Background
This Special Project of National Significance (SPNS) initiative aimed to support innovative interventions to assist HIV-infected young (ages 13-24) men who have sex with men (MSM) of color to learn their HIV status, link them into HIV primary care, and prevent further HIV transmission. The George Washington University Youth Evaluation Services (YES) Center served as the Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for this initiative and conducted the design and implementation of a multi-site evaluation. This initiative funded eight demonstration projects to develop and locally evaluate innovative service models designed to reach HIV-infected young MSM of color and to link them to culturally-appropriate clinical, supportive, and preventive services.
These eight grant recipients included: AIDS Project East Bay (Oakland, CA); Bronx AIDS Services (NY); Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (Houston, TX); Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (CA); Men of Color Health Awareness Project (Rochester, NY); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Wayne State University (Detroit, MI); and Working for Togetherness (Chicago, IL).
Phillips G 2nd, Hightow-Weidman LB, Fields SD, Giordano TP, Outlaw AY, Halpern-Felsher B, Wohl AR. Experiences of community and parental violence among HIV-positive young racial/ethnic minority men who have sex with men. AIDS Care, July 2014; 26 (7): 827-834. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Phillips G 2nd, Outlaw AY, Wohl AR, Fields S, Hildalgo J, & Legrand S. Patterns of HIV Disclosure and Condom Use Among HIV-Infected Young Racial/Ethnic Minority Men Who Have Sex with Men. AIDS and Behavior, January 2013; 17 (1): 360-368. PubMed Abstract
Phillips G 2nd, Hightow-Weidman LB, Arya M, Fields SD, Halpern-Felsher B, Outlaw AY, Wohl AR, & Hidalgo J. HIV testing behaviors of a cohort of HIV-positive racial/ethnic minority YMSM. AIDS and Behavior, October 2012; 16(7): 1917-1925. PubMed Abstract
Tinsley M & Xavier J. Outreach, Care and Prevention to Engage HIV Seropositive Young Men of Color Who Have Sex with Men: A Special Project of National Significance Program Initiative. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S1-S2. (No abstract available).
Phillips G 2nd, Wohl A, Xavier J, Jones K, Hidalgo J. Epidemiologic data on young men of color who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S3-S8. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Jones K, Phillips G 2nd, Wohl A, Giordano TP; and the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Baseline clinical characteristics, antiretroviral therapy use, and viral load suppression among HIV-positive young men of color who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S9-S14. PubMed Abstract
Hidalgo J, Coombs E, Cobbs WO, Green-Jones M, Phillips G 2nd, Wohl AR, Smith JC, Ramos AD, Fields SD, & the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Roles and challenges of outreach workers in HIV clinical and support programs serving young racial/ethnic minority men who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S15-S22. PubMed Abstract
Outlaw AY, Phillips G 2nd, Hightow-Weidman LB, Fields SD, Hidalgo J, Halpern-Felsher B, Green-Jones M; and the Young MSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Age of MSM sexual debut and risk factors: results from a multisite study of racial/ethnic minority YMSM living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S23-S29. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Jones K, Wohl AR, Futterman D, Outlaw A, Phillips G 2nd, Hidalgo J, Giordano TP; and the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Early linkage and retention in care: findings from the outreach, linkage, and retention in care initiative among young men of color who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S31-S38. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Phillips G 2nd, Jones KC, Outlaw AY, Fields SD, Smith JC; and the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Racial and sexual identity-related maltreatment among minority YMSM: prevalence, perceptions, and the association with emotional distress. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S39-S45. PubMed Abstract
Phillips G 2nd, Outlaw AY, Hightow-Weidman LB, Jones KC, Wohl AR, Futterman D, Skinner JA, Fields S, Hidalgo J; and the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Sexual Behaviors of Racial/Ethnic Minority Young Men Who Have Sex With Men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, August 25, 2011; 25 (Supplement 1): S47-S53. PubMed Abstract
Phillips G, Peterson J, Binson D, Hidalgo J, & Magnus M for the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. House/ball culture and adolescent African-American transgender persons and men who have sex with men: a synthesis of the literature. AIDS Care, April 2011; 23(4): 515-520. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Hurt CB, Phillips G 2nd, Jones K, Magnus M, Giordano TP, Outlaw A, Ramos D, Enriquez-Bruce E, Cobbs W, Wohl A, Tinsley M; and the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance among young men of color who have sex with men: a multicenter cohort analysis. Journal of Adolescent Health, January 2011; 48(1): 94-99. PubMed Abstract
Hightow-Weidman LB, Smith JC, Valera E, Matthews DD, & Lyons P. Keeping them in "STYLE": finding, linking, and retaining young HIV-positive black and Latino men who have sex with men in care. AIDS Patient Care and STDS, January 2011; 25(1): 37-45. PubMed Abstract
Outlaw AY, Naar-King S, Parsons JT, Green-Jones M, Janisse H, & Secord E. Using Motivational Interviewing in HIV Field Outreach With Young African American Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Randomized Clinical Trial. American Journal of Public Health, April 1, 2010; 100 (Supplement 1): S146-151. PubMed Abstract
Magnus M, Jones K, Phillips G, Binson D, Hightow-Weidman LB, Richards-Clarke C, Wohl AR, Outlaw A, Giordano TP, Quamina A, Cobbs W, Fields SD, Tinsley M, Cajina A, & Hidalgo J, for the YMSM of Color SPNS Initiative Study Group. Characteristics Associated With Retention Among African American and Latino Adolescent HIV-Positive Men: Results From the Outreach, Care, and Prevention to Engage HIV-Seropositive Young MSM of Color Special Project of National Significance Initiative. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, April 1, 2010: 53 (4): 529-536. PubMed Abstract
Hightow LB, Leone PA, Macdonald PD, McCoy SI, Sampson LA, & Kaplan AH. Men who have sex with men and women: a unique risk group for HIV transmission on North Carolina College campuses. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, October 2006; 33 (10): 585-593. PubMed Abstract
Fields SD, Wharton MJ, Marrero AI, Little A, Pannell K, & Morgan JH. Internet chat rooms: connecting with a new generation of young men of color at risk for HIV who have sex with other men. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, November-December 2006; 17(6): 53-60. PubMed Abstract