Dr. Cathy Reback Receives R34 Subaward

FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Cathy Reback, along with Drs. Chunqing Lin and Sherry Larkins (from UCLA), have received an R34 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health entitled, “Adaptation and Implementation of an Evidence-based Approach to Advance HIV Prevention and Care.” In addition to Drs. Reback, Lin, and Larkins, the interdisciplinary and international investigative team includes Dr. Do Van Dung (University of Medicine and Pharmacy) and Ms. Nguyen Nhu Trang Nguyen (Life Centre Community Based Organization), both in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This study will utilize implementation science methods to adapt and test Dr. Reback’s evidence- and theory-based U.S.-oriented TransAction intervention for trans women in Vietnam. In Phase 1, a community participatory approach will be utilized to work with community-based organizations that provide services to trans women to develop TransAction protocols, materials, and health/social service navigation plans in the cultural context of Vietnam. In Phase 2, the adapted TransAction will be pilot-tested with 80 HIV status-neutral trans women, aged 16 and above, from Ho Chi Minh City and adjacent provinces with a two-arm, randomized design. Trans women in the intervention condition will participate in individual risk-reduction counseling sessions and skill-building and support groups using an online/offline hybrid modality. Both intervention and control groups will be invited to attend two quarterly social events; however, those in the control group will only participate in the social events and not the individual risk-reduction counseling sessions and skill-building and support groups. Intervention outcomes, including placement along the HIV prevention/care continua, multilevel/multifaceted stigma and coping, self-efficacy, service utilization, HIV risks, and general health will be assessed at baseline, 3-, and 6-month follow-up. The flexible online/offline hybrid intervention model may provide valuable insights transferable to both other low- to middle-income countries and areas of the United States with limited or no trans-specific services. This study will lay the foundation for a subsequent full-scale trial to evaluate the scalability, efficacy, and sustainability of the culturally responsive HIV prevention and care intervention for trans women in Vietnam and other settings with limited trans-inclusive services.