Felicia Bamgbose

Felicia is a medical doctor working in East London with a special interest in HIV and Sexual Health. She has worked in Clinical Research for HIV prevention and volunteered with organisations like Africa Advocacy and Positive East to improve HIV knowledge and testing. Her particular focus is around trying to reduce the stigma associated with HIV through better education.

Epidemiology & behaviour

Intimate partner violence increases a woman’s risk of acquiring HIV

Epidemiology

HIV incidence rates are not decreasing for gay and bisexual men living in Africa

Harm reduction

More people using government programmes for opioid addiction in Ukraine since the war started

Transgender people

Trans women in the US have high rates of HIV and premature death

Neurological & cognitive problems

Decline in brain function is linked to other medical conditions rather than ageing with HIV

Health problems & ageing

Low testosterone is linked to efavirenz, increased body fat and older age

Men who have sex with men (MSM)

Gay Muslim men living with HIV in Senegal are being persecuted and report shame, violence and isolation

PrEP programmes & uptake

Better PrEP retention strategies are needed, as increasing numbers of ex-PrEP users are diagnosed with HIV

Ethnic & cultural minorities

Black British people with HIV and APOL1 gene variants are more likely to develop kidney failure

PrEP programmes & uptake

Community-led trans-affirming care shown to improve PrEP uptake in trans communities

Treatment for women

Women living with HIV are under-represented in research, limiting our understanding of co-morbid diseases

Kidney problems

People over 50 years old or with existing kidney dysfunction are more likely to get kidney damage when using tenofovir disoproxil-based PrEP

Finding support

Large review finds some evidence that peer support is beneficial in HIV care

Child developmental issues

South African children with well-controlled HIV have lower bone mass compared to HIV-negative children

Ethnic & cultural minorities

Using racial adjustments for Black people living with HIV decreases the accuracy of kidney function tests

Neurological & cognitive problems

New predictors for peripheral neuropathy found in study of people living with HIV

HIV testing programmes & uptake

Southern African HIV testing programmes have hit the 90% UNAIDS target for knowledge of status but testing rates are lower in key groups

Vaginal rings & topical PrEP

Most male partners of women using the dapivirine vaginal ring support its use in HIV prevention