HiFi Lab develops and tests culturally-responsible intervention strategies that can be integrated and targeted to address determinants of HIV infection among African and African diaspora communities. Our research projects employ a range of research traditions, designs and methods including randomized controlled trials, structural equation modeling, ethnography and systematic reviews.
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities in Ontario are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, representing only 4.7% of the population of Ontario, yet accounting for 30% of the HIV prevalence and 27% of new infections in the province. There is substantial clinical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of PrEP for the prevention of HIV. However, PrEP uptake among ACB individuals in Ontario remains abysmally low and barriers to ACB uptake include a combination of individual and structural factors. We plan to adapt and implement an evidence-based strategy, Client-Centered Care Coordination (C4), to increase PrEP use among Black Ontarians. In collaboration with two Black serving community organizations and other community service providers, this work will include two main phases, the first is the use of focus groups and semi-structured interviews with PrEP-eligible Black individuals to identify the specific structural barriers affecting uptake and use of PrEP. We will then use these findings in the second phase of the study to adapt and scale C4 in one community health center and one AIDS Service Organization to improve the uptake and use of PrEP among PrEP-eligible people from ACB communities. Lessons learned from this project will enable us to scale up this intervention in other ACB communities in Canada to reach zero new HIV infections.