Improving HIV Prevention Among Hispanic Women Through a Community-Researcher Partnership: Florida, 2020-2023

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Behavior
• HIV Prevention

Background:

• Hispanic women face unique challenges requiring culturally grounded HIV prevention strategies.
• Existing evidence-based interventions need adaptation to effectively incorporate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV testing.
• Community engagement is crucial for developing acceptable and feasible public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the evidence-based SEPA (Salud/Health, Educación/Education, Prevención/Prevention, Autocuidado/Self-Care) intervention for Hispanic women.
• To integrate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV testing into the adapted intervention, creating SEPA+PrEP.
• To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the adapted SEPA+PrEP intervention.

Main Methods:

• Collaboration with community-based organizations and a community advisory board for intervention adaptation.
• Implementation of the adapted SEPA+PrEP intervention with 44 Hispanic women.
• Assessment of intervention acceptability and feasibility through participant satisfaction, engagement, retention, and completion rates.

Main Results:

• The SEPA+PrEP intervention was successfully adapted through a community-informed process.
• High levels of participant satisfaction, engagement, retention, and completion indicated intervention feasibility.
• The adapted intervention demonstrated acceptability as a biobehavioral approach for HIV prevention.

Conclusions:

• The SEPA+PrEP intervention represents a successful, community-driven adaptation for HIV prevention among Hispanic women.
• This biobehavioral intervention is acceptable and feasible, supporting its use for promoting PrEP uptake and HIV testing.
• Culturally tailored interventions are essential for addressing health disparities in HIV prevention for diverse populations.