Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Dec 28, 2021
Date Accepted: May 17, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Implementation of Evidence-Informed Behavioral Health Models to Improve HIV Health Outcomes for Black Men who have Sex with Men: Protocol for the RWHAP SPNS Black MSM Initiative
ABSTRACT
Background:
The HIV epidemic in the U.S. disproportionately affects Black communities. Nearly half of Black men who have sex with men (Black MSM) will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. There is significant unmet need for behavioral health care services among Black MSM, and untreated behavioral health needs make it less likely the person is retained in HIV care.
Objective:
This paper (1) describes the need and rationale to integrate clinical care and behavioral health/supportive services for Black MSM with HIV and (2) presents the model to do this through the Implementation of Evidence-Informed Behavioral Health Models to Improve HIV Health Outcomes for Black Men who have Sex with Men Initiative, a program of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part F Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS).
Methods:
The model for facilitating Initiative implementation includes (1) providing technical assistance (TA) to eight Initiative demonstration sites, (2) conducting a comprehensive and culturally responsive, mixed-method, multisite evaluation, and (3) disseminating Initiative evaluation findings and lessons learned to the RWHAP community.
Results:
As of December 31, 2020, demonstration sites enrolled 809 clients in the multisite evaluation. Data collection will continue through December 2021.
Conclusions:
The Black MSM Initiative fully supports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) in the United States Initiative. In order to succeed, providers and programs will need to engage populations traditionally considered “hard to reach”, like many people receiving RWHAP services. Findings and lessons learned from the Black MSM Initiative will expand the toolkit of solutions to support and retain Black MSM in HIV care, furthering the goals of EHE and the RWHAP.
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