Proposal Summary The conference series is aligned with the goals of the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Ending the Epidemic Plan for America. The conference site is in a major MSA in the Deep South, prioritizing at-risk populations (e.g., Black women, BMSM, youth, transgender individuals), and addressing the EtHE goals of the four pillars: Diagnose, Treat, Prevent, and Respond. The proposal dovetails with the mission of NIMHD and fulfills the program scope for reducing HIV-related stigma and HIV disparities through CBPR. If successful, the project will lead to subsequent grant applications to support CBPR-driven implementation programs in the Memphis MSA. The findings will advance scientific knowledge of the utility of personal accounts of internalized HIV stigma and how depictions of church hurt shape the perspectives of faith leaders and their call to action to address stigma. While we have hosted other conferences with faith leaders addressing HIV disparities, the proposed planning meetings will feature the preexisting photovoice displays from members of marginalized groups including Black men who have sex with men, Black transgender women, and aging adults recovering from substance abuse and suffering from mental illness. Discussing vulnerabilities of these subgroups at length in faith spaces are difficult given behaviors, and therefore we are taking great strides to extend conversations to unfold realistic methods to do so. Using CBPR-based approaches in these endeavors allows for diverse perspectives to inform and influence the development of new projects and programs.

Narrative This conference series aims to reduce HIV-related stigma and HIV disparities using a community-based participatory research approach, engaging influential gatekeepers and faith leaders in the Memphis metro area from faith- and community-based organizations and to lay the groundwork for disseminating a culturally- congruent photovoice intervention for faith contexts to address HIV stigma. We aim to bolster support from church leadership for people living with HIV, which may be an underused resource for many individuals – especially within Black communities, wherein religion is often a significant facet of their lives. Fortifying partnerships with Black churches and developing tailored messages for their congregation and nearby residents of these communities would be a conduit to the delivery of HIV services and prevention methods; strategies and activities that will help us to achieve maximum impact of reducing the community HIV burden will also be identified (i.e., faith based training and education to implement HIV care and prevention support).