Randolph Submits NIH Grant Application on HIV Prevention

Randolph Submits NIH Grant Application on HIV Prevention

RandolphKudos to Schenita Randolph, assistant professor, for the submission of her NIH R21 application entitled: “Salon Connect 4: A multi-level, salon-based intervention to increase awareness and knowledge of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among black women living in the United States South.” This proposal requests funding for a 2-year period with a start date of July 1, 2020.

Ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. is attainable within the next decade if we focus efforts on populations and geographical regions most affected. Black women are most at risk and make up about twothirds (64%) of new HIV infections among women in the U.S. Additionally, individuals living in the South are at highest risk for acquiring HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medication that if taken daily reduces the chances of getting HIV and is found to be an effective HIV prevention strategy. However, PrEP uptake among Black women is low and interventions to increase uptake for this population are limited. To increase the number of eligible Black women who use PrEP, we must first address known barriers to uptake among women including lack of awareness and knowledge, stigma associated with PrEP and medical mistrust. This proposal seeks to develop and test Salon Connect 4, a multi-component, salon-based intervention that includes beauty salons, stylists, women customers and PrEP navigators in improving awareness and knowledge of PrEP among Black women living in the US south. Components of this intervention include a continuing education course for stylists approved by the state board of cosmetology, ASKME@PrEP signage displayed in beauty salons, four educational modules for women customers delivered via electronic devices in the salon setting and collaborating with PrEP Navigators for PrEP resources throughout the intervention. The integration of these components are critical in addressing the complexities of the barriers to PrEP for this population. The content for this intervention was developed by the research team and informed by stylists and women customers in a preliminary qualitative study funded by the Center for AIDS Research and National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR). In alignment with NINR’s scientific focus to promote health and prevent illness through the development of evidence-based, personalized interventions to promote wellness among individuals and across populations, the primary outcome of this intervention is to increase awareness and knowledge of PrEP and secondary outcomes are to improve known barriers to PreP uptake such as stigma and medical mistrust. Grounded in the socio-ecological framework, this two-phase research design will generate new knowledge toward addressing important barriers and facilitators to PrEP uptake among Black women living in the South. Our long-term goal is to test the efficacy of a multi-site, salon-based intervention for Black women in improving PrEP uptake. At the end of this study, we expect to have demonstrated the usability, feasibility and acceptability of Salon Connect 4 intervention for Black women who frequent the beauty salon. The next step in our program of research would be to test the efficacy of the intervention with a larger sample of salons and women customers in the south in a randomized control trial on a larger scale over a longer duration.

Scroll back to top automatically