# Juntas Adelante: A Peer-coaching Intervention to Promote Chemoprophylaxis for HIV Prevention among Latina Transgender Women in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $349,474

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Transgender women (TW) bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, with one of the single largest HIV-related
disparities found among Latina TW, whose HIV prevalence (26%) is almost four times greater than among their
non-Hispanic White counterparts (7%). Based on findings from our Adelante study, a mixed-methods
longitudinal pilot project assessing awareness and uptake of PrEP and PEP among immigrant LTW in the DC
metropolitan area, this original epidemiological-interventional project seeks to develop and pilot test a peer-
coaching intervention to promote chemoprophylaxis (i.e. PrEP and PEP) for HIV prevention that is culturally
responsive to the characteristics of the LTW community. To achieve this aim we have established a strong
community-academia-government partnership, composed of LTW working for organizations providing services
to the LTW community in the DC metropolitan area, officials from the HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB
Administration (HAHSTA) of the DC Department of Health and researchers from the DC Center for AIDS
Research (DC CFAR). Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, all members of our
partnership will work collaboratively to develop the intervention, which will include: 1) peer-coaching sessions for
improving HIV-risk assessments, providing information about PrEP/PEP, and supporting PrEP/PEP uptake and
adherence, 2) navigation to existing PrEP/PEP services and 3) other culturally appropriate components deemed
relevant by the CBPR team. We will use a randomized delayed-intervention control trial to examine feasibility,
acceptability and preliminary efficacy, randomizing HIV negative LTW to the intervention (n=25) or a 6-month
waitlist control group (n=25). PrEP/PEP uptake and adherence will be assessed at baseline and 3, 6 and 12-
month follow ups, using self-report, medical records reviews and clinical assays. Intervention feasibility and
acceptability will be assessed using qualitative in-depth individual interviews with participants one month after
intervention completion. Our community-academia-government partnership is ideally suited to carry out the
proposed research with a demonstrated ability to recruit, retain and engage the LTW community in DC in prior HIV
research. For the “Adelante” study we recruited 62 immigrant LTW, with an overall retention rate of 82% for the
longitudinal portion (n=41/50). We have established strong relationships with organizations serving the LTW
community, who will collaborate on this project, ensuring that community needs and priorities drive an effective HIV
response. This proposal complements and extends HAHSTA's HIV prevention efforts towards Ending the HIV
Epidemic (EHE) in DC by 2030. In line with the EHE plan's key strategy to prevent new HIV transmissions by using
proven interventions, this research will support the development of the first evidence-informed HIV prevention
intervention targeting LTW. Results from this study will be us...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10285347
- **Project number:** 1U01PS005218-01
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ana Maria del Rio-Gonzalez
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $349,474
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10285347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10285347, Juntas Adelante: A Peer-coaching Intervention to Promote Chemoprophylaxis for HIV Prevention among Latina Transgender Women in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area (1U01PS005218-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10285347. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*
