Marco A' Hidalgo, MA

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• Marco A. Hidalgo, MA
• Roger R. Fierro, BA
• Rob Garofalo, MD, MPH
• Brian Mustanski, PhD
• Geri Donenberg, PhD
• Christopher Cotten, PhD, LCSW
• Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago, IL

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Overview

• Background
• Project Objectives
• Description of MyPeeps
• Unique Aspects of MyPeeps

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Background

• Young men who have sex with men (YMSM),
  especially those who are African American, Latino
  or European American, are disproportionately
  infected by HIV (CDC, 2005)
• Between 99-03, decreased incidence in YWSM, but
  increased incidence among YMSM (Rangel et al.,
  2006)

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Background

• Rates of incidence continue to increase among
  YMSM between 13-24 (Hall et al., 2007)
• Yet, little attention has been paid to the design
  and implementation of theoretically-driven,
  culturally and developmentally appropriate HIV
  preventive interventions for YMSM (Harper, 2007)

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Study Objectives

• Stage 1 To explore factors that uniquely
  influence HIV transmission among a group of key
  informants (i.e., 18-24 year-old YMSM who
  acquired HIV between 16-20 through sexual
  activity with other males)
• Stage 2 (current stage) To develop, pilot, and
  refine a comprehensive HIV primary prevention
  program for 1620 year-old ethnically-diverse
  YMSM
• Stage 3 To test the intervention in RCT
  (control TBD)

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What is MyPeeps?

• HIV Preventive Intervention for YMSM (aged 16-20)
• Focused on Harm-reduction
• Manualized Curriculum (cognitive-behavioral)
• Group-based (10 participants per group)
• 6 Sessions across 3 Weeks
• Pre- and Post-test Surveys

Funded by Natl Institute of Mental Health
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Whats Unique about MyPeeps?

• Developed from voices of 21 HIV-positive YMSM
• Shared what factors contributed to their
  acquiring HIV
• Focuses on healthy decision-making in various
  contexts (social-personal framework)
• Highly interactive sessions
• Follows 4 composite characters
• Informational web component

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Social-personal framework
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Highly Interactive Sessions

• HIV and STI Information
• Safer Sex Skills Building
• Communication Skills
• Partner Safer Sex Negotiation
• Stigma and Stigma Management
• Managing Emotional Health
• Reducing Risk in The Heat of the Moment
• Goal-making

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4 Composite Characters

• The Chronicles of MyPeeps
• Artemio, Art
• Nico
• Tommy
• Philip, P

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Informational Web Component

• www.my-peeps.org

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References

• CDC (2005). HIV/AIDS surveillance report, Vol.
  16 Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in the United
  States, 2004. Atlanta, GA US Dept. of Health
  and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
  and Prevention.
• Hall, H. I., Byers, R. H., Ling, Q., Espinoza,
  L. (2007). Racial/ethnic and age disparities in
  HIV prevalence and disease progression among men
  who have sex with men in the United States.
  American Journal of Public Health, 97(6),
  1060-1066.
• Harper, G. W. (2007). Sex isnt that simple
  Culture and context in HIV prevention
  interventions for gay and bisexual male
  adolescents. American Psychologist, 62(8),
  806-819.
• Rangel et al. (2006). Epidemiology of HIV and
  AIDS among adolescents and young adults in the
  United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39
  (2), 156-163.

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• Marco A. Hidalgo, MA
• Roger R. Fierro, BA
• Rob Garofalo, M.D., MPH
• Brian Mustanski, PhD
• Geri Donenberg, PhD
• Christopher Cotten, PhD, LCSW
• Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago, IL

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