Kathleen Welch works on HIV/AIDS prevention in Louisiana

Kathleen Welch, Ph.D., MPH, adjunct faculty member in the Graduate Programs in Public Health, attended the International AIDS Conference this past July in Washington, D.C. and was asked by the Kaiser Family Foundation to present at its national headquarters on the "We are AIDS" campaign in Louisiana. Welch is also now directing evaluation efforts in Louisiana for HIV prevention as well as for the prevention of other STDs. (Louisiana ranks 4th highest in AIDS case rates and first for syphilis and gonorrhea.)

This past year, Welch worked with other key members in the Department of STD/HIV Program at the Louisiana Office of Public Health to help write a grant to address racial health disparities. Louisiana was one of eight grantees selected by the CDC Office of Minority Health and Health Equity to receive over $3 million for three years to help reduce the incidence of HIV among the African-American population in Louisiana, where African Americans account for 32% of the state's population but 67% of the HIV cases.