The PATH Youth Program (PATH=Psychoso,cial, Advocacy, Treatment for HIV+ Youth) is a multidisciplinary collaboration of experienced HIV researchers and care providers designed to improve the health and well- being of pre-adolescents and adolescents on the North side of Chicago. PATH'S """"""""one stop shopping"""""""" program brings together the strengths of academic medicine and community-based health care to create unique, comprehensive and barrier-free interdisciplinary services for HIV+ and at-risk HIV- adolescents and young adults age 12-24. Since its inception in 2001, PATH'S adolescent-specific care providers have merged the resources of Children's Memorial Hospital and Howard Brown Community Health Center into one seamless model of care offering adolescents the full range of clinical, outreach/prevention, and social support services. Engagement and participation in clinical trials and HIV prevention research is central to the mission of PATH. Our program's experienced researchers, including Principal Investigator (PI), Robert Garofalo MD MPH, co-investigator Ram Yogev MD, study coordinators, and outreach/recruitment staff, have conducted and led multi-center collaborative trials in pediatric and adolescent populations with a proven track record of recruitment, retention and site performance for clinical and prevention research with HIV+ and HIV- youth. At present, PATH provides comprehensive care to 146 HIV+ youth (the majority of whom have experience participating in research) as well as a diverse array of at-risk youth, including the homeless, youth of color, young women, gay and bisexual young men, and transgender youth. PATH is uniquely positioned to contribute to the scientific agenda of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN). The program's innovative and integrated approach to adolescent health and well-being in the Chicago North side community and our experienced research and clinical team offer an unparalleled opportunity to broaden the ATN's commitment to community work with disadvantaged, hard-to-reach adolescents.
| Brennan, Julia; Kuhns, Lisa M; Johnson, Amy K et al. (2012) Syndemic theory and HIV-related risk among young transgender women: the role of multiple, co-occurring health problems and social marginalization. Am J Public Health 102:1751-7 |
| Lin, Alison J; Dudek, Julia C; Francisco, Vincent T et al. (2012) Challenges and approaches to mobilizing communities for HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men of color. J Prev Interv Community 40:149-64 |
