# LEVERAGING FAMILY-BASED ASSETS FOR BLACK MSM IN HOUSE BALL COMMUNITIES

> **NIH NIH R34** · SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · $125,629

## Abstract

Despite the advent of highly effective prevention tools such as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis 1 (PrEP), Black
men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to have the highest incidence of new HIV diagnoses in the US.
The risk of onward HIV transmission is reduced to zero in HIV-positive individuals who are virally suppressed;
however, Black MSM are least likely to be engaged in care or to be suppressed. Many Black MSM face
multiple stigmas (e.g., racism, homophobia) and rejection from their biological families, but some have found
refuge in the House Ball Community (HBC)—a national network of Black LGBT kinship commitments (families)
that provide (informal) care giving, affirmation and survival skills-building for its members. Regarding skills-
building and HIV prevention, Many Men Many Voices (3MV) is a six-session, group-level behavioral
intervention and is the only “best evidence” intervention for Black MSM. Family-based interventions have
shown HIV prevention efficacy; however, 3MV is not a family-based intervention. In 3MV, HIV-negative Black
MSM are recruited into artificial group settings with individuals with whom they may have little social
relationship. 3MV neither leverages the connections and commitments nor addresses the variability in HIV-
status that exists in house ball families., 3MV requires adaptation to be more responsive to this social structure
and dynamic. Our goal in this clinical trial planning grant is to prepare for a cluster randomized controlled trial
(CRCT) to test the effectiveness of the modified 3MV vs. standard of care in reducing new HIV infections and
increasing rates of viral suppression among Black MSM in HBC families. Based on our formative work, that
MSM social networks predict HIV prevention behaviors and that HBC family cultural norms primed for
communication about HIV prevention and treatment, our central hypothesis is that a modified 3MV intervention
incorporating family asset-building will have an amplifying effect on HIV prevention and treatment outcomes.
We will investigate this hypothesis with the specific aims: Aim 1: Conduct formative research to identify key
modifications to the 3MV intervention manual and implementation protocol. The eight-step ADAPT22ITT model
will guide our approach to modifying 3MV into Our Family Our Voices (OFOV), which accommodates the lived
experience of HBC families. Aim 2: Conduct a pilot CRCT to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the
modified 3MV trial protocol (OFOV) vs. waitlisted standard of care control. We will determine the
feasibility/acceptability of OFOV and the CRCT design (n=6 families; 100 individuals) with NYC HBC families.
This study will provide necessary data to design and conduct a full-scale CRCT effectiveness trial of OFOV on
HIV prevention and care outcomes in Black MSM. The HBC is a large, yet underserved community within the
LGBT community. By precision-tailoring an evidence-based intervention for the HBC, our research to improve
HIV testin...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10631608
- **Project number:** 3R34MH124082-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeffrey M Birnbaum
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $125,629
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2023-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10631608

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10631608, LEVERAGING FAMILY-BASED ASSETS FOR BLACK MSM IN HOUSE BALL COMMUNITIES (3R34MH124082-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10631608. Licensed CC0.

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