"Do We Stay or Do We Go?" The Impact of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation on the HIV Workforce in the South.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) workforce continues to face a crisis, particularly in the southern United States. Adding to known issues of administrative burden and less competitive compensation, recent anti- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) legislation threatens the already strained HIV workforce. HIV care providers advocate for all aspects of their patient's lives, including those needing gender-affirming care. The recent legislative targets against transgender patients, which involves many people with HIV, will clearly add to the burden on individual HIV care providers and therefore the HIV workforce. Recruitment and retention efforts in states impacted by these laws will become increasingly difficult without advocacy for the patients we serve. The HIV workforce must work together with LGBTQ+ populations to address these recent laws and promote the well-being of all our patients and colleagues.
Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest . M. K. J. reports a role on the Board of Directors for HIVMA. A. K. P. reports that she is listed as a co-investigator in 2 grants but is not a principal investigator (PI) of any grants (ie, there are no grants awarded directly to her); is an HIVMA board member and receives occasional support for travel to IDSA or HIVMA related meetings; roles as HIVMA Board Member and Vice-Chair Elect. C. F. K. reports grants to institution from Moderna, Novavax, Gilead Sciences, ViiV, Humanigen; a role as Vice chair of HIVMA. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.
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