Creating Partnerships for HIV Prevention Among YMSM: TheConnect to ProtectProject and House and Ball Community in Philadelphia

Abstract

Community participation in prevention research has emerged as an important resource for identifying and addressing HIV risk factors and populations that may be more susceptible to these risks. This paper focuses on the coalition at the Philadelphia site of Connect to Protect®: Partnership for Youth Prevention Interventions (C2P), and the partnerships developed to work with an understudied subgroup of YMSM, the House and Ball Community (HBC). The authors describe the coalition’s process of identifying HIV risk factors, developing objectives and prevention activities, such as increased access to HIV counseling and testing, and building partnerships with the HBC community. Local HIV testing data from C2P affiliated events , additional outcomes, and future directions for the coalition to continue these efforts are presented.

Social-structural properties and HIV prevention among young men who have sex with men in the ballroom house and independent gay family communities

“…First, to our knowledge, this analysis is the first to adopt a comparative approach to ascertaining the extent to which houses and families offer YBMSM added protection. While prior studies of the house and ballroom communities in cities like Chicago (Lemos et al, 2015), Los Angeles (Holloway, Schrager, Wong, Dunlap, & Kipke, 2014; Kubicek et al, 2013), New York (Murrill et al, 2008) and Philadelphia (Castillo et al, 2012) have identified and investigated practices and behaviors within these settings that span the protective-risk spectrum, little to no work has compared the prevalence of these traits to what exists in the non-affiliated YBMSM community. In taking this step, we develop a clearer picture of intra-population differences and the added value that houses and families introduce into the lives of its members.…”

“…One strand focuses on the prevalence of HIV and other related risk factors in the community. In general, these studies note high rates of seroprevalence, lower rates of testing, engagement in condomless sex, as well as practices like age-discordant coupling and exchange sex that increase exposure to risk (Castillo, Palmer, Rudy, & Fernandez, 2012; Lemos, Hosek, & Bell, 2015). …”

An HIV intervention tailored for black young men who have sex with men in the House Ball Community

“…Several studies have found HIV prevalence rates upwards of 39% among African-American HBC participants, as well as high rates of unawareness of HIV status (e.g., 73%), despite reporting testing rates as high as 81% in the last 6 months (Murrill, Liu, Guilin, Colon, Dean et al, 2008; Castillo, Palmer, Rudy, Fernandez & ATN, 2012; Kipke, Kubicek, Supan, Weiss, & Schrager, 2013). …”

Reconciling Reality With Fantasy: Exploration of the Sociocultural Factors Influencing HIV Transmission Among Black Young Men Who Have Sex With Men (BYMSM) Within the House Ball Community: A Chicago Study

“…Aside from the standard Houses that have longstanding history within the HBC, the kiki scene is an emerging subgroup that caters to the younger population that may feel too young or inexperienced to fully participate in the HBC. These kikis still participate in the Ball scene through supporting Ball events or actively gaining vogueing skills to eventually join a House (Castillo, Palmer, Rudy, Fernandez, & ATN, 2012). …”

“…The House Mother and/or House Father assume a parental figure for their recruited House children. Often the house parents serve as their children’s role models and provide guidance on the House and Ball community norms and rules (Castillo et al 2012). Within the HBC such hierarchical relationships and family-like networks allow for fluid interaction between ages which fosters multi-generational mentorship, friendships and socialization.…”