(CNSNews.com) – The National Institutes of Health through its National Institute on Drug Abuse hasawarded $226,364 to the University of California San Francisco to develop “a culturally relevant” intervention aimed at improving “post-incarceration health care engagement among transgender women.”
“Incarceration is a significant public health issue that disproportionately impacts transgender women, and the cycle of incarceration interacts with high levels of substance use, mental illness, and HIV to produce an elevated burden of disease among this population,” the grant abstract stated.
“The purpose of this study is to develop and pilot test the first culturally relevant, theory-driven adaptation of the evidence-based intervention Project START to improve post-incarceration health care engagement among transgender women,” it stated.
The intervention, titled Trans START, will “focus on improving linkage to and engagement in four health care domains (HIV, substance use, mental health, and transgender-related medical care), responsive to each participant’s self-identified needs.”
“Gender differences in health, post-release service needs, and predictors of engagement in healthcare call for gender-specific strategies. This adaptation of Project START will incorporate an innovative, transgender-specific theoretical model, the Model of Gender Affirmation,” the grant stated.
“Unmet need for gender affirmation predicts HIV risk among HIV-trans women and treatment failure among those who are living with HIV, and access to gender affirmation is related to better mental health,” it added.
Researchers will conduct “qualitative interviews with 15-20 trans women who are incarcerated in the San Francisco County Jail (SFCJ), prior to and after release.” Interviews will also be conducted with “5-10 key stakeholders who work with this population in SFJC and in the community.”
Researchers expect there will be higher rates of HIV testing and higher HIV medical appointment attendance for HIV-positive trans women as a result of their intervention.
The project start date and budget start date are listed as Sept. 15, 2014. The budget end date is listed as Aug. 31, 2015, and the project end date is listed for two years later on Aug. 31, 2017.
CNSNews.com attempted contacted Jeanne Sevelius, project leader for the grant, by email and phone for comment, but no response was given by press time.
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