Community-Based HIV Prevention Interventions for Sexual and Gender Minorities

Community-based interventions have become integral to reducing HIV incidence among sexual and gender minorities by mobilising peer support, addressing structural barriers and integrating biomedical and social strategies. Such programmes operate within affected communities, blending person-centred outreach with culturally tailored education, testing and prevention services. Key elements include peer navigators who provide emotional and logistical support, partnerships between health centres and community-based organisations to expand access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and tailored multimedia campaigns to promote testing. By responding to social determinants such as stigma, legal status and language access, these interventions foster trust, enhance service uptake and improve adherence to prevention technologies. The integration of community-based participatory research ensures that programmes align with the lived experiences of diverse subgroups, including transgender women, ethnic minorities and immigrant populations. Recent advances have emphasised multilevel models that combine individual peer support, network mobilisation and structural change strategies, demonstrating promising effects on HIV testing frequency, PrEP initiation and sustained engagement in prevention care.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Community-Based HIV Prevention Interventions for Sexual and Gender Minorities publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in community-based hiv prevention interventions for sexual and gender minorities across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Peer navigator: A community member trained to guide individuals through prevention services, offering support and linkage to care.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): A biomedical HIV prevention strategy in which HIV-negative individuals take antiretroviral medication to reduce acquisition risk.
Community-based participatory research (CBPR): A collaborative research approach that involves community members in all phases of programme development and evaluation.
Combination prevention: The integration of biomedical, behavioural and structural interventions to address multiple facets of HIV risk.

References

1. Experiences of peer navigators implementing a bilingual multilevel intervention to address sexually transmitted infection and HIV disparities and social determinants of health. Health Expectations (2023).
2. Collaborative PrEP Implementation Strategies for Latino Men Who have Sex with Men: A Health Center-Community Consensus Process. Journal of Community Health (2023).
3. A Peer-Based Intervention to Increase HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Among Latinx Immigrant Sexual Minority Men in the US Pacific Northwest: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Conducted During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JMIR Formative Research (2023).