Vital Voices: HIV Prevention and Care Interventions Developed for Disproportionately Affected Communities by Historically Underrepresented, Early-Career Scientists

Abstract

Background HIV prevention interventions which support engagement in care and increased awareness of biomedical options, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), are highly desired for disproportionately affected Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) populations in the United States (US). However, in almost 40 years of HIV research, few interventions have been developed directly by and for these priority populations in domestic counties most at risk. We submit that interventions developed by early-career scientists who identify with and work directly with affected subgroups, and which include social and structural determinants of health, are vital as culturally tailored HIV prevention and care tools. Methods We reviewed and summarized interventions developed from 2007 to 2020 by historically underrepresented early-career HIV prevention scientists in a federally funded research mentoring program. We mapped these interventions to determine which were in jurisdictions deemed as high priority (based on HIV burden) by national prevention strategies. Results We summarized 11 HIV interventions; 10 (91%) of the 11 interventions are in geographic areas where HIV disparities are most concentrated and where new HIV prevention and care activities are focused. Each intervention addresses critical social and structural determinants of health disparities, and successfully reaches priority populations. Conclusion Focused funding that supports historically underrepresented scientists and their HIV prevention and care intervention research can help facilitate reaching national goals to reduce HIV-related disparities and end the HIV epidemic. Maintaining these funding streams should remain a priority as one of the tools for national HIV prevention.

Racial and Sexual Minority Scholar Positionality: Advancing Health Status and Life Opportunity Among Sexual Minority Men of Color

“…Racial, ethnic, and sexual minority scientists, including BLSMM, are underrepresented in science and public health contexts (e.g., clinical social work, medicine, and nursing; Stoff & Cargill, 2016; Sutton et al, 2020). Underrepresentation of affected communities (e.g., BLSMM) has implications for the development of research and clinical initiatives (Fuchs et al, 2016; Stoff & Cargill, 2016; Stoff et al, 2020; Sutton et al, 2020).…”

“…Racial, ethnic, and sexual minority scientists, including BLSMM, are underrepresented in science and public health contexts (e.g., clinical social work, medicine, and nursing; Stoff & Cargill, 2016; Sutton et al, 2020). Underrepresentation of affected communities (e.g., BLSMM) has implications for the development of research and clinical initiatives (Fuchs et al, 2016; Stoff & Cargill, 2016; Stoff et al, 2020; Sutton et al, 2020). Recent studies indicate that diversity informs culturally relevant research by drawing on the expertise of underrepresented scientists (e.g., BLSMM; Alegría et al, 2019; Bristow et al, 2004; Fuchs et al, 2016; Sutton et al, 2020).…”

“…Underrepresentation of affected communities (e.g., BLSMM) has implications for the development of research and clinical initiatives (Fuchs et al, 2016; Stoff & Cargill, 2016; Stoff et al, 2020; Sutton et al, 2020). Recent studies indicate that diversity informs culturally relevant research by drawing on the expertise of underrepresented scientists (e.g., BLSMM; Alegría et al, 2019; Bristow et al, 2004; Fuchs et al, 2016; Sutton et al, 2020). However, achieving greater racial equity in both research and health contexts requires addressing the mechanisms influencing deficits of racial, ethnic, and sexual diversity.…”

“…Currently, federal grants are key mechanisms that facilitate contributions to science and public health. For early career research scientists, grant funding awarded by federal organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is key to career advancement (Carnethon et al, 2020; Sutton et al, 2020). However, recent federal data indicate that racial and ethnic minority investigators are significantly less likely to be awarded funding than their White counterparts (Carnethon et al, 2020; NIH, 2019).…”

“…Shared lived experience describes racial, ethnic, and sexual minority scholars’ and service providers’ similar life experiences with disproportionately affected communities (e.g., BLSMM; Creswell & Poth, 2016). The shared experiences of BLSMM researchers and service providers have been critical to the development of racial, ethnic, and sexual minority–centered theoretical and clinical practice perspectives, including minority stress, intersectionality, and critical race theory (Crenshaw, 1989; Doucet, 2019; Meyer, 1995; Meyer & Frost, 2013; Sutton et al, 2020). Our conceptual model suggests that the shared lived experience of BLSMM researchers and service providers facilitate improvements in the HSLO of BLSMM communities by drawing on their own life experience to produce actionable knowledge that may benefit BLSMM (Rosenberg & Tilley, 2020).…”