Grant: HIV Implementation Science - Component 1

This application focuses on the adaptation of promising interventions that have high relevance to a priority population for HIV and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) prevention and linkage to care - young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (herein "MSM") under 30 years of age. The activities proposed for our team will focus on our local context in British Columbia (BC) and will use a variety of methods to build capacity and identify new strategies for successfully adapting the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control's Get Checked Online and YouthCO HIV and Hep C Society's Mpowerment YVR to address young MSM's HIV/STBBI prevention and care needs. These methods include: (1) a scoping study to present a 'snapshot' of empirical studies in the peer-reviewed literature to assess existing measures/instruments (quantitative and qualitative) that assess STBBI (including HIV) stigma; (2) a small, exploratory study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 20 young MSM (ages 15-30) and 20 service providers and policy makers in Vancouver to identify critical adaptation strategies for key transitional periods in young MSM's life course; (3) the development of a 'built-for-purpose' evaluation framework and a corresponding set of factors that impact implementation adaptation and outcomes across: structural, organizational, provider, patient/individual, and innovation levels; and (4) Three Participatory Planning Summits to establish an ongoing community-based structure to guide the proposed and future research, intervention adaptation, as well as on-going planning/practice collaborations. Our team will develop new knowledge and generate capacity to establish a strong foundation for future research, intervention adaptation and implementation, with an eye to establishing more fulsome understandings of evidence-informed, tailored and targeted approaches to reduce HIV/STBBI among young MSM.