to the website of CAMP TINA, a project that we are doing at Tri-City Health Center, in collaboration with University of California San Francisco researchers. This project is a study of methamphetamine use among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Alameda County, addressing the health risks men may face.

Why are we doing this project?


Meth use among gay men has gotten plenty of attention in San Francisco, with information and services available for men who wish to take advantage of it. On the other hand, little attention has been given to meth use among men who have sex with men in Alameda County. Prevention and treatment services in Alameda County simply don't have the information they need and the programs in place to address the needs of meth-using MSM who don't necessarily want to stop using crystal. We want to fill some of those important gaps with what we are finding out in our work with meth-using MSM.
 

 

WELCOME...

 

For more information about the project, please contact our staff at Tri-City Health Center, at (510) 713-6690 x 6156, or email us at camptina@tri-cityhealth.org

What is this project attempting to do?
First, what we are NOT doing: We're not here to blame, criticize or scold anyone for using meth. Our concern is not to get anyone using meth to enter substance abuse treatment. Our project does not provide substance abuse treatment.

Instead, we're here to try to target the health risks and health concerns of Alameda County MSM who use methamphetamines. If you use meth and have sex with other men, you probably know that you are at greater risk for getting infected with STDs and HIV -- and that sometimes the choices you can make while high on meth can put you in danger in other ways as well.
 

We're concerned about the risks men may take when high on meth. We're hoping that we have something to offer that can reduce those dangers. Our project involves testing to see whether a counseling intervention that we are offering can lower the different risks that meth-using MSM may encounter, especially HIV, Hepatitis C, STDs, and other health complications. We're currently enrolling participants to this study to test whether or not it may be effective.

What are we asking of you?

If you qualify and join the study, you will be asked to complete surveys about your sexual behavior, substance use, health concerns and health-related beliefs at three different points: when you first join, three months later, and then at five months. In addition, based upon random assignment at the time you consent to be a subject, you have a 50/50 chance of receiving this new counseling intervention, which consists of four individual sessions spaced a week apart. These sessions allow you to take a look at some of the current concerns in your life, and with the help of an outreach worker/counselor, to identify a key goal that you wish to focus on in the sessions.

We also need your help in reaching men who could participate in this study. We have quite a number of MSM to screen and recruit in the time remaining for this study. Thus, we are asking all participants who qualify for the study to try to ask other meth-using MSM whom they know to take part in the project.

Participants in the study are reimbursed for their time; in addition, participants who are able to get other qualified men to enroll in the study can also earn some extra cash.