Addressing Health Disparities among Transgender Women

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Investigator: Rachel Kaplan, PhD, MPH
Sponsor: NIH National Institute of Mental Health

Location(s): Lebanon

Description

 This study is important to public health because it will provide critical information about how to access and engage high-risk and highly stigmatized sexual minority populations such as transgender women. Because rates of HIV transmission and mental health problems are high among trans women, it is crucial to examine this population's sexual and mental health. Trans women are typically marginalized; they experience high rates of gender-related abuse, unstable housing, depression, and HIV risk behavior including the engagement in sex work for income. As public health researchers, we have only begun to understand which components of existing interventions might be efficacious for risk reduction and health promotion among trans women in the U.S. This study will investigate the cultural acceptability and feasibility of an adapted HIV prevention intervention that was originally developed for use among trans women in the U.S. A better understanding of culturally acceptable and feasible strategies for addressing sexual and mental health among trans women in Lebanon will aid the development and adaptation of health-promoting approaches in other international settings.