RFA-PS-23-006, De Confianza: Creating Medical Trust with Latinx Communities

Abstract The overall goal of this project, titled “De Confianza: Creating Medical Trust with Latinx Communities,” is to increase Medical Trust to lessen HIV prevention and treatment inequities experienced by Hispanic/Latino Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (HLMSM). The specific aims include: Aim 1. Identify main drivers of medical mistrust and trust among HLMSM. Aim 2. Adapt or develop an intervention plan by uncovering existing, effective, San Francisco Bay Area interventions aimed at building trust to improve access to, utilization of, and retention in HIV prevention and care services. Aim 3. Implement and evaluate a multilevel intervention to increase medical trust and improve access to, utilization of, and retention in HIV prevention and care services. The project will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, in two priority jurisdictions of Phase I of the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative: San Francisco and Alameda Counties. The San Francisco Bay Area has a substantial percentage of Hispanic/Latino population and the highest proportion of gender and sexual minority people in the country. Our team, including our community partner (AGUILAS), is fully bilingual (Spanish and English) and bi-cultural, with strong roots in the Bay Area and a solid record of HIV prevention work with HLMSM communities. While addressing medical mistrust in the context of HIV prevention and care is a multifactor and multisectoral effort, this project could have a significant impact given depth of the expertise in our team and the diversity of the population studied. The findings would inform multi-level interventions in settings with a significant proportion of Latinx and MSM population.