Behavioral and social interventions to promote optimal HIV prevention and care continua outcomes in the United States

Abstract

Purpose of reviewThis review reports on trends in behavioral and social intervention research in the United States published over the past year (2020-2021) investigating HIV prevention and care outcomes, organized by the level of intervention focus -individual, dyadic, and organizational. Recent findingsResearchers have continued to develop and evaluate behavioral and social interventions to reduce HIV acquisition risk and disease progression. With few exceptions, social and behavioral interventions have primarily focused on individuals as the unit of behavior change. Interventions operating at the individual-, dyadic-, and organizational-level have made strides to reduce HIV transmission risk and disease progressing by addressing mental health, substance use, stigma, peer and romantic relationships, and, to some extent, structural vulnerabilities.

Editorial: Critical social and behavioral sciences perspectives on ending the HIV epidemic

“…The complexity of the HIV epidemic calls for theoretical and applied research that addresses all levels of social organization – individual, relational, societal. Gamarel et al [6] review social and behavioral interventions that focus on individuals’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, relational factors in dyads, and structural factors operating within organizations that are important for optimizing risk reduction and uptake and use of HIV prevention and treatment technologies. Such interventions are critical to addressing HIV-related inequities but will only be effective at a population level if they are sustained.…”

Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Test of Connecting Latinos en Parejas: A Couples-Based HIV Prevention Intervention for Latino Male Couples

“…Although interventions for male couples exist (Frye et al, 2021;Mitchell, 2015;National Institutes of Health RePORT, 2015;Starks et al, 2022;Stephenson et al, 2011Stephenson et al, , 2021, none have been developed and evaluated within a Latino cultural context focused on the unique constellation of factors salient to Latino male couples. With the exception of a small number focused on Black/ African American men (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01394900 and NCT04951544;Kim et al, 2021), dyadic interventions have sampled predominantly White, sexual minority men who reported high levels of education and employment; thus, the generalizability of these interventions to communities most disproportionately impacted by the epidemic is unknown (Gamarel et al, 2022).…”