Masa and Community Partner Promote HIV Testing and Prevention Among Central NC’s Young Latino Sexual Minority Men

One reason why the U.S.’s Latino sexual minority male community remains understudied is that it is difficult to recruit community members into studies in the first place, due in part to concerns about immigration status and confidentiality. Driving outreach through the networks of the research team’s community partner, El Centro Hispano, the state’s oldest Latino-serving organization, proved pivotal.

“At fairs, churches, nightclubs, and every time we had any event with the community, I was recruiting,” said Orlando Martinez, El Centro’s LBGTQ+ Community Specialist.

Successful recruitment allowed Masa’s team to convene eight focus group discussions with 25 participants (18-24 years old) about common contexts and effects of stigma. After these discussions, the team identified and individually interviewed 15 “positive deviants” — those who exhibited adaptive strategies for overcoming stigma, remaining resilient and maintaining HIV prevention behaviors — to learn what behaviors and resources build resilience and improve the health of young Latino sexual minority men.

With input from a Youth Advisory Board and El Centro representatives, the research team developed multiple video vignettes illustrating common themes from the focus groups and interviews. Pivoting to the project’s next phase, the research team is using the vignettes in new focus groups to spark conversations about what young Latino sexual minority men need to overcome challenges related to stigma and discrimination.

“We’re harnessing the strategies positive deviant youth use to protect their wellness in face of multiple stigmatizing experiences,” said Masa. “Ending the U.S.’s HIV epidemic means we have to learn how to address stigma and its impact, and these youth are helping us do that.”

To do so, the project team plans to pilot an intervention built on learning from positive deviant interviews, group discussions, and service provider input. Planned testing sites include central N.C. and metro Atlanta, as both areas’ Latino immigrant populations continue to increase despite the relative scarcity of culturally and linguistically trained health and social providers compared to other areas of the country.

“Many of the young men in our study have only been in the U.S. for a few years,” Masa said. “Their need for information is even greater because they're often not familiar with the medical system and the service system.”