Survival, trust, and compassion: persistent HIV prevention concerns faced by Black sexual and gender minority communities in the US South - a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Members of Black sexual and gender minority (BSGM) groups in the Southern US experience disparities across all pillars of the HIV prevention continuum. Social network strategy (SNS) is an intervention that trains people with reasons to test for HIV to reach out to peers to increase HIV testing and may improve uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We conducted formative research to design an enhanced SNS to implement within partner services.

Methods

In 2022-2024, we conducted four focus groups among HIV public health services staff and 12 in-depth interviews with local health department officials, clinicians, and community-based organization leaders. In addition, we interviewed four BSGM community members who recently used prevention services (i.e., testing or

SUBMITTER: Elkins JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12660203 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature