# An Intervention to Increase Retention in Care among HIV-Positive Black Men

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $58

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the U.S., Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) have a higher incidence and background prevalence
of HIV than other groups. Once linked to HIV care, HIV+ BMSM (+BMSM) have significantly lower odds than
other MSM to be engaged in each step of the HIV continuum of care: detection of HIV, linkage to care,
retention in care, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and viral suppression. The biggest drop off in the
continuum for +BMSM is in retention in care, in which over 40% drop out of care, and, thus, is the focus of this
research. Despite the importance of this issue, there are no gold-standard interventions to find these men once
they have fallen out of care. Further, although interventions exist that focus primarily on structural barriers to
care (e.g., intensive case management, patient navigation), key psychosocial factors involved in +BMSM
dropping out of care (e.g., depression, substance use, HIV-related stigma, lack of social support) have not
been sufficiently addressed. In addition, there is a dearth literature on how best to locate +BMSM who have left
HIV care (+BMSM-LC) in order to re-engage them in care. Thus, the overarching goal of this application is to
develop and conduct a preliminary test of a “portable” intervention, “Black Men's Care” (BMC), to re-engage
+BMSM-LC in care that is flexible with respect to where it can be conducted. The aims of the study are: Aim
1—to conduct formative research to develop BMC content and optimize its delivery; Aim 2—to develop BMC, a
theory-based, combination in-person and text messaging (mHealth) intervention for +BMSM-LC; and Aim 3—
to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary outcomes of BMC in preparation for submitting an R01
proposal to finalize and conduct an efficacy trial of BMC. Aims 1 and 2 will comprise the formative phase of the
proposed study. Aim 1 will consist of semi-structured interviews with 2 staff members at each of 3 city and
county health clinics, 3 community-based organizations, and 3 emergency rooms to identify effective settings
for intervention. Aim 2 will consist of semi-structured interviews with 10 +BMSM-LC and 10 +BMSM who
remain in care to develop intervention content. Findings from these semi-structured interviews and Aim 1 will
be used to develop a preliminary intervention protocol that will be refined across 2 sets of 3 sequential, single-
subject iterations of the intervention sampled by age (n=3 for ages 18 to 29 years, n =3 for ages 30 and up).
For Aim 3, a pilot study of 18 +BMSM-LC purposively sampled by age will assess acceptability, feasibility, and
preliminary outcomes of BMC for re-engaging +BMSM-LC in care. The research and career development
activities of this K23 proposal will allow the PI to achieve the goal of becoming an independent, R01-funded
investigator. The PI will gain a broad range of critical skills (e.g., intervention development; qualitative research
methods; trial design, safety monitoring,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9978617
- **Project number:** 5K23MH111402-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Wilson Vincent
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $58
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2021-10-27

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9978617

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9978617, An Intervention to Increase Retention in Care among HIV-Positive Black Men (5K23MH111402-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9978617. Licensed CC0.

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