# Making space for HIV prevention: substance use among Latinx MSM in LA hotspots

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA · 2021 · $148,692

## Abstract

Abstract
 Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) comprise a community that faces elevated risk for
disparately negative personal and public health outcomes, including substance use, HIV, and COVID-19
syndemics, and a commuity that remains severely underserved. We propose to examine, in-depth using
qualitative interviews, the psychological factors and social spaces that may contribute to substance use and
higher rates of HIV among Latinx MSM. This work will supplement our parent grant, which aims to identify and
prioritize geographic HIV risk and substance use hotspots among urban, Latinx and Black men who have sex
with men. Our work directly engages with issues of health equity among racial and sexual minority men, and is
significant because a) targeting risk hotspots is a key priority in the “Ending the HIV Epidemic” initiative, and b)
personalized public health, often occurring in different venues other than traditional health facilities within the
community, is an effective way to deliver appropriate HIV prevention, care, and treatment. In this supplemental
proposal, we address a potential limitation to effective differentiated service delivery, such as peer-driven
harm-reduction interventions, in our HIV risk hotspots specifically among Latinx MSM; namely, would these
interventions work with socially-isolated individuals who engage in substance use?
 To achieve our goals, we will sample 40 Latino MSM aged 18-40 who previously participated in our
Activity Space research, a study that leverages the NIDA-funded mSTUDY. Our specific aims are: 1) To
identify and understand how psychological health factors during COVID-19 (e.g., loneliness, psychological
distress) and social network factors (e.g., social isolation, sparse social networks) activate or amplify
substance use in HIV risk hotspots; and 2) To assess the acceptability and feasibility of differentiated risk-
reduction interventions among Latinx MSM who use substances in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
goal-oriented outcome of this work will be additional knowledge on how to best prioritize risk-reduction
interventions in Latinx communities outside of healthcare settings. Data will inform the development of
community-based prevention and clinical interventions that incorporate key psychological issues, including
unique challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and will therefore have a stronger impact among
Latino MSM.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10441997
- **Project number:** 3R21DA049643-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA
- **Principal Investigator:** SUSAN LYNN CASSELS
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $148,692
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10441997

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10441997, Making space for HIV prevention: substance use among Latinx MSM in LA hotspots (3R21DA049643-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10441997. Licensed CC0.

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