Transgender HIV prevention: Community involvement and empowerment

In the context of a paradigm shift toward transgender coming out and empowerment, we mobilized a core group of transgender community representatives to develop targeted HIV prevention education. Focus groups assessed transgender-specific prevention needs and enabled participants to become invested in the project. Community members designed and distributed recruitment materials. Trained peer educators facilitated a workshop. A video created by transgender artists personalized HIV/AIDS for participants, a panel of transgender persons living with HIV/AIDS enhanced perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, and sexually explicit materials depicting transgender role models eroticized safer sex. A transexual community activist facilitated a special segment on empowerment and building community. Community involvement ensured cultural sensitivity of program intervention and evaluation. Together, these strategies helped the community take ownership of the project and raised the credibility of the prevention message. Further universitycommunity collaboration in HIV prevention research is recommended.