Attitudes toward scale-up of an Intensive Combination Approach to Rollback the Epidemic in Nigerian adolescents (iCARE) intervention for youth in Nigeria: results of a mixed methods early-implementation study.

Background: Youth living with HIV (YLH) are disproportionately impacted by HIV with poor outcomes along the entire HIV care continuum. In a 2020-2022 pilot study, iCARE Nigeria, successfully tested a combination intervention incorporating mobile health technology and peer navigation to: 1) improve testing and linkage to HIV care for young men, especially young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and 2) improve medication adherence and treatment outcomes for YLH. The intervention was scaled up to 5 sites in 3 Nigerian cities.

Three limited interaction approaches to understanding the epidemiology of HIV among YMSM in the US.

Background: Using a theoretically-grounded approach to the epidemiological study of HIV incidence among a national, diverse sample of sexual and gender minority (SGM) men (age 17 -29 years), as well as examining HIV incidence through an innovative geospatial lens, is of considerable public health significance. Our overarching objectives are to assemble a U.S.

Efficacy of the mLab App: a randomized clinical trial for increasing HIV testing uptake using mobile technology.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of the mLab App, a mobile-delivered HIV prevention intervention to increase HIV self-testing in MSM and TGW.

Materials And Methods: This was a randomized (2:2:1) clinical trial of the efficacy the mLab App as compared to standard of care vs mailed home HIV test arm among 525 MSM and TGW aged 18-29 years to increase HIV testing.

Results: The mLab App arm participants demonstrated an increase from 35.

A Stepped-Wedge, Cluster-Randomized, Multisite Study of Text Messaging Plus Peer Navigation to Improve Adherence and Viral Suppression Among Youth on Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: To address the need for improved virologic suppression among youth living with HIV (YLH) on antiretroviral treatment (ART), we evaluated peer navigation plus TXTXT daily text message ART reminders.

Setting: YLH aged 15-24 years on ART for at least 3 months at 6 research sites in 4 Nigerian cities.

Methods: Using a stepped-wedge design, cluster 1 was nonrandomized, whereas clusters 2 and 3 were randomized to sequences of routine care (control period) and 48 weeks of the combination intervention (intervention period).

Substance Use Emergency Department Visits Among Youths With Chronic Conditions During COVID-19.

Importance: Pediatric emergency department (ED) visits for substance use (SU) increased during COVID-19. Better understanding of trends associated with SU ED visits among youths with a chronic medical condition (CMC) is needed to target SU screening, prevention, and intervention efforts in this population.

Objective: To describe trends in pediatric SU ED visits before and during COVID-19 among youths in the US with and without CMCs and by race and ethnicity.

Universal substance use care for adolescents with chronic medical conditions: a protocol to examine equitable implementation determinants and strategies for SBIRT at a pediatric hospital.

Background: Adolescents with chronic medical conditions (CMC) use alcohol and marijuana at levels equal to or even greater than their peers without CMC and are more likely to initiate substance use at 14 years or younger. Approximately 33% of adolescents with CMC binge drink alcohol and 20% use marijuana. When using substances, adolescents with CMC are at elevated risk for problem use and adverse consequences given their medical conditions.

Differences in Self-Reported Stress Versus Hair and Nail Cortisol Among Adolescent and Young Adult Males.

Background: Chronic stress causes harmful physiological responses that yield increased inflammation and subsequent health conditions. Stress is an important measure among minoritized populations who face social situations that predispose risk to developing mental health problems. Hair and fingernail cortisol have been studied as retrospective measures of chronic stress and to demonstrate biological response to social situations.

Usability of a Mobile Health Technology for HIV Testing Among Sexual Minorities.

In the United States, young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and young transgender women (YTGW) are disproportionality affected by HIV. To overcome this public health problem, we created and tested the mLab application (app), a novel mobile health (mHealth) that offers HIV prevention information and an imaging algorithm for interpreting the at-home HIV test. This study assessed the mLab app usability for HIV testing and its relation to users' education and health literacy.

An Evaluation of TransLife Care: A Locally Developed Structural HIV Prevention Intervention for Transgender Women in Chicago, Illinois.

Transgender women are disproportionately impacted by HIV infection. We report herein the findings of a pre-post evaluation of the TransLife Care (TLC) project in Chicago, Illinois, on behaviors associated with HIV transmission among transgender women. Participants who received any TLC component versus those who did not were compared using mixed-effects logistic regression with random intercepts across follow-up time points.

MyPEEPS Mobile App for HIV Prevention Among Transmasculine Youth: Adaptation Through Community-Based Feedback and Usability Evaluation.

Background: Transgender men and transmasculine youth are at high risk for acquiring HIV. Growing research on transgender men demonstrates increased HIV risk and burden compared with the general US population. Despite biomedical advancements in HIV prevention, there remains a dearth of evidence-based, sexual health HIV prevention interventions for young transgender men.

Assessing Preferences for Long-Acting Injectable Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Young Adult Sexual Minority Men and Transgender Women.

Objective: Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective in preventing HIV transmission. However, oral PrEP uptake is low, particularly among sexual and gender minority youth who are vulnerable to HIV infection. Alternative methods of PrEP delivery, such as long-acting injectable (LAI) PrEP may overcome barriers and be preferred.

Successful Implementation Strategies in iCARE Nigeria-A Pilot Intervention with Text Message Reminders and Peer Navigation for Youth Living with HIV.

To address poor outcomes among adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYA-HIV), iCARE Nigeria successfully piloted two-way text message antiretroviral therapy (ART) reminders together with peer navigation. Study participants had significant improvement in ART adherence and viral suppression at 48 weeks. Understanding facto of this intervention.

Mixed methods implementation research to understand success of intensive combination approach to roll back the epidemic in Nigerian adolescents) (iCARE Nigeria) HIV testing uptake and linkage to care among young men focusing on young men who have sex with men in Ibadan.

Background: HIV seroprevalence in Nigeria is increasing among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 14% to 2007 to 23% in 2014, threatening progress towards ending the epidemic in the country. Expanding access to HIV testing and linkage to care for key populations, like young MSM (YMSM), is critical to end the HIV epidemic in Nigeria. The Intensive Combination Approach to Roll Back the Epidemic in Nigerian Adolescents (iCARE Nigeria) pilot intervention successfully implemented a combination of evidence-based interventions utilizing peer navigators and popular social media apps and platforms to reach young men at risk for HIV exposure, including YMSM.

Social/Sexual Networks of People Newly Diagnosed with HIV in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Nigeria are ten times more likely to be living with HIV-1 than other young men. Due to stigma and criminalization of same-sex sexual behavior, YMSM sexual networks are likely to overlap with those of the general population, leading to a generalized HIV-1 epidemic. Due to limited research on social/sexual network dynamics related to HIV-1 in Nigeria, our study focused on YMSM and sought to assess the feasibility and acceptability of collecting social and sexual network data in Network Canvas from individuals newly diagnosed with HIV-1 in Ibadan, Nigeria.

A randomized stepped wedge trial of an intensive combination approach to roll back the HIV epidemic in Nigerian adolescents: iCARE Nigeria treatment support protocol.

Background: Nigeria is one of six countries with half the global burden of youth living with HIV. Interventions to date have been inadequate as AIDS-related deaths in Nigeria's youth have remained unchanged in recent years. The iCARE Nigeria HIV treatment support intervention, a combination of peer navigation and SMS text message medication reminders to promote viral suppression, demonstrated initial efficacy and feasibility in a pilot trial among youth living with HIV in Nigeria.

A Cross-sectional Study of Perceived Stress and Racial Discrimination Among a National Sample of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Research regarding the impact of racism on stress among young men who have sex with men (YMSM) is sparse. Secondary data were assessed from a 2018-2020 national mHealth prevention trial for YMSM aged 13-18 years (N = 542). Linear regression models examined associations between perceived stress and interpersonal and vicarious racism, adjusting for covariates.

A cross-sectional analysis of psychosocial and structural barriers and facilitators associated with PrEP use among a sample of transgender women in Chicago, IL.

Background: Expanding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among transgender women in the United States is an important strategy to meet national HIV prevention goals, however self-reported use of PrEP is low in this group.

Methods: This study reports the findings of a cross-sectional analysis of the relationship of barriers as well as facilitators to recent PrEP use among transgender women enrolled in an evaluation of the TransLife Care project (Chicago, Illinois), a structural intervention designed to meet basic needs. We computed multivariable prevalence ratios for barriers, facilitators and recent PrEP use, controlling for demographics.

Findings From the Step Up, Test Up Study of an Electronic Screening and Brief Intervention for Alcohol Misuse in Adolescents and Young Adults Presenting for HIV Testing: Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial.

Background: Substance use, particularly binge drinking of alcohol and noninjection substance use, is associated with increased risk for HIV infection among youth, but structured substance use screening and brief intervention are not often provided as part of HIV risk reduction.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to test the efficacy of a fully automated electronic screening and brief intervention, called Step Up, Test Up, to reduce alcohol misuse among adolescents and young adults presenting for HIV testing. Secondary objectives were reduction in sexual risk and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.

Homonegative Victimization and Perceived Stress among Adolescent Sexual Minority Males: The Attenuating Role of Peer and Family Support.

Purpose: Research suggests social support may protect sexual minorities from the harmful effects of victimization that undermine mental and sexual health wellness; however, this relationship has been underexplored among a diverse youth population. We examined the association between lifetime homonegative victimization, perceived stress in the last month, and resilience factors among a diverse sample of adolescent sexual minority males.

Methods: Data were collected between June 2018 and April 2020 as part of the MyPEEPS Mobile study, a multi-site randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a mobile behavioral HIV prevention intervention for adolescents living in the U.

A feasibility study of the use of HIV self-tests in young men who have sex with men.

Studies on HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) have been limited to adults (age 18+). The study assessed use of HIV-ST among a diverse group of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in the United States (US) and assessed differences in uptake by demographic characteristics and requirements for parental consent. This study demonstrated feasibility of HIV-ST for YMSM as young as 14 years of age, which suggests potential for increasing HIV testing in this young age group and promoting health equity.

Acceptability of Telemedicine Among Parents of Adolescent Patients in an Adolescent Clinic: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

Background: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, new literature has described the perceptions of adolescent patients on the use of telemedicine for their health care, but less attention has been devoted to parents' and caregivers' perspectives on telemedicine usage for their adolescents. Parents' perspectives are important, as they undoubtedly influence how children learn to make decisions about their health care.

Objective: This study describes the level of acceptability (measured based on accessibility and satisfaction) expressed by caregivers of adolescent patients with regard to telemedicine visits in an urban adolescent medicine practice.

Physical Inactivity and the Role of Bullying Among Gender Minority Youth Participating in the 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Purpose: Evidence from small-scale studies suggests that transgender youth are less physically active than nontransgender youth, putting them at risk for worse health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between gender modality and participation in physical activity, physical education (PE), and sports teams in a multistate sample of high school youth and assessed whether bullying impacted this relationship.

Methods: Multiple regression was used to analyze data from the state and local Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2017 to 2019 to examine the relationship between the gender modality and participation in physical activity, PE, and sports teams.