JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

HIV continues to have a disparate impact on youth assigned male at birth who have male sexual partners – young men who have sex with men (YMSM), young trans women (YTW), and gender nonconforming (GNC) youth. Outcomes are generally worse among youth of color. Experiences of discrimination and marginalization often limit educational attainment and may even more directly limit access to gainful employment. Though seemingly distal, these experiences influence young people’s proximity to HIV risk, by limiting their access to health care and potentially moving them toward sex work as a means of income as well as increased substance use. Work2Prevent targets economic stability through employment as a structural-level intervention for preventing adolescent and young adult HIV. The study will adapt and pilot-test an effective, theoretically-driven employment program (iFOUR) for HIV-positive adults to the needs of at-risk Black and Latinx YMSM, YTW, and GNC youth, ages 16-24.

Objective:

The aim of this paper is to describe the protocol for the exploratory phase of Work2Prevent. The purpose of this phase was to determine the essential components needed for a structural-level employment intervention aimed at increasing job seeking self-efficacy and career readiness among Black and Latinx YMSM, YTW and GNC youth, ages 16-24.

Methods:

The exploratory phase of the Work2Prevent study consisted of in-depth interviews and focus groups with members of the target community as well as brief interviews with LGBTQ-inclusive employers. The study team will conduct in-depth interviews with up to 12 YMSM and 12 YTW and GNC youth, up to ten focus groups with a maximum of 40 YMSM and 40 YTW and GNC youth, and up to 40 brief interviews with LGBTQ-inclusive employers. Participants will be recruited through a community-based recruiter, passive recruitment in community spaces and on social media, and active recruitment by research staff in community spaces serving LGBTQ young people.

Results:

To date, in-depth interviews have been conducted with 22 participants and seven focus groups have been conducted with 40 total participants. Brief interviews with LGBTQ-inclusive employers were conducted with 19 participants. Analysis of the data is underway.

Conclusions:

Preliminary findings from the formative phase of study will be used to inform the tailoring and refinement of the iFOUR (Increased Individual Income and Independence) adult-based intervention into the youth-focused Work2Prevent intervention curriculum. Perspectives from both YMSM and YTW and GNC youth, as well as LGBTQ-inclusive employers offer a multidimensional view of the barriers and facilitators to adolescent and young adult LGBTQ employment. This information is critical to the development of a culturally-appropriate and relevant youth focused interventions. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT03313310; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03313310 (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/76BSFOQXA)