Perspectives on academic mentorship from sexual and gender minority students pursuing careers in the health sciences.

High-quality academic mentorship is key to the success of students pursuing careers in the health sciences. Mentorship may take on additional importance for sexual and gender minority (SGM) students, who often face stressors related to stigmatized identities. We conducted an anonymous online survey to assess the mentorship experiences of SGM students pursuing careers in the health sciences and to elicit their perspectives on what makes an effective mentor. Students (N = 166) were pursuing a variety of health-related careers, including medicine (12.7%), nursing (7.8%), public health (21.1%), and social work (19.3%). Overall, students rated the quality of their mentorship experiences as (very) good: 83.8% among participants who reported having had an academic mentor that openly identified as SGM and 79.5% among participants who had a non-SGM identified mentor (ns). Participants recommended individual, dyadic and structural level activities that could be undertaken by academic mentors of SGM students to promote the students' academic success and positive career trajectories. Education on SGM issues, direct conversation about experiences of homophobia and transphobia in academic settings, and advocacy for including SGM content in coursework were among the suggestions provided by participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Intervention to Increase HIV Testing Among Substance-Using Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and transgender people in the Detroit Metro Area are the only risk group for whom the incidence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) has increased since 2000, with HIV incidence nearly doubling among youth. Substance use (including alcohol), which is relatively frequent among YMSM and transgender people, creates barriers to the optimal delivery of HIV prevention and care services. Standard HIV counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) is limited in providing strategies to identify and address substance use. Hence, in its current form, CTR may not be serving the prevention needs of substance-using YMSM and transgender people. Brief counseling interventions, grounded in principles of motivational interviewing, may offer a mechanism to meet the HIV prevention and care needs of substance-using YMSM and transgender people. OBJECTIVE: This prospective, 4-arm, factorial randomized controlled trial aims to examine the efficacy of an motivational interviewing-based substance use brief intervention (SUBI) on participants' substance use and engagement in HIV prevention. METHODS: The research implements a prospective randomized controlled trial (Project Swerve) of 600 YMSM and transgender people recruited both online and in person. Eligibility criteria include participants who (1) are between the ages of 15 to 29 years, (2) live in the Detroit Metro Area, (3) self-identify as a man or transgender man or woman, (4) have had sexual contact with a man in the 6 months before enrollment, (5) self-report binge drinking or any substance use in the 3 months before enrollment, and (6) self-report an unknown or negative HIV status upon enrollment. Participants are randomized to receive, 3-months apart starting at baseline, 2 individual sessions. Sessions are CTR-only, SUBI-only, CTR followed by SUBI, or SUBI followed by CTR. RESULTS: Project Swerve was launched in April 2017 and enrollment is ongoing. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating a SUBI that utilizes the principles of motivational interviewing into HIV CTR provides an opportunity to tailor counseling services for YMSM and transgender people to address additional client barriers to HIV and STI testing. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02945436; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02945436 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yFyOK57w).

Factors Associated with Immunization Opinion Leadership among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California.

We sought to identify the characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) who are opinion leaders on immunization issues and to identify potential opportunities to leverage their influence for vaccine promotion within MSM communities. Using venue-based sampling, we recruited and enrolled MSM living in Los Angeles (N = 520) from December 2016 to February 2017 and evaluated characteristic differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and technology use among those classified as opinion leaders versus those who were not. We also asked respondents about their past receipt of meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY) and meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines, as well as their opinions on the importance of 13 additional vaccines. Multivariable results revealed that non-Hispanic black (aOR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.17⁻5.95) and other race/ethnicity (aOR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.41⁻6.29) respondents, as well as those with a history of an STI other than HIV (aOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.10⁻3.48), were more likely to be opinion leaders. MenACWY (aOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.13⁻3.25) and MenB (aOR = 3.09; 95% CI: 1.77⁻5.41) vaccine uptake, and perceived importance for these and seven additional vaccines, were also associated with being an opinion leader. The results suggest that the co-promotion of vaccination and other health promotion initiatives via opinion leaders could be a useful strategy for increasing vaccination among MSM.