Improving HIV testing and prevention for young gay and bisexual men in Florida
Official title: Scaling Up Implementation Strategies to Improve the DIAGNOSE and PREVENT Pillars for Young MSM in Florida
Funded at Florida State University · NIH-11392844 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Helping clinics in Florida provide young gay and bisexual men with more age‑friendly HIV testing, counseling, and referrals for prevention like PrEP.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Florida State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tallahassee, United States) |
| Project start | August 4, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $999,879 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH132147-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11392844 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are young men who have sex with men in Florida who are seeking HIV testing, counseling, or prevention services at participating clinics.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside Florida, are not seeking clinic‑based HIV services, or are not in the targeted age/sexual‑behavior group are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
You would see clinics across Florida get targeted training and hands‑on support so they can offer better, developmentally appropriate HIV testing, counseling, and PrEP referrals to young men who have sex with men. Clinic staff will learn motivational interviewing and risk‑reduction counseling and receive centralized technical assistance. The team will use mystery shoppers (trained young people who check service quality) to spot gaps and guide improvements. Training and quality checks will be rolled out in stages across 42 Department of Health‑contracted sites in high‑need counties so changes can be tracked over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more young men could be diagnosed earlier and connected to prevention like PrEP, which could reduce new HIV infections.
How similar studies have gone: Motivational interviewing and PrEP referral programs have improved prevention outcomes before, but combining mystery‑shopper quality checks with statewide training at this scale is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Florida State University
Tallahassee, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Naar, Sylvie — Florida State University
- Study coordinator: Naar, Sylvie
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.