Exploring Individual and Structural Factors Associated with Employment Among Young Transgender Women of Color Using a No-Cost Transgender Legal Resource Center

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore individual and structural factors associated with employment among young transgender women (TW) of color. Methods: Sixty-five trans women of color were recruited from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund to complete a 30-min interviewer-assisted survey assessing sociodemographics, housing, workplace discrimination, job-seeking self-efficacy, self-esteem, perceived public passability, and transactional sex work. Results: Logistic regression models revealed that stable housing (structural factor) and job-seeking self-efficacy (individual factor) were significantly associated with currently being employed. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the need for multilevel approaches to assist TW of color gain employment

How Sex of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Access to Treatment Services Relates to Parental Stress

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience higher levels of stress in comparison to parents of neurotypical children and consequently are more susceptible to negative health and social outcome

540 Diversifying SC CTSI’s Message: Successfully Leveraging Multi-Platform Social Media for Multi-Audience Dissemination

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We explain our multi-platform, multi-audience approach to stakeholder engagement/communication, discuss KPIs for our Instagram accounts, and highlight five top performing posts. Finally, we provide tips to Hubs who would like to tailor and optimize their social media approach. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We employed Uses & Gratifications theory and formative research with stakeholders to inform our social media strategy. We run two Instagram accounts (main CTSI & Community Engagement [CE]), one Facebook page (CE), and one Twitter/X page (main CTSI). To understand impact, we collected social media analytics on both Instagram accounts (main CTSI and Community Engagement-specific accounts) to ascertain four social media-related Key Performance Indicators since the inception of the two accounts: reach, impressions, growth rate, and engagement. Additionally, we examined the five top-performing posts on each account that gave us insights into trending topics and ideas for future content. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: From January 2023 to October 2023, the reach for the main account was 3,578 and 38,235 for CE. The number of profile visits for the main account was 474 and 2,703 for CE. Engagement data on Instagram is only available for the last 90 days. For the main account, the number of post likes, comments and shares was 622 and 2,700 for CE. The views and reach for the five top-performing posts on the main and CE accounts ranged in the thousands. The content of the top-performing posts for the main CTSI account varied between highlighting our KL2 scholars' accomplishments, recap of campus-wide research events, and advertisements for upcoming educational webinars. CE’s top posts varied between highlighting their work in a South LA housing community, recaps of large community health events, and interviews with local key leaders. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: CTSA Hubs have an ethical obligation to keep their local academic and community audiences apprised of their activities. Creating a formative research and theoretically-informed social media plan that varies by platform, and regularly evaluating performance insights allows us to track the type of content that appeals to our multiple audiences

Development of an HIV Prevention Intervention for African American Young Men Who Have Sex With Men (Y2Prevent): Study Protocol

BackgroundAfrican American young men who have sex with men (YMSM) possess many intersecting identities that may increase their vulnerability to social stigmatization and discrimination, which yields a negative influence on their well-being and behaviors. These experiences often manifest as increased general and sexual risk-taking behaviors that place this particular group at an increased risk for HIV. This scenario is exacerbated by the lack of HIV prevention interventions specifically designed for African American YMSM. ObjectiveIn this paper, we discuss the development of research designed to refine, pilot, and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a behavioral intervention designed to build resilience and reduce substance use and HIV risk behaviors among African American YMSM. The overarching aim of this research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is to further refine and pilot test an intervention called Young Men’s Adult Identity Monitoring (YM-AIM). YM-AIM is a theory-driven, group-level intervention designed to help African American YMSM develop a healthy vision for their future (or possible future self) by defining a set of short-term and long-term goals in the areas of education, health, family, and intimate relationships. MethodsThrough partnerships with community members and community-based organizations, we will further strengthen and refine YM-AIM to include 3 new components: biomedical HIV prevention strategies (pre-exposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis); HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and HIV care referral, drug screening, and drug treatment referral; and a youth mentoring component. We will recruit African American YMSM, aged 18 to 24 years, into 2 working groups; each group will consist of 6 to 8 members and will convene on a weekly basis, and each meeting will focus on one specific YM-AIM topic. This feedback will be used to further refine the intervention, which will then be evaluated for its feasibility and acceptability. Intervention outcomes include drug use in the past 30 days and 3 months, alcohol use, condomless sex, number of sex partners, and increasing condom use intention, condom use self-efficacy, HIV and STI testing recency and frequency, and linkage to care. ResultsAs of June 2022, we completed phase 1 of Y2Prevent and launched phase 2 of Y2Prevent to begin recruitment for working group participants. Phase 3 of Y2Prevent is anticipated to be launched in September and is expected to be completed by the end of this project period in December 2022. ConclusionsFew youth-focused interventions have sought to help youth identify and develop the skills needed to navigate the social and structural factors that contribute to individual-level engagement in prevention among sexual minority youth. This research seeks to promote young men’s adoption and maintenance of HIV-protective behaviors (eg, safer sex, pre-exposure prophylaxis use, HIV and STI testing, and health care use). International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/3671

How Sex of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Access to Treatment Services Relates to Parental Stress

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience higher levels of stress in comparison to parents of neurotypical children and consequently are more susceptible to negative health and social outcomes (Dunn et al., 2001). However, less is known about how individual child characteristics impact stress levels in parents of children with ASD. In this study, we examined the relationship between individual characteristics (i.e., sex) of children with ASD and parental stress. Access to comprehensive treatment services was also examined as a contributing factor to parental stress. Parenting stress was higher for parents of girls than for parents of boys, and for parents of girls (but not boys) fewer services predicted higher parental distress. Findings highlight the importance of providing parents of girls with ASD with more tailored support

Health and service utilization among a sample of gender-diverse youth of color: the TRUTH study.

BACKGROUND: While there is growing research considering the experiences of transgender youth whose identities align with the gender binary, especially among young trans women, there are significantly fewer studies that accurately capture data about nonbinary youth, and even fewer studies capturing the experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth of color. The purpose of this research was to assess the prevalence of sexual health behaviors, mental health challenges, substance use, and healthcare utilization among Black/African American, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, indigenous and multi-racial/ethnic TGD youth, who have been largely underrepresented in research. METHODS: A total of 108 TGD youth ages 16-24 were recruited into the Trans Youth of Color Study (TRUTH). Each participant completed a 90-min survey administered by a research assistant with more sensitive information collected using ACASI. In addition to a completing a survey administered by research staff, participants also participated in specimen collection, which included urine sampling to assess recent substance use without a prescription, self-collected rectal/frontal and throat swabs to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia, and a blood draw to test for recent use of drugs, gonorrhea and chlamydia, and syphilis. The sample was recruited at public venues, community outreach and referral, through social media outreach, and via participant referral. Cross-sectional analyses were from a single study visit. RESULTS: Compared to rates among their cisgender peers, participants reported experiencing adverse social and structural determinants of health-e.g. food insecurity (61%), housing instability (30%), and limited access to healthcare (26% had no place to go for healthcare)-and elevated rates of illicit drug use (19-85%), mental health problems (e.g. 60% self-reported depression), and involvement in sexual risk-related behaviors (e.g. among those reporting penetrative sex 57-67% reported sex without a condom). CONCLUSIONS: This study adds descriptions of both mental and sexual health outcomes of a non-clinical sample of TGD youth to the literature, particularly among young transgender men and gender nonbinary youth, who have frequently been excluded from previous studies of sexual health. The findings document experiences and behaviors among TGD youth that contribute to mental and sexual health concerns, including rates of substance use, and healthcare utilization

Network correlates of sexual health advice seeking and substance use among members of the Los Angeles House and Ball communities

House and Ball communities (HBCs), represent a prime context for human immunodeficiency virus prevention with African American young men who have sex with men and transgender persons. This study sought to understand the composition and function of social support and sexual networks of HBC members in Los Angeles, California (N = 263). Participants were recruited using venue-based sampling and asked to report on sexual health advice seeking, alcohol use and illicit substance use. Participants were more likely to seek sexual health advice from social support network members compared with sexual network members [odds ratio (OR): 2.50, P < 0.001]. HBC members were more likely to get drunk (OR: 1.57; P < 0.05) and use illicit substances (OR: 1.87; P < 0.10) with House members and sexual network members compared with non-House members and social support network members. Health promotion programs tailored for the HBC should encourage open communication regarding sexual health; these interventions must include information about the role of substance use in sexual risk taking