Positive Health Check intervention tool usage during a feasibility pilot in HIV primary care clinics.

Positive Health Check (PHC), an interactive, web-based intervention, provides tailored behavioral health messages to support people with HIV in their HIV care. Users interact with a virtual doctor and based on responses to tailoring questions, PHC delivers relevant content modules addressing treatment initiation, medication adherence, retention in care, sexual risk reduction, mother-to-child transmission, and injection drug use. During a one-month feasibility pilot of PHC, patients in four HIV primary care clinics were invited to use PHC and tool usage metrics were collected and assessed.

Distribution of HIV Self-tests by HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men to Social and Sexual Contacts.

HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) were recruited on www.Facebook.com and www.

Perceptions of HIV Self-Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Qualitative Analysis.

HIV testing is the gateway into both prevention and treatment services. It is important to understand how men who have sex with men (MSM) perceive HIV self-tests. We conducted focus groups and individual interviews to collect feedback on two HIV self-tests, and on a dried blood spot (DBS) specimen collection kit.

Improving Linkage, Retention, and Reengagement in HIV Care in 12 Metropolitan Areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Enhanced Comprehensive HIV Prevention Planning (ECHPP) project to support 12 health departments' improvement of their HIV prevention and care portfolios in response to new national guidelines. We systematically analyzed 3 years of progress reports to learn how grantees put into practice local intervention strategies intended to link people to, and keep them in, HIV care. All grantees initiated seven activities to support these strategies: (1) improve surveillance data systems, (2) revise staffing duties and infrastructures, (3) update policies and procedures, (4) establish or strengthen partnerships, (5) identify persons not in care, (6) train personnel, and (7) create ways to overcome obstacles to receiving care.

Pilot Evaluation of the Ability of Men Who Have Sex with Men to Self-Administer Rapid HIV Tests, Prepare Dried Blood Spot Cards, and Interpret Test Results, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013.

In the United States, an estimated 67% of new HIV diagnoses are among men who have sex with men (MSM), however 25% of HIV-positive MSM in the 2014 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Survey were unaware of their infection. HIV self-testing (HIVST) with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) may facilitate access to HIV testing. We evaluated the ability of 22 MSM to conduct two HIV RDTs (OraQuick In-Home HIV Test and a home-use prototype of Sure Check HIV 1/2 Assay), interpret sample images of test results, and collect a dried blood spot (DBS) specimen.

Small-Group Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Condom Use and HIV Testing Among Hispanic/Latino Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Objectives: To evaluate the HOLA en Grupos intervention, a Spanish-language small-group behavioral HIV prevention intervention designed to increase condom use and HIV testing among Hispanic/Latino gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.

Methods: In 2012 to 2015, we recruited and randomized 304 Hispanic/Latino men who have sex with men, aged 18 to 55 years in North Carolina, to the 4-session HOLA en Grupos intervention or an attention-equivalent general health education comparison intervention. Participants completed structured assessments at baseline and 6-month follow-up.

Willingness to distribute free rapid home HIV test kits and to test with social or sexual network associates among men who have sex with men in the United States.

Peer-driven HIV prevention strategies can be effective in identifying high-risk persons with undiagnosed infections. Besides individual self-testing, other potential uses of rapid home HIV test kits include distributing them, and testing with others within one's social or sexual networks. We sought to identify factors associated with the willingness to engage in these alternative activities among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States.

Reducing HIV risk among Hispanic/Latino men who have sex with men: Qualitative analysis of behavior change intentions by participants in a small-group intervention.

Objective: The southeastern United States has the fastest-growing Hispanic/Latino population in the country and carries a disproportionate HIV burden. Among Hispanics/Latinos, men, and men who have sex with men (MSM) in particular, are at elevated risk of HIV infection; however, very few efficacious behavioral HIV prevention interventions are available for use with this vulnerable population. To address this shortage of prevention resources, our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership developed and is currently evaluating the efficacy of the intervention to increase condom use and HIV testing among Hispanic/Latino MSM.

HIV provider and patient perspectives on the Development of a Health Department "Data to Care" Program: a qualitative study.

Background: U.S. health departments have not historically used HIV surveillance data for disease control interventions with individuals, but advances in HIV treatment and surveillance are changing public health practice.

Enhancement of a Locally Developed HIV Prevention Intervention for Hispanic/Latino MSM: A Partnership of Community-Based Organizations, a University, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hispanic/Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); however, no efficacious behavioral HIV/STD prevention interventions are currently available for use with this vulnerable population. We describe the enhancement of HOLA en Grupos, a community-based behavioral HIV/STD prevention intervention for Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino MSM that is currently being implemented and evaluated in North Carolina with support from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our intervention enhancement process included incorporating local data on risks and context; identifying community needs and priorities; defining intervention core elements and key characteristics; developing a logic model; developing an intervention logo; enhancing intervention activities and materials; scripting intervention delivery; expanding the comparison intervention; and establishing a materials review committee.

Design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a diabetes prevention program within African-American churches: The Fit Body and Soul study.

Evidence from varied community settings has shown that the Group Lifestyle Balance (GLB) Program and other adaptations of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) intervention are effective in lowering diabetes risk. Most DPP data originated from studies of pre-diabetic whites, with only sparse evidence of the effect of DPP in African Americans (AAs) in community settings. This paper describes the design, methods, baseline characteristics and cost effective measures, of a single-blinded, cluster-randomized trial of a faith-based adaptation of the GLB program, Fit Body and Soul (FBAS).

Operational research to improve HIV prevention in the United States.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States continues despite several recent noteworthy advances in HIV prevention. Contemporary approaches to HIV prevention involve implementing combinations of biomedical, behavioral, and structural interventions in novel ways to achieve high levels of impact on the epidemic. Methods are needed to develop optimal combinations of approaches for improving efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability.

Project genesis: self-reported religiosity and spirituality and sexual risk-taking in young African-American women attending a historically African-American college.

This pilot study explored the relationship between self-reported religiosity, spirituality, and sexual risk-taking. The participants were a convenience sample of (N = 100) female students attending a historically African-American college (HBCU) in the south. On this predominantly female campus, students completed an anonymous health-risk survey, plus additional items, to measure their religiosity and spirituality.

Acceptance of rapid HIV screening in a southeastern emergency department.

Objectives: The objective was to assess the acceptance of an emergency department (ED) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening program based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for routine HIV screening in health care settings.

Methods: Rapid HIV screening was offered on an opt-out basis to patients aged 13 to 64 years presenting to the ED by trained HIV counselors. Patients were excluded if they had a history of HIV, were physically or mentally incapacitated, did not understand their right to opt-out, or did not speak English or Spanish.