among men who have sex with men (MSM) globally, with sites in South America, Africa, Asia and the United States.  PrEP is one of the most promising new HIV prevention interventions that may one day supplement more traditional prevention tools, such as condom usage and behavioral change.

During fiscal year 2009, The Fenway Institute was the first site activated as part of a national six city study designed to address high rates of HIV infection among Black MSM, who currently have the highest rates of HIV acquisition among any ethnic and racial group of MSM in the United States.  Project S.O.S. (Saving OurSelves) is a collaboration between The Fenway Institute and the Multicultural AIDS Coalition and will evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of prevention interventions among four hundred Black MSM from the greater Boston area.

During fiscal year 2009, The Fenway Institute published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, textbook chapters and abstracts for national and international conferences based on its research work.

The Fenway Institute is the first community-based organization ever awarded a population-research infrastructure grant by the National Institutes of Health.  The Center for Population Research in LGBT Health plays a key role in setting the national agenda for LGBT health and is training the next generation of LGBT health scholars. 

In 2009, faculty and staff from The Fenway Institute worked closely with other members of the National Coalition for LGBT Health to lobby the federal government to include LGBT people in Healthy People 2020, the federal government’s blueprint for public health policy and spending for 2010 through 2020. 

• Staff from Fenway’s Center for Population Research in LGBT Health conducted surveys and created a set of briefs outlining health disparities that affect the LGBT community.  Topic areas include Access to Quality Health Services, Cancer, Mental Health and Mental Disorders, Nutrition and Overweight, Substance Abuse, and Tobacco Use. 
• Representatives from Fenway and the Coalition also testified at Healthy People 2020 regional meetings and met with members of congress and staff from the Healthy People 2020 office to ensure LGBT inclusion.  Healthy People 2020 is scheduled to be unveiled in early 2010.

The Fenway Institute’s education and training programs continue to grow.

• 2009 saw the debut of a new online question and answer service called Ask the Experts About LGBT Health. 
• Learning modules based on The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health, the first textbook on LGBT health for American clinicians in training and in practice, are now available for free download from our web site.
• The Fenway Institute and Fenway Health’s Medical Department are working with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to initiate what we believe will be the first LGBT primary care residency training program in the country.
• In collaboration with the American Medical Association, The Fenway Institute is implementing a series of grand rounds on LGBT health throughout the country.

Fenway’s Navigation Project uses Peer Health Navigators to reach those at highest risk for health disparities and connect them to life-saving services.  Navigation clients include gay and bisexual men, transgender individuals, those affected by crystal methamphetamine use and other people living within a social blind-spot.

• During fiscal year 2009, Navigators had 1,800 meetings with more than 100 clients at Fenway, at other clinical settings, in the community and on the phone.  They also worked at weekly clinics, offering HIV counseling and testing, hepatitis testing and vaccinations, and enrolling people in state-sponsored health insurance programs.
• The online component of the Navigation Project, Ask Doctor Cox, answered over 800 medical and behavioral health questions.

The National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, a project of The Fenway Institute, held its 6th annual LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) Tobacco Summit in Kansas City Missouri.  There were double the number of participants from last year, with 137 attendees representing 34 states.  We awarded 45 scholarships to the Summit, 31 to adults and 14 to youth. Not only did the event grow in terms of attendees, but it also grew in length to a day and a half; in number of workshops offered to 44, including youth-specific activities and workshops; and in terms of materials and resources offered to participants.

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