Social Capital as Intervention: A Pilot Telehealth Trial (Tele-B6) Among Young Black Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV

Abstract

Young Black sexual minority men (YB-SMM) who are living with HIV not only face numerous challenges to their health but also demonstrate a range of resilience processes that can be augmented to improve HIV care engagement. We adapted a previously developed in-person group intervention, Brothers Building Brothers By Breaking Barriers, into a remotely delivered telehealth program (Tele-B6), with a goal to enhance existing resilience by building social capital and affirming intersectional identities among YB-SMM living with HIV. We enrolled 60 participants in Atlanta, Georgia, into a pilot randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control design, to examine feasibility, acceptability, and safety of Tele-B6. Our evaluation included brief postsession evaluation surveys, fidelity checklists completed by facilitators, and longitudinal in-depth surveys conducted at baseline and 2-month intervals up through 6 months post-enrollment. Overall, we found that Tele-B6 was feasible to implement, highly acceptable to participants, and safe. Exploratory analyses also suggested potential improvement in general well-being and social capital, though interpretation of these results is limited given the small sample size. Tele-B6 is a promising intervention with potential for scalability and impact for supporting YB-SMM in HIV care.

ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT05829759.