Faculty Research Spotlight: Dr. Alex Washington
Engaging Students in Community-based and Health Research involving Ethnic and Sexual Minority Populations
Dr. Alex Washington works with student research assistants, Angel Morales and Nicholos Malone, in two current research projects, the PrEP Project, and the Peer Promotion of Wellness and Enhancement to Resources (PPOWER2). The PrEP Project, funded in part by Kensington Research Institute and research stimulation funds, involves understanding barriers and challenges to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM). PrEP (namely Truvada and Descovy) is a once-a-day pill that can be prescribed and taken to prevent HIV infection among those who are HIV negative. The PPOWER2 project is funded by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and a collaborative project with Dr. Laura D’Anna, Director of the CSULB Center for Health Equity Research. PPOWER2 aims to prevent initiation and misuse of tobacco and cannabis among young Black MSM.
The undergraduate student, Nicholas Malone, will be presenting, along with Dr. Washington, the results of one paper from the PrEP Project during the CHHS Week of Research, April 2021. The paper compares younger (aged 18-39) and older (ages 50+) MSM to determine their familiarity with PrEP, perceptions of stigma relating to PrEP use, and perceptions of barriers to PrEP adoption. The findings suggest that age-appropriate PrEP educational campaigns are advisable in order to reach older MSM and encourage more of them to consider PrEP adoption.
The MSW student, Angel Ramos, is a co-author of a peer-reviewed publication that has been recently accepted for publication (**forthcoming 2021) in the Urban Social Work journal. In the paper, entitled, “Alcohol and condomless insertive anal intercourse among Black and Latino sexual-minority male non-PrEP users,” logistic regression predicted those reporting risky sex when using alcohol were seven times more likely to report condomless insertive anal sex. The findings suggest that clear messaging about alcohol moderation, dispelling the myths about strategic positioning, and PrEP use among HIV-negative Black and Latino MSM could potentially reduce HIV acquisition/transmission.
**Washington,TA., Brocato, J., Applewhite, S., Dyson, Y., and Ramos, A. (2021). Alcohol and condomless insertive anal intercourse among Black/Latino sexual-minority male non-PrEP users. Urban Social Work, 5(1), 43-58.
