Leveraging Family-Based Assets for Black MSM In House Ball Communities

Summary

Despite the advent of highly effective prevention tools such as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), Black men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to have the highest incidence of new HIV diagnoses in the US but are least likely to be engaged in care or to be virally suppressed. Many Black MSM face multiple stigmas but some have found refuge in the House Ball Community (HBC)-a national network of Black LGBT kinship commitments (families) that provide (informal) care giving, affirmation and survival skills-building for its members. The HBC is a large, yet underserved, community within the larger LGBT community. The investigators propose to modify a well-established skills-building and HIV prevention best-evidence, group-level intervention for HIV-negative Black MSM, Many Men Many Voices, into a family-based intervention to focus on asset-building for both HIV-negative and HIV-positive Black MSM within HBC families. Many Men Many Voices (3MV) is a six-session, group-level behavioral intervention and is the only "best evidence" intervention for Black MSM. Family-based interventions have shown HIV prevention efficacy; however, 3MV is not a family-based intervention. In 3MV, HIV-negative Black MSM are recruited into artificial group settings with individuals with whom they may have little social relationship. 3MV neither leverages the connections and commitments nor addresses the variability in HIV-status that exists in house ball families. Because Black MSM in the HBC have closer social relationships, 3MV requires adaptation to be more responsive to this social structure and dynamic. The study's goal in this clinical trial planning grant is to prepare for a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) to test the effectiveness of the modified 3MV vs. standard of care in reducing new HIV infections and increasing rates of viral suppression among Black MSM in HBC families. The study's central hypothesis is that a modified 3MV intervention incorporating family asset-building will have an amplifying effect on HIV prevention and treatment outcomes. This study will provide necessary data to design and conduct a full-scale CRCT effectiveness trial of OFOV on HIV prevention and care outcomes in Black MSM. By precision-tailoring an evidence-based intervention for the HBC, the investigators' research to improve HIV testing and care engagement will complement national efforts to End the Epidemic by 2030, especially among Black MSM-the highest priority group for domestic HIV prevention.

Conditions

• HIV I Infection

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Our Family, Our Voices

Many Men, Many Voices (3MV) is a seven-session, group-level intervention developed to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among black men who have sex with men (MSM) who may or may not identify themselves as gay. The intervention addresses factors that influence the behavior of black MSM: cultural, social, and religious norms; interactions between HIV and other STDs; sexual relationship dynamics; and the social influences that racism and homophobia have on HIV risk behaviors. Our Family, Our Voices seeks to create an adaptation of Many Men, Many Voices specifically tailored to young people who are members of the house ball community by incorporating elements of family support and resilience afforded to participants in the intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Yale University

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-09-17

Primary Completion

2021-11-30

Completion

2021-11-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations