“Forgotten Population” in HIV Prevention beyond the DL —Black/African American men who have sex with women

Issues: Behavioral interventions, government funding, social services and media attention targeting HIV prevention among heterosexual Black/African American men lag far behind their representation in the epidemic. There is a need to change the framework under which current prevention intervention models operate.

Description: The African American Capacity Building Initiative (AACBI), a program of the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC), hosted a community advisory group (CAG) forum with their consumers – staff of community based organizations and health departments – to determine how capacity building assistance can support them in developing and sustaining programs to meet the unique HIV prevention needs of heterosexual black/African American men. The CAG forum included an expert panel sharing research, best practices and strategies for developing HIV prevention programming for heterosexual black men. Afterwards, consumers shared their experiences and suggested potential strategies for engaging the target population.

Lessons Learned: Based on the data collected thus far, there are 5 key issues that are influencing factors for the HIV risk behaviors of Black/African American heterosexual men. They include: (1) healthy relationships with black women, (2) class and poverty, (3) substance use/drug policy, (4) incarceration, and (5) mental health issues. These factors need to be addressed in effective behavioral interventions (EBIs) for the target population, either through the adaptation of existing EBIs or the promotion of “home grown” interventions.

Recommendations: AACBI/HRC was able to develop capacity building strategies, such as a skills-building training for service providers to increase awareness about the population.