Project Summary

Background and Need: HIV disproportionately impacts Latino sexual minority men (SMM), particularly youth and young adults. HIV incidence in young Latino SMM is partly driven by low uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) due to multilevel barriers.

Prior Work - “PrEPárate” Campaign: In our previous work, we led a community-driven media campaign, “PrEPárate” (“Be PrEPared”), which promoted PrEP information and provided a website with affordable and bilingual options to access PrEP. The campaign was linked to increased PrEP awareness and use, though it had limited reach among highly marginalized young Latino SMM (e.g., those without insurance or with limited English proficiency).

Proposed Intervention: In this K23 career development award, we propose to develop, pilot, and evaluate a multilevel intervention that combines a refined media campaign with a peer-based strategy, informed by social network analysis. Given the influential role of social networks among youth and young adults, peer and family networks present a valuable opportunity to promote PrEP within marginalized communities.

Training Goals: Through this award, Dr. Shah will gain new training and mentored experience in:

1. Social network analysis,

2. Multilevel intervention development, and

3. Implementation science.

Long-Term Research Goal: This K23 will establish the foundation for a future R01 application to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the effectiveness of a multilevel intervention to increase PrEP use among young Latino SMM.

Expected Contributions to HIV Prevention Research: This proposal will advance understanding of how cultural and developmental factors shape social networks among young Latino SMM and will help identify optimal strategies to address PrEP disparities among youth and young adults.

Career Development Objective: Through this training, Dr. Shah will develop the skills necessary to transition to independence as an investigator with specialized expertise in interventions to reduce HIV-related disparities among marginalized youth and young adults.