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

This National Institute on Drug Abuse meeting will provide a broad understanding of the multiple ways that drug abuse and addiction affect HIV/AIDS and how research can inform public health policy. Presentations will focus on the successes, research challenges, and opportunities for addressing the evolving HIV/AIDS pandemic. Attendees will be drawn from the research community, public health organizations, Federal agencies, and drug abuse and HIV/AIDS organizations.

Topics that will be covered include, but are not limited to, the following:

How drugs of abuse alter brain function, leading to impaired decisionmaking 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.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

In Collaboration With

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institute of Mental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

For more information, visit
http://conferences.masimax.com/riskybehaviors