Background: The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, including adolescents, racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants, individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, people who use substances, and sexual and gender minorities, in the U.S. and globally.
Program Description: The HIV Intervention Science Training Program (HISTP) was established at the Columbia University School of Social Work to address critical gaps in epidemiological and implementation science research. HISTP is an NIMH-funded multidisciplinary training program that seeks to develop and facilitate the growth of underrepresented scholars conducting HIV-related research, including dissemination and implementation research. Key activities include (1) summer training programs on innovative technology solutions, including a Summer Game Jam program that paired scholars with game designers to develop a game prototype to address important HIV prevention or care delivery challenges; (2) implementation science to expeditiously introduce evidence-based strategies in real-world settings; and (3) community-engaged initiatives to better respond to the systematic health disparities and inequities impacting vulnerable populations in the U.S. and globally.
Lessons Learned: The proposed symposium will highlight the lessons learned from the groundbreaking epidemiologic, implementation, and community-engaged research led by scholars of color. Innovative mHealth collaborative partnerships will be featured, as well as novel methodological approaches to develop culturally-tailored HIV prevention and intervention strategies for communities disproportionately burdened by HIV. The interventions developed by underrepresented scholars have addressed and incorporated social and structural determinants of HIV prevention and treatment, including structural racism and discrimination, stigma, medical mistrust, and anti-immigration rhetoric and policies. Addressing these social and structural determinants in underrepresented communities is critical in the quest to end the HIV epidemic. We will also highlight research initiatives and collaborative approaches responsive to the concurrent HIV and COVID-19 pandemics. Opportunities that respond at the intersection of HIV and COVID-19 prevention and treatment are urgently needed, including capacity building for community-based organizations engaged in serving communities that are directly impacted by systematic racism and other forms of oppression.
Recommendations: The HISTP initiative supports accelerated development of innovative HIV prevention and treatment strategies led by scholars of color to respond to the growing disparities and inequities in HIV. We urgently recommend the replication of similar training programs and opportunities to support the next generation of underrepresented scholars.