Pilot Testing a Behavioral Intervention to Incorporate Advances in HIV Prevention for Black Young MSM in Alabama

The overall goal of this 5-year Mentored Research Scientist Development K01-Award is to support Henna Budhwani, PhD, MPH to become an independent implementation science investigator in the field of HIV prevention. The proposed project seeks to address the HIV crisis in Alabama, where rates of undiagnosed HIV in black young men who have sex with men (YMSM, 18-29 years) exceed 20%. This project will adapt and test a behavioral intervention to promote HIV rapid testing in the community, deliver culturally appropriate prevention education, offer sociostructural support, and refer eligible participants for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Four training objectives are proposed that are in lockstep with three specific aims.