Couple-based HIV intervention for men who have sex with men (MSM): Adaptation for Latino MSM

The significance of the proposed study is the development of an intervention for Latino MSM, a population that research has shown to be at continued high risk for HIV and other STIs. While epidemiological/basic behavioral research has begun to identify relationship dynamics associated with sexual risk behavior, there is a need for intervention research to respond concomitantly in delivering science-based interventions targeting relationship-based risk reduction among MSM. This underscores the importance of the innovation of the proposed couple-based approach, as the epidemiological trends of HIV/STI incidence among the target population indicates a need for novel approaches to supplement existing individual-, group-, and community-level prevention efforts whose efficacy and effectiveness is limited, perhaps waning, due to lack of cultural, linguistic, and contextual relevance for Latino MSM and drug-use populations. The proposed study will follow the systematic and rigorous development/refinement process through qualitative methods and approaches, including focus groups with 20 Spanish and English-speaking Latino MSM couples and providers, to develop science-based HIV/STI and substance-use preventive interventions that are culturally, linguistically, and contextually appropriate. Altogether, the proposed study comprises the crucial, early steps in a research trajectory that will culminate in a brief intervention with strong scientific support regarding its efficacy that can be pilot-tested through a subsequent NIH R01 grant that will enable a big-scale dissemination process to community-based organizations serving Latino, substance-involved MSM.