# Engaging Leaders to Elicit Viewpoints on Anal Cancer Prevention (ELDERS) study

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2024 · $100,000

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Older sexual and gender minorities (SGM) living with HIV have a 100-fold higher risk for anal cancer and are
more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stages of anal cancer with less favorable prognoses, highlighting the
importance of engaging older SGM in anal cancer prevention programs. In Nigeria, men 45 years of age or older
have some of the highest prevalences of HIV, yet they are the most difficult age demographic to recruit into our
anal cancer prevention study, the Integrated Model for the Prevention of Anal Cancer using screen and Treat for
HSIL (IMPACT) study. Only 15% (22/146) of SGM ≥40 years of age who provided their contact information
engaged with our anal cancer prevention program since its launch 8 months ago. The IMPACT research team
noted privacy concerns, socioeconomic class barriers, reluctance to engage with younger SGM at the clinic, and
varying levels of health knowledge as factors contributing to low enrollment of older SGM in anal cancer
screening. To ensure the success of our anal cancer prevention program, participation of older SGM—as the
highest risk group that is likely to benefit the most—is crucial. To better understand how to promote anal cancer
prevention among older SGM, we propose the Engaging LeaDERS (ELDERS) study to elicit the viewpoints and
preferences that older Nigerian SGM living with HIV use when deciding to engage in cancer screening. We
hypothesize that tailoring anal cancer prevention strategies to address culturally relevant barriers and
preferences of older SGM will enhance health-seeking behavior and promote sustainability of anal cancer
prevention programs among this high-risk population in Nigeria. We will use implementation research strategies
to evaluate barriers and enablers to engaging with anal cancer prevention among older SGM. We will also identify
preferences that contribute to the decision-making process among older SGM with respect to accessing anal
cancer prevention. Our study aims will include qualitative and quantitative assessments that embrace community
feedback and our strong partnerships with the SGM community in Nigeria. The information gained from ELDERS
will be applied to improve the recruitment of older SGM within IMPACT as well as the development of a future
Discrete Choice Experiment to improve and sustain anal cancer prevention efforts among older SGM in Nigeria
more broadly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11020415
- **Project number:** 3U01CA275053-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Sylvia Adebajo
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $100,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11020415

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11020415, Engaging Leaders to Elicit Viewpoints on Anal Cancer Prevention (ELDERS) study (3U01CA275053-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11020415. Licensed CC0.

---

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