Black Sexual Minority Men's Experiences in MPowerment Interventions: Implications For HIV Prevention.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2026, v. 32, no. 3: Black Sexual Minority Men's Experiences in MPowerment Interventions: Implications For HIV Prevention.
• Journal Article:
  International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Turpin, Rodman E. ; Camp, Aaron D. ; Mandell, C.J. ; Mhonde, Rochelle R. Davidson ; Dyer, Typhanye V. ; Mayer, Kenneth H. ; Liu, Hongjie ; Coates, Thomas ; Boekeloo, Bradley
• Description:
  Black sexual minority men (BSMM) are disproportionately vulnerable to HIV acquisition; the MPowerment model is one community-based framework for preventing HIV in this population. It focuses on developing a supportive network of peers to promote health messaging, reduce stigma, and improve resilience. While these interventions have demonstrated general success, there are important challenges related to race, sexuality, and internalized stigma. Our study aimed to explore these experiences among BSMM in MPowerment models focused on HIV prevention. ; We conducted 24 qualitative interviews of BSMM attending HIV prevention-related MPowerment events in the greater D.C. Metropolitan area. In-depth interviews were conducted via phone, and interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. ; We identified four themes from the transcript analysis process: Black queer intersectional social support and community, HIV-related information and destigmatization, social status, and sexuality. Within each of these themes, we identified relationships with overall HIV prevention messaging, including barriers to PrEP use. Barriers related to social status were especially prevalent and described as unique to the D.C. metropolitan area. ; Overall, MPowerment event spaces provide a forum for BSMM to feel safe and supported while gaining important HIV-related knowledge and prevention access. Challenges related to social status and destigmatization of sexuality are important considerations in designing and implementing this model, especially related to PrEP promotion.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Young Adult
  • Black or African American
  • HIV Infections
  • Homosexuality, Male
  • Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
  • Qualitative Research
  More +
• Keywords:
  • PrEP
  • HIV
  • Stigma
  • Racism
  • Homophobia
  • Intersectionality
  • MPowerment
• Source:
  International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2026, v. 32, no. 3
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-024-10275-5
• ISSN:
  1070-5503 ; 1532-7558
• Pubmed ID:
  PMC11563193
• Pubmed Central ID:
  38499962
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  U48DP006382/CC/CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U48 DP006382/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R01HL165686/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01 MD016346/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 HL165686/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01MD016346/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01MD016346/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01HL165686/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U48DP006382/CC/CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Pages in Document:
  360-370 (16 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  32
• Issue:
  3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169996/cdc_169996_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 342.54 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b76028070e2dae2bf16db70f95087a1cd79a8769800d5cdc0efd60750e405cafc5f0f0e9a727190cfeede07bfc1cc2ac3f4bba81c5d8b61fe0fdd29d78f0b820