Leveraging Family-Based Assets for Black MSM In House Ball Communities

Although there is access to effective HIV prevention tools such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), Black men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to have the highest numbers of new HIV cases in the US and are unlikely to be linked to care or to have their HIV under control. Many Black MSM face many challenges because of racism and homophobia but some have found safety in the House Ball Community -an alternative family network (or houses) for Black LGBT that provide emotional and physical support and care and health information for its members. In this study, the investigators will modify a well-known, six-session group HIV prevention program for HIV-negative Black MSM, called Many Men Many Voices (3MV), and turn it into a family-based program that focuses on Black MSM with and without HIV in House Ball Communities. Family-based group programs have been shown to help prevent individuals from getting HIV; but, 3MV is not a family-based program. And in 3MV, Black MSM without HIV are usually recruited into groups with individuals they have never met before. 3MV doesn't usually use the connections between house ball family members to improve health outcomes and doesn't consider how house ball families have members who are both HIV-negative and HIV-positive. Because Black MSM in the House Ball Community have closer social relationships, 3MV requires modification to better fit the house family structure and how family members interact with each other. The goal in this study is to prepare for a larger study to test if the modified 3MV program works better to reduce new HIV infections and improve the health of HIV-positive Black MSM in the House Ball Community families compared to a no group program. The investigators predict that a modified version of the 3MV group program for the House Ball Community families will work better than the original version of 3MV on HIV prevention and treatment outcomes. This study will provide important information to help us design and conduct a larger study of this modified version of 3MV called "Our Family Our Voices" on HIV prevention and care outcomes in Black MSM. By tailoring a program for the House Ball Community, this research to improve HIV testing and participation in care will better serve Black MSM-the highest priority group for HIV prevention in the United States.