An HIV intervention tailored for black young men who have sex with men in the House Ball Community

Abstract

Black young men who have sex with men (BYMSM) are the group most disproportionately impacted by HIV in the USA and most in need of efficacious interventions to address community-level factors that increase their vulnerability to HIV. The House Ball Community (HBC) is a distinct social network within the larger BYMSM community that may be particularly vulnerable to social norms and stigma around HIV. This study tailored an evidence-based, community-level popular opinion leader (OL) intervention for use within the HBC. The intervention, called Promoting Ovahness through Safer Sex Education (POSSE), was then piloted to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy. Recruiting OLs from the community and training them to deliver risk reduction messages were found to be feasible and highly acceptable. Community-level surveys (n = 406) were completed over five waves of data collection. Overall exposure to the intervention increased across waves. Statistically significant (p < .05) declines were observed for multiple sexual partners, condomless anal intercourse with any male partners, and with male partners of unknown HIV status. HIV stigma declined as well, but the trend was not statistically significant.

Keywords:

• HIV
• youth
• community interventions

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the tireless efforts of our CAB members – Icon Father Tommy Avant Garde, Father Amari Khan, Legendary Father Mario Balenciaga, ShaSha Herrera, Kweli Balenciaga, Kentrele Mizrahi, Relic Mizrahi, Alonzo Prodigy, Nate Urban, Jeff Omni, Rykko Herrera – and our Popular OLs for their commitment to this project and their dedication to their communities.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health [grant number R34 MH092197].