Building healthier young gay, bisexual and queer men: Youth Empowered Against HIV

Issues: Although the incidence of HIV has stabilized in the general population, it continues to increase in young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Few targeted interventions exist to address this issue in YMSM populations. Description: Youth Empowered Against HIV (YEAH) is a locally-developed intervention for self-identified young gay, bisexual, and queer men in a mid-sized city in a predominantly rural southeastern state. YEAH addresses multiple levels of the social ecologic model by using positive youth development framework, paired with peer education and community-level strategies. An important feature of the intervention is that it focuses not only on behavior, but also on the development of positive identity in participants. Youth identify local venues where socially marketed condom dispensers are placed and maintained to provide condoms and to serve as catalysts for peer education around HIV/AIDS. Lessons Learned: YEAH was developed using a community-based approach where members of the target population played an active role in multiple aspects, including format, educational strategy, content, marketing, technology integration, and recruitment. Program participants have demonstrated core elements of positive youth development through building confidence, character, connection, competence, and contribution. Recommendations: Locally developed, theoretically-based interventions may be particularly effective in reaching priority populations. Likewise, the development of interventions that promote youth development in addition to HIV risk reduction through behavioral modification is a viable strategy to reduce the incidence of HIV in YMSM. This presentation will provide a framework for other community-based groups to use in their own intervention development or implementation.