# An HIV Retention in Care Intervention for Black MSM in Baltimore with a Job Readiness Component

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $129,302

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Retention in high-quality HIV care is critical for the health of people living with HIV
(PLWH) as well as for reducing HIV transmission. One estimate of the HIV Continuum of Care
for Black men how have sex with men (BMSM) in the US found that only 24% of BMSM are
retained in care (RIC), 20% are on antiretroviral therapy, and 16% are virally suppressed. The
structural factors that put men at increased risk for HIV, such as poverty, unemployment, and
incarceration, also act as barriers to HIV care. The proposed project will develop and pilot test a
retention in HIV care intervention for BMSM living in Baltimore that incorporates a job
readiness component:
Aim 1: Formative research for intervention development in practice settings
One-to-one interviews with BMSM living with HIV will explore factors that facilitate
engagement in care, unmet needs, and job readiness. Focus group discussions with key
stakeholders will explore barriers and facilitators to implementing RIC interventions and the
integration of job readiness into RIC programs.
Aim 2: Develop and component test a RIC curriculum for BMSM with a job readiness
component that is guided by Self-Determination Theory and an implementation science
framework.
Aim 3: Conduct a pilot RCT to assess feasibility and preliminary outcomes. A RCT
with 50 BMSM living with HIV who are not virally suppressed will use mixed methods to assess
acceptability, implementation, and limited efficacy. The primary outcome of interest will be viral
suppression.
 The proposed behavioral-medical intervention will be guided by Self-Determination
Theory. In addition, the intervention will be developed using an implementation science
framework, the Damschroer's Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, in order
to promote sustainability and dissemination. This research reduces disparities in treatment
outcomes in a severely underserved population of PLWH and will provide rigorous training and
study in implementation science. This work is novel in that it: focuses on an underserved
population, incorporates job readiness into HIV retention in care, and is guided by Self-
Determination Theory. This research career development award will provide training to the
recipient in the following three areas: implementation science, intervention development, and
experimental design. This training will allow the recipient to achieve her career goal of
conducting independent research to develop, test, and study the implementation of HIV
prevention programs for underserved populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9922351
- **Project number:** 5K01MH111388-04
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Catherine Hadeler Maulsby
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $129,302
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-05 → 2021-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9922351

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9922351, An HIV Retention in Care Intervention for Black MSM in Baltimore with a Job Readiness Component (5K01MH111388-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9922351. Licensed CC0.

---

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