Building research capacity in local AIDS service organization to enhance HIV prevention efforts for young men who have sex with men

Community-engaged research can have a tremendous impact on HIV/AIDS services, yet few small AIDS service organizations (ASOs) have the capacity to conduct such research. Several ASOs in the Detroit metro area (DMA) have partnered with the University of Michigan to become a successful model for community-based research and capacity building to inform and design local HIV prevention interventions for young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Our collaborative work examines how structural and cultural factors exacerbate the HIV vulnerability of Black and Latino YMSM living in the DMA. Our presentation will focus on lessons learned during the two-year strategic planning process. Specifically, we discuss how ASOs in the collaborative have fortified their ability to use research to build up HIV prevention interventions, to develop advocacy efforts to impact HIV-related structural factors, and to increase ASOs' capacities to be active research partners. We present critical moments in the partnership as case studies to document how research efforts have provided agencies with a greater understanding of their clientele and opportunities to integrate evidence-based, structurally focused strategies into HIV/AIDS prevention programs and services. The case studies also illustrate how ASOs' needs continue to advance community mobilization and prevention research, strengthening our joint effort to propose structural and community-level interventions. We conclude our presentation by discussing the need to ensure academic-community partnerships work jointly in developing interventions focused on structural and community conditions of YMSM.