1987
APA's Board of Directors establishes a Task Force on Psychology and AIDS, based on a recommendation from the Board of Ethical Responsibility for Psychology. In its 1989 final report, the task force recommends that its work continue through a new oversight group, the Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS.
1988
APA establishes the Office on AIDS as part of the association's Public Interest Directorate.
1990
APA's Council of Representatives establishes the Ad Hoc Committee on Psychology and AIDS (COPA), dedicated to guiding the development and implementation of APA's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The council reauthorizes COPA in 1993, 1998, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
1991
APA's council passes two resolutions related to HIV/AIDS: one on neuropsychological assessment and HIV infection, and one on legal liability related to confidentiality and the prevention of HIV transmission.
1992
APA's council passes a resolution on legal access to sterile injection equipment.
1994
APA mourns the death of two Public Policy Office staffers, Walter Batchelor, PhD, and William Bailey, who died of complications related to AIDS.
1996
APA's council passes a resolution on sexuality education.
2003
COPA awards the first Psychology and AIDS Leadership Awards to leaders in psychology and HIV/AIDS to ensure HIV/AIDS is kept at the forefront of psychological research, education, training and practice.
2005
APA's council passes a resolution on HIV prevention strategies involving access to sterile injection equipment, as well as one on empirically supported sex education and HIV prevention programs for adolescents.
2006
APA's council passes a resolution on drug abuse treatments to prevent HIV among injection drug users.
2010
COPA helps develop the nation's first National HIV/AIDS Strategy, a comprehensive national plan to reduce HIV/AIDS incidence, increase access to care, reduce HIV-related health disparities, direct resources to communities most affected by HIV/AIDS and facilitate improved coordination across federal agencies and at the state and local levels.
2011
COPA starts collaborating with Black Entertainment Television to facilitate positive communication on sex, sexual health, dating and HIV/AIDS among African-American teens and their families.
2012
APA's council passes a resolution on combination biomedical and behavioral approaches to optimize HIV prevention.
2013
APA's council passes a resolution on counseling in HIV testing programsopens in new window.
2014
COPA drafts a resolution opposing HIV criminalization.
