Peer Promotion of Wellness and Linkage to Enhanced Resources Long Beach (PPOWER LB) is a peer-led dyadic intervention to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use to prevent HIV infection among Black and Latinx transgender women in Long Beach, CA. The project is funded by Heluna Health with grant funding from the County of Los Angeles (LAC), Department of Public Health (DPH), Division of HIV and STD Programs (DHSP), Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America, a national initiative that seeks to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. Transwomen have among the highest rates of HIV prevalence and are a priority population in Los Angeles County.
In PPOWER LB, Black and Latinx transgender women who are at risk for HIV, but not using PrEP, will be partnered with transgender women who are using PrEP and will serve as Peer Advocates to provide social support and health education. Peer advocates will receive training from CHER staff to develop motivational interviewing (MI) skills, and to disseminate PrEP-related health education and provide service support linkage.
Research has shown that peer advocates and role models are effective in increasing PrEP uptake. Both the intervention participants and Peer Advocates will participate in two sessions focused on transgender wellness topics and local resource information, followed by check in meetings by the Peer Advocates with the intervention participants on their progress toward a behavior change goal related to HIV prevention (e.g., obtaining an HIV test, making an appointment with a PrEP navigator, initiating PrEP).
At the end of the project, participants will be invited to share reflections about their experiences at a City of Long Beach Long Beach HIV Planning Group quarterly meeting involving local health care and service providers, the health department, and other HIV affected members from the community.