Enlaces Por La Salud: A Personal Health Navigator Intervention Grounded in the Transnational Framework

Abstract

Despite the disproportionate burden of HIV among Latinxs, there is a paucity of culturally appropriate interventions that have shown efficacy at increasing their engagement and retention in HIV care. We describe the development and implementation of Enlaces, a six-session, individual-level intervention, guided by the transnational framework, to improve HIV care outcomes for newly diagnosed and out-of-care Mexican men and transgender women (TW). Descriptive statistics summarizing baseline data and implementation outcomes are provided. 91 participants enrolled between October 2014 and August 2017. Intervention engagement and satisfaction was high; 81.3% completed all six sessions and 100% were very satisfied/satisfied with their experience. Successful implementation of the ENLACES intervention was the result of establishing client trust and maintaining a flexible, supportive approach to intervention delivery. Use of the transnational framework provided a contextualized approach to engaging with Mexican men and TW living with HIV that can be adapted to other Latino populations.