The CSULB Center for Health Equity Research is conducting a new project, EF HIV! Expressing Freely to Stop HIV, an art-based, peer-led, group-level intervention in Long Beach to reduce HIV-related health inequities among young Black and Latino sexual and gender-minoritized individuals by supporting participation in HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
The project is funded by Heluna Health with grant funding from the County of Los Angeles, 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.
In Los Angeles County (LAC), Black/African Americans and Latinx are significantly over-represented among people living with diagnosed HIV and Long Beach is considered by LAC DPH to be one of three “epicenters of HIV” reporting many new HIV diagnoses.
Peer-led interventions have been effective in improving health behaviors as peers are able to build trusting relationships with populations that may have limited interaction with traditional health programs. Art-based workshops have also been used to promote sexual health, such as increasing STI knowledge and HIV/STI risk perception.
EF HIV will use peer support and creative artistic expression to support individual PrEP adoption and HIV testing.
Starting in summer 2024, twice monthly workshops will be held at local Long Beach community-based organizations. The workshops with up to 20 participants will be led by a health educator, a local artist, and a PrEP navigator to assist participants with initiating or re-engaging in PrEP.
Participants will be invited to create an art piece guided by the artist, using a specific art medium designated for the workshop and participate in a discussion facilitated by the health educator on their reactions to an art piece related to HIV, and/or the systemic inequities driving the HIV epidemic.
During the discussion, the facilitators will take opportunities to extend the group’s understanding and knowledge of PrEP and HIV prevention, intercept misconceptions or inaccurate information, and build on the shared experiences of the group to encourage adoption of PrEP. Workshop participants will be invited to share their art piece at a culminating event planned for World AIDS Day in December 2024.