Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV disproportionately affect young persons; gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and transgender women; persons of colour; and the ...U.S. South. Complex issues contribute to these high STI/HIV rates. Our community‐based participatory research (CBPR) partnership conducted a community‐driven needs assessment to inform an intervention addressing STI/HIV disparities and related social determinants of health (SDH) among young GBMSM and transgender women of colour in a high‐incidence STI/HIV community in North Carolina. In 2018, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 21 community members and 29 community organisation representatives to explore needs, priorities and assets. Interview data were analysed using constant comparison, an approach to grounded theory, and an empowerment theory‐based planning process was used to develop multilevel intervention strategies based on findings. Thirteen themes emerged from the interviews that were organised into five domains: health (e.g., limited health services use; need for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT‐friendly providers; prioritisation of mental health and gender transition and limited knowledge of and access to pre‐exposure prophylaxis PrEP for HIV); employment (e.g., employment as a priority and relying on sex work to ‘make ends meet’); education (e.g., barriers to education and needs for training to improve employment opportunities); social support (e.g., few welcoming activities and groups; strong informal support networks and little interaction between GBMSM and transgender women) and discrimination (e.g., frequent experiences of discrimination and the impact of frontline staff on services use). Three strategies – community‐based peer navigation, use of social media, and anti‐discrimination trainings for organisations – were identified and integrated into a new intervention known as Impact Triad. CBPR was successfully applied to identify needs, priorities and assets and develop a multilevel intervention focused on health disparities and SDH among young GBMSM and transgender women of colour in the U.S. South.
Introduction
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately affect young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and transgender ...women of colour. We explored the experiences of community‐based peer navigators (‘Community Navigators’) who participated in Impact Triad, a bilingual multilevel intervention developed by our community‐based participatory research partnership to reduce STIs and HIV and address social determinants of health (e.g., employment, education, social support and discrimination) among young GBMSM and transgender women of colour.
Methods
Individual in‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 Community Navigators who participated in Impact Triad. Themes were identified through constant comparison.
Results
Community Navigators' mean age was 31.4 years. Seven were self‐identified as African American/Black, 5 as Latine, 2 as multiracial/multiethnic, 1 as Asian American, 10 as cisgender men, 4 as transgender women and 1 as gender nonbinary. Thirteen themes emerged in three domains: (1) key aspects of the Community Navigator role (e.g., desire to serve as a community resource, the importance of being part of the communities in which one was working, the value of having an official role, being connected to other Community Navigators to problem‐solving and sustaining intervention aspects long‐term); (2) experiences implementing Impact Triad (e.g., engaging community members, meeting prioritized needs, building trust, using social media, increasing awareness and knowledge and challenges related to COVID‐19) and (3) lessons learned for future interventions (e.g., facilitating access to broader resources, building additional skills and increasing interactions among Community Navigators).
Conclusion
Interviews identified important learnings about serving as Community Navigators and implementing Impact Triad that can guide future efforts to address STI/HIV disparities and social determinants of health through community‐based peer navigation.
Patient or Public Contribution
Throughout this intervention trial, our partnership worked collaboratively with a study‐specific community advisory board (CAB) comprised primarily of young GBMSM and transgender women of colour. Members of this CAB participated in all aspects of the trial including trial design, intervention development, recruitment and retention strategies, data collection and analysis, interpretation of findings and dissemination.
In the United States, transgender women are disproportionately affected by HIV. However, few evidence-based prevention interventions exist for this key population. We describe two promising, locally ...developed interventions that are currently being implemented and evaluated through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Combination HIV Prevention for Transgender Women Project: (a) ChiCAS, designed to promote the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), condom use, and medically supervised hormone therapy among Spanish-speaking transgender Latinas, and (b) TransLife Care, designed to address the structural drivers of HIV risk through access to housing, employment, legal services, and medical services, including HIV preventive care (e.g., PrEP use) among racially/ethnically diverse urban transgender women. If the evaluation trials determine that these interventions are effective, they will be among the first such interventions for use with transgender women incorporating PrEP, thereby contributing to the evidence-based resources that may be used to reduce HIV risk among this population.
Latine communities in the United States have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. It is critical to gain a better understanding of the sociocultural determinants that challenge and ...facilitate COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster uptake within these vulnerable communities to inform culturally congruent strategies and interventions.
In summer 2022, our community-based participatory research partnership conducted 30 key informant interviews and 7 focus groups with 64 Spanish-speaking Latine participants in North Carolina. Interviewees consisted of representatives from health and service organizations, most of whom were engaged with direct service to Spanish speakers. Interviews were conducted in either English or Spanish, depending on the preference of the participant; all focus groups were conducted in Spanish. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in person or by videoconference.
Twenty themes emerged that we organize into four domains: general perceptions about COVID-19; barriers to COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster uptake; facilitators to COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster uptake; and recommendations to promote testing, vaccination, and booster uptake.
Results underscore important sociocultural determinants of ongoing COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster uptake to consider in developing interventions for Spanish-speaking Latines in the United States. Based on this formative work, our partnership developed Nuestra Comunidad Saludable (Our Healthy Community). We are implementing the intervention to test whether trained peer navigators can increase COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and booster uptake among Spanish-speaking Latines through blending in-person interactions and mHealth (mobile health) strategies using social media.
Food insecurity, or the lack of consistent access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods, effects up to 50% of people living with HIV (PWH) in the United States (US). PWH who are food insecure have ...lower antiretroviral adherence, are less likely to achieve viral suppression, and are at increased risk developing of serious illnesses, including cardiometabolic comorbidities. The objectives of this study are to better understand how food insecurity contributes to the development of cardiometabolic comorbidities among PWH and to test a novel bilingual peer navigation-mHealth intervention (weCare/Secure) designed to reduce these comorbidities in food-insecure PWH with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes (T2DM).
In Aim 1, we will recruit a longitudinal cohort of 1800 adult (≥18 years) PWH from our clinic-based population to determine the difference in the prevalence and incidence of cardiometabolic comorbidities between food-secure and food-insecure PWH. Food insecurity screening, indicators of cardiometabolic comorbidities, and other characteristics documented in the electronic health record (EHR) will be collected annually for up to 3 years from this cohort. In Aim 2, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial among a sample of food-insecure PWH who have prediabetes or T2DM to compare changes in insulin sensitivity over 6 months between participants in weCare/Secure and participants receiving usual care. In Aim 3, we will conduct semi-structured individual in-depth interviews to explore the effect of the intervention among intervention participants with varying insulin sensitivity outcomes.
Aim 1 (longitudinal cohort) recruitment began in May 2022 and is ongoing. Aim 2 (intervention) recruitment is planned for spring 2023 and is expected to be completed in spring 2024. Aim 3 (process evaluation) data collection will occur after sufficient completion of the 6-month assessment in Aim 2. Final results are anticipated in fall 2025.
This research seeks to advance our understanding of how food insecurity impacts the development of cardiometabolic comorbidities among PWH and how food insecurity interventions may alleviate relevant comorbidities. Given the growing interest among health systems in addressing food insecurity, if the intervention is found to be efficacious, it could be broadly disseminated across HIV clinical care settings.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04943861 . Registered on June 29, 2021.
IntroductionOur community-based participatory research partnership aims to expand understanding of the social, ethical and behavioural implications of COVID-19 testing and vaccination to inform the ...development of an integrated intervention that harnesses community-based peer navigation and mHealth strategies to improve COVID-19 testing and vaccination; test the intervention; and develop and disseminate practice, research and policy recommendations to further increase COVID-19 testing and vaccination among Spanish-speaking Latine communities in the USA.Methods and analysisWe will conduct 50 individual in-depth interviews with health providers, who have conducted COVID-19 testing and/or vaccination activities within Spanish-speaking communities, and with representatives from Latine-serving community-based organisations. We will also conduct six focus groups with 8–12 Spanish-speaking Latine community member participants each for a total number of about 60 focus group participants. Next, we will develop the Nuestra Comunidad Saludable intervention based on findings from interviews and focus groups and use a longitudinal group-randomised trial design with two arms (intervention and delayed intervention) to evaluate the impact of the intervention. We will recruit, enrol and collect baseline data from 20 community-based peer navigators (Navegantes) and their social network members (n=8 unique social network members per Navegante). Navegantes (coupled with their social networks) will be randomised to intervention or delayed intervention groups (10 Navegantes and 80 social network members per group).Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for data collection was granted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. Following the description of study procedures, we will obtain consent from all study participants. Study findings will be disseminated through an empowerment theory-based community forum, peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings, and reports and briefs for lay, community and practitioner audiences.Trial registration numberNCT05302908.
Background
Some U.S. municipalities have proclaimed themselves “sanctuary cities” and/or adopted laws and policies limiting local involvement in enforcement of federal immigration policies. Several ...states, however, have adopted laws that preempt municipal laws and policies designed to protect immigrants. We explored the consequences of House Bill (H.B.) 318, one such preemption law in North Carolina (NC), on the health and well-being of Latine immigrants.
Methods
We conducted focus groups with Latine immigrants (n=49) and in-depth interviews with representatives from health, social service, and immigrant-serving organizations and local government (including law enforcement) (n=21) in NC municipalities that, before HB 318, adopted laws and policies supporting immigrants. Data were analyzed using constant comparison.
Results
Twelve themes emerged, including the positive impacts of municipal sanctuary laws and policies are limited by preemption and other state and federal actions; laws and policies like HB 318 are confusing, have a chilling effect on health services use, and make life harder overall for Latine communities; intensified federal immigration enforcement has increased fear among Latine communities; Trump administration policies worsened anti-immigrant climates; and use of community identification cards and greater information dissemination and inter-organization coordination can lessen the consequences of preemption and other restrictive laws and policies.
Conclusion
State preemption of protective municipal laws and policies negatively and profoundly affects immigrant health and well-being. However, creative strategies have been implemented to respond to preemption. These findings provide critical data for decision-makers and community leaders regarding the detrimental impacts of preemption laws and mitigation of these impacts.
Among Latinos in the United States, particularly in new settlement states, racial/ethnic discrimination, violence, and immigration enforcement contribute to health disparities. These types of ...experiences were explored among Latino men in North Carolina through quantitative assessment data (n = 247). Qualitative in-depth interviews were also conducted with a subsample of Latino men who completed the assessment (n = 20) to contextualize quantitative findings. Participants reported high rates of unfair treatment, discrimination or violence, and questioning about their immigration status. Having been questioned about one’s immigration status was significantly associated with increased drug use (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 2.16; 95% confidence interval CI 1.07, 4.38) and increased depressive symptoms (AOR = 2.87; 95% CI 1.07, 7.67). Qualitative themes included: reports of frequent discrimination based on immigration status, race/ethnicity, and language; workplaces and police interactions as settings where reported discrimination is most common and challenging; frequent violent victimization; psychological consequences of experiences of discrimination and violence and concerns related to immigration enforcement for Latino men and their families; inter- and intra-community tensions; health-care services as safe spaces; use of coping strategies; and system-level approaches for reducing discrimination and violent victimization of Latinos. Findings point to the need to address underlying causes of discrimination and violence toward Latinos, particularly those related to immigration enforcement, to support health and well-being.
Objetivo: Los hombres gay, bisexuales y otros HSH (hombres que tienen sexo con hombres) y mujeres transgénero jóvenes en los EEUU que viven con VIH, particularmente aquellos que son latinos, tienen ...bajos índices de supresión viral. La intervención weCare utiliza las redes sociales para incrementar el compromiso de estos grupos poblacionales hacia su atención médica. Método: Utilizamos el enfoque de investigación participativa basada en la comunidad para el desarrollo de la intervención y de mensajes teóricos, usando las redes sociales, considerando el contexto de cada participante. Analizamos los elementos y características de weCare, los mensajes enviados por el Educador de Salud Cibernético (ESC) y lecciones aprendidas para atender las necesidades de participantes latinos que viven con VIH. Resultados: Identificamos 6 elementos esenciales, 5 características clave, mensajes efectivos usados y 8 lecciones importantes sobre las relaciones entre el ESC y las clínicas de VIH, el ESC y los participantes y los participantes y el sistema de salud. Conclusiones: El uso de las redes sociales ofrece una plataforma prometedora para mantener la adherencia a los tratamientos médicos y lograr la supresión viral entre los jóvenes latinos gay, bisexuales y otros HSH y mujeres transgénero que viven con VIH.
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