Description:

PrEP4Teens is an arts and advocacy-focused multimedia social marketing campaign aimed at increasing awareness about PrEP among Chicago-area LGBTQ and BIPOC adolescents. After three years of research and development, the campaign launched in November 2023. One year later, PrEP4Teens is running at full steam and in the process of transitioning from research to community stewardship. In this presentation, we will share lessons learned and “behind the scenes” examples of what it takes to make the campaign work, how we have engaged youth and community in PrEP4Teens activations, and our process for transitioning PrEP4Teens from research to community stewardship.

Presenters

Kathryn Macapagal, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, co-director of the TC CFAR’s Developmental Core, and associate director of the THRIVE Center within the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) at Northwestern. Macapagal is a leader of the PrEP4Teens campaign. Her behavioral interventions and implementation research leverages social media and technology to improve sexual health in LGBTQ adolescents and young adults.

Jim Pickett, of Jim Pickett Consulting, is a senior advisor at AVAC Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention. At AVAC, he directs the Choice Agenda project, a global initiative launched in 2022 that is focused on HIV prevention research and implementation. He previously worked at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago for 17 years, where he led the development and implementation of Chicago’s renown PrEP4Love social marketing and community mobilization campaign. Pickett is a leader of the PrEP4Teens campaign, which is inspired by PrEP4Love.

Chris Balthazar, PhD, is the executive director at TaskForce Chicago, a grassroots organization committed to improving the sexual health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth of color in Chicago. He serves on the TC CFAR’s Community Collaboration Board and works with Macapagal and Pickett on the PrEP4Teens campaign. Prior to his leadership role at TaskForce, Balthazar worked as a research project director at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County for over 10 years. At Cook County Health, he conducted critical HIV prevention and treatment research among LGBTQ+ youth of color.