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Sheroes: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Community-Driven, Group-Level HIV Intervention Program for Transgender Women

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Abstract

Transgender women experience disproportionate risk of HIV acquisition and transmission. We piloted ‘Sheroes’, a peer-led group-level intervention for transgender women of any HIV status emphasizing empowerment and gender affirmation to reduce HIV risk behaviors and increase social support. Participants (N = 77) were randomized to Sheroes (n = 39) or a time- and attention-matched control (n = 38). Sheroes is 5 weekly group sessions; topics include sexuality, communication, gender transition, and coping skills. Control participants attended 5 weekly group movie sessions. At 6-month follow up, HIV-negative and unknown status Sheroes participants reported reductions in condomless intercourse and improved social support compared to control. Among participants living with HIV, both the control and intervention groups reduced their total number of sex partners; this change was sustained at 6-month follow-up for Sheroes participants but not for control participants relative to baseline. Sheroes was deemed highly feasible and acceptable to participants; findings support preliminary efficacy of Sheroes.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R34MH102109, PI: Sevelius, J). Formative work for the development of Sheroes was supported by the California HIV/AIDS Research Program Community Collaborative Award (CR10-SF-421; MPIs: Sevelius, J, Bermudez, C). Dr. Johnson’s contribution to this manuscript was supported by NIDA K24DA037034. This study would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the time and energy of our participants as well as the hard work of the implementation staff: Akira Jackson, Enzo Patouhas, Aria Sa’id, Zoe Samudzi, and Vanessa Warri.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Jae M. Sevelius, Torsten B. Neilands, Samantha Dilworth, Danielle Castro & Mallory O. Johnson

  2. Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Jae M. Sevelius & Danielle Castro

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  1. Jae M. Sevelius
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  2. Torsten B. Neilands
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  3. Samantha Dilworth
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  5. Mallory O. Johnson
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Correspondence to Jae M. Sevelius.

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Sevelius, J.M., Neilands, T.B., Dilworth, S. et al. Sheroes: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Community-Driven, Group-Level HIV Intervention Program for Transgender Women. AIDS Behav 24, 1551–1559 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02683-6

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