Projects

RISE Study

The first few months of an HIV diagnosis are a critical intervention period for people with HIV (PWH). Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy is essential to support the health and survival of PWH.

Although approximately 79.0% of newly diagnosed Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and who live with HIV (BMSM+) enter care:

  • Only 65.2% are virally suppressed at 6 months following a diagnosis

  • Only 58.0% are retained in regular HIV care

Additionally, rates of reported trauma exposure are high for BMSM+:

  • Sexual assault: 33%

  • Physical violence: 74%

  • At least one type of any trauma exposure: 91%

Underserved mental health concerns, particularly trauma-related and comorbid depressive symptoms, serve as potent barriers to engagement in HIV care and the uptake of antiretroviral treatment. To address these concerns, we are conducting the RISE Study.

The RISE Study aims to:

  • Develop and pilot-test the strengths-oriented, trauma-informed RISE intervention

  • Use mixed-methods, market research methods to tailor group-specific messages for BMSM+

  • Facilitate coping

  • Explore social and structural factors that can be incorporated

  • Achieve the ultimate aim of linkage to HIV care ASAP upon HIV diagnosis

We are conducting this study with an eye toward the subsequent testing of efficacy and, more broadly, implementation science.

 
 

Primary and secondary analyses to explore social determinants of health and their correlates and mechanisms

We are employing quantitative and qualitative data-analytic tools to answer research questions related to how individual, social, and structural determinants of health, such as stigma and poverty, affect individual health behaviors as well as mental and physical health outcomes. These tools include structural equation modeling, latent profile analysis, dyadic data analysis, longitudinal analyses such as generalized least squares regression with maximum likelihood and linear mixed models, and thematic and comparative qualitative analyses. Sample data include the following: 

Primary data

  • We are analyzing qualitative data on ways of reaching Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who are in HIV care and who have fallen out of HIV care in the San Francisco Bay Area; these data were collected under the auspices of a University of California, San Francisco pilot award for which Dr. Vincent was a principal investigator

  • Dr. Vincent is co-investigator on a University of California, Los Angeles pilot award and a NIDA R21 grant that fund studies examining factors associated with engagement in HIV care and the impact of COVID-19 for Black MSM living with HIV in Texas

Secondary data

  • Exploring biopsychosocial factors and outcomes for stimulant-using MSM living with HIV

  • Studying HIV-related risk and resilience in a diverse sample of people who inject drugs recruited as part of the National Health Behavior Survey in San Francisco, CA

  • Examining health, resilience, and risk for heterosexual black men in Washington, DC

  • Investigating health, resilience, and risk for Black MSM at risk of HIV infection in Texas

 
 

Investigating biological mechanisms within a multilevel, biopsychosocial approach

We study the intraindividual, biological substrates of stigma and other individual, social, and structural determinants of health. For example, in a sample of HIV-positive, stimulant-using sexual-minority men collected by a colleague, we showed that being out as a sexual minority was inversely associated with levels of an amino acid precursor to serotonin for Black and Latino, but not White, men. Although being out is typically considered protective, findings suggested that it may pose challenges for them as sexual minorities within their cultural communities and as racial and ethnic minorities within the mainstream, predominantly White gay communities. We will be collecting data for new studies examining similar themes in samples recruited at Temple University and from communities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. 

 
 

Intervention development to address health outcomes in vulnerable populations

A central focus of our ongoing research is to develop interventions that apply what we already know and what we discover. For example, Dr. Vincent's NIMH-funded Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Grant study involves the development of a combination in-person and text-messaging intervention to address barriers to retention in HIV care within a social-ecologically informed, theory-guided framework for Black sexual minority men living with HIV. We plan to use preliminary data from this study to develop a randomized controlled trial.