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Prevention

HIV Prevention
Substance Use Prevention

About HIV

What is HIV?

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a virus that attacks cells meant to fight against infection, weakening the immune system and making the person more susceptible to other infections.

The virus is spread via certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly occurring during unprotected sex and through sharing through sharing injection drug equipment (hiv.gov).

Learn More At

CDC.gov
HIV.gov

Activities that can lead to HIV include:

  • Anal, vaginal, or oral sex without a condom
  • Having multiple sex partners
  • Having anonymous sex partners
  • Having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol which can lower inhibitions and result in greater sexual risk-taking (cdc.gov)

Things to do to lower your risk of contracting HIV:

  • Use a new condom for every act of sex throughout the entire sex act
  • Reduce the number of people you have sex with
  • Limit or eliminate drug and alcohol use before and during sex
  • Get tested for HIV regularly (about once a year)
  • Talk to your healthcare provider and find out if either pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is a good option for you to prevent HIV infection (cdc.gov)

If you are HIV positive, ways you can reduce the likelihood of transmitting HIV to a partner include:

  • Ask your healthcare provider about antiretroviral therapy (ART). Taking HIV medicine as prescribed can make your viral load very low and undetectable. If your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to HIV-negative partners.
  • Use a new condom for every sexual act throughout the entire act (cdc.gov)

Learn More At

CDC.gov
HIV.gov

Useful Videos

About Substance Use

In 2018, nearly 9 in 10 of 5.1 million young adults with a substance use disorder did not get treatment (samhsa.gov).

About 33% of full-time undergraduate students in the US drink heavily or binge drink. Over 1,500 students die from alcohol related consequences every year (Arria & Wagley, 2019).

Learn More At

CampusDrugPrevention.gov
DrugAbuse.gov
SAMHSA.gov

Memory and cognition are negatively affected when students use substances regularly, making them more likely to drop out of college. People who used drugs and/or drank alcohol excessively in college earn less money over the course of their lives than non-users (campusdrugprevention.gov).

Drug and alcohol use cause the lowering of inhibitions as well as the activation and disruption of the brain’s reward system. This causes students who use to reorganize their priorities in order to seek pleasure and often engage in more dangerous behaviors they might not otherwise engage in. Unprotected sex is more likely to occur when one or multiple partners is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and can lead to the transition of HIV.

Learn More At

CampusDrugPrevention.gov
DrugAbuse.gov
SAMHSA.gov

Useful Videos

If you or your organization are in need of condoms, at-home tests, event speakers, or another form of support from Project PEER, please connect with us via any of our social media platforms or by emailing our project staff directly.

Advocating for a healthy future.

Funding for this project was made possible by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Grant Number: 1H79SP082109-01). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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