Resilience in low-income African American women living and aging with HIV.

Women are living with HIV into middle and older age and are likely to face multiple comorbidities and stressors as they age. This study focused on understanding how women who experience multiple forms of oppression and ongoing adversity are still able to adapt and stand strong. Using a theoretical framework of resilience and a feminist research ideology, interviews of eight middle-aged and older African American women living with HIV were analyzed. Despite experiences of HIV-related discrimination, trauma, and violence, these women demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and maintain support. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Reinventing Mpowerment for black men: long-term community implementation of an evidence-based program.

Although research on the dissemination of evidence-based programs to community providers has rapidly grown, research describing implementation of evidence-based efforts remains a central need. Insight on implementation may aid in developing approaches to assisting organizations to use a variety of evidence-based practices effectively and to improve the design of programs that can and will be used faithfully. This mixed-method case study provides a descriptive account of the implementation of an evidence-based program designed principally for white gay and bisexual young men, the Mpowerment Project, in the 4th and 5th years after its initial adoption by an organization serving black gay and bisexual men. We identify factors that have shaped how the program has evolved and is currently operated. The case study results highlight how the dynamic interaction of practice-based experiences, skills, relationships, local context, and practitioner judgments about the relevance and credibility of evidence for specific actions propel the reinvention of evidence-based program procedures. Implications for research and practice are provided.