Mentored Scientist Award

Progress towards ending the HIV epidemic among Black American women, particularly among those living in the American south, is severely delayed. Data from international studies suggest that mobile and migrant women may be an especially vulnerable and underserved group within an already marginalized population. Yet, to date, the HIV implications of migration and mobility among Black American women have yet to be explored, despite evidence of an historic internal migration of Black Americans to southern urban centers. It is important to note that these estimates, which are based upon national population surveys, likely underestimate the true magnitude of internal migration among Black American women and fail to capture migration among transgender women – an increasingly visible and prominent group within the southern cultural landscape. The emergence of the US South as an epicenter of HIV inequities amid growing Black American gender diverse groups stress the urgency of research characterizing mobility and social network supports among women in the south, in addition to other forms of mobility. Particularly given the HIV inequities associated with mobility, which are likely to be compounded by barriers uniquely embedded in the southern health infrastructure. The aims of this study begin to address the above gaps by 1) describing and characterizing the intersection between geographic mobility, social networks, and HIV outcomes among Black women living with HIV in Atlanta, GA through qualitative in-depth interviews, and 2) developing a measurement tool for examining culturally relevant social network support domains for mobile and migrant Black women via cognitive interviewing methods. The data and measures generated from this study will be used to support an extramural funding application for further examining HIV determinants among gender diverse Black American mobile and migrant women in the south.