Methodology: Theoretical Framework: The guiding principle of this community-based needs assessment project is intersectionality and community empowerment. To ensure this, community members (i.e. current and former international students who identify as East and Southeast Asian gbMSM) were engaged in the entire process of the project, including planning and development of project objectives, data collection, and analysis of the project. Four members of the community of interest were also recruited and sat on the project’s advisory committee to ensure comprehensive analysis and engagement with affected stakeholders. To promote community capacity-building and meaningful engagement with our community, the project recruited and trained three Peer Outreach Workers (POW) who are current and past East and Southeast Asian ISgbMSM. Our POWs helped lead the outreach and recruitment for participants for all stages of the project, while also being engaged at all stages of the project planning and execution, including research tool development, data collection (e.g. interviewing participants), data analysis, and dissemination. POWs also underwent various training sessions, including introductions to community-based needs assessment, developing data collection tools (e.g. survey design and key informant interviews), and data analysis (e.g. qualitative thematic analysis). Design: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study design was used to explore the HIV prevention needs of East and Southeast Asian international students identifying as gay, bisexual, or as men who have sex with men (ISgbMSM) studying in Toronto. Specifically, this project also sought to explore the broader settlement experiences of East and Southeast Asian ISgbMSM, and how individual, interpersonal and structural barriers contributed to HIV vulnerability among this population, and what are possible solutions to help address these gaps. Participant Inclusion Criteria: In order to participate, project participants of our project must be: at least 18 years of age; a current or recent (within five years) international student that studied in Toronto; having arrived from an East or Southeast Asian country; self-identify as a gay, bisexual, queer, or man who has sex with men; and must be able to read, understand and converse in any of the languages in which the surveys/interviews were offered in (including English, Vietnamese, Mandarin or Cantonese). These criteria were confirmed through a self-reporting screening questionnaire.
ACAS2019/2020 ANNUAL REPORT
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