Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. In particular, HIV risk and infection among these groups remains a significant public health issue. However, such disparities cannot be attributed to individual-level factors alone but rather are situated within larger social and structural contexts that marginalize and predispose YMSM, YTW, and GNC youth of color to increased HIV exposure.
Addressing social and structural risk factors requires intervention on distal drivers of HIV risk, including employment and economic stability. This study seeks to assess intervention feasibility and acceptability in the target populations and determine preliminary efficacy of the intervention to increase employment and reduce sexual risk behaviors.
This intervention was adapted from Increased Individual Income and Independence, an existing evidence-based employment program for HIV-positive adults during phase 1 of the W2P study. The employment intervention will be pilot-tested among vulnerable YMSM, YTW, and GNC youth of color in a single-arm pre-post trial to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary estimates of efficacy. Research activities began in March and were completed in November Overall, 5 participants were enrolled in the pretest and 51 participants were enrolled in the pilot.
Interventions that address the social and structural drivers of HIV exposure and infection are sorely needed in order to successfully bend the curve in the adolescent and young adult HIV epidemic. Employment as prevention has the potential to be a scalable intervention that can be deployed among this group. Youth assigned male at birth who have male sexual partners, including young cisgender men who have sex with men YMSM , young transgender women YTW , and gender nonconforming GNC youth, face substantial economic and health disparities.
Epidemiological HIV estimates for transgender populations are limited due to a lack of existing data. However, these disparities cannot be understood solely in the context of individual-level risk behavior given that there are multiple social and structural factors that increase risk for HIV exposure and acquisition among YMSM, YTW, and GNC youth of color [ 3 - 10 ]. Despite advancements in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer LGBTQ rights, LGBTQ people face persistent stigma, discrimination, and victimization in school, the workplace, housing, and health care [ 11 - 14 ].
