Transgender Latinas' Perspectives on HIV PrEP Uptake, Condom Use, and Medically Supervised Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy: Insights From ChiCAS Qualitative Interviews.

Transgender Latinas identified sexual health and avoiding discrimination as primary health-related priorities.

• This was one of six themes that emerged from thematic analysis with inductive coding of postintervention interviews.
• Participants expressed concerns about discrimination in healthcare settings as a barrier to accessing health services.
• Sexual health was framed as a central concern among the 28 ChiCAS participants interviewed.

Building a safe and collaborative community was identified as highly important to transgender Latina participants.

• This emerged as a distinct theme from the qualitative analysis of 28 semistructured postintervention interviews.
• Participants valued the sense of community created within the ChiCAS intervention setting.
• The theme of safe community was considered a key component for future intervention design.

Participants valued interactive education that included time for sharing personal stories and group discussion.

• This was identified as one of six major themes emerging from thematic analysis.
• The interactive and narrative-sharing format was viewed positively by ChiCAS participants.
• This finding suggests that peer storytelling and discussion are valued educational modalities in this population.

PrEP uptake among transgender Latinas was facilitated through increased awareness and health care navigation support.

• Participants reported that ChiCAS helped them become more aware of PrEP as an HIV prevention option.
• Health care navigation assistance was identified as a key facilitator of PrEP initiation or consideration.
• This theme was one of six that emerged from interviews with 28 postintervention participants.

Access to gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) was shaped by cost, clinic location, and individual transition goals.

• Cost was identified as a significant barrier to accessing medically supervised GAHT.
• Clinic location and geographic accessibility also influenced whether participants pursued GAHT.
• Individual goals related to gender transition varied among participants and affected their interest in and use of GAHT.

Participants suggested ChiCAS could be improved by providing more detailed information about PrEP and GAHT and by fostering greater social connection.

• Requests for more in-depth PrEP and GAHT information indicate that the intervention's educational content could be expanded.
• Participants expressed a desire for more opportunities for social bonding and connection within the intervention.
• This theme was identified through inductive coding as one of six emerging from 28 postintervention interviews.

ChiCAS was designed as an intervention to increase PrEP, condom, and GAHT use among transgender Latinas, a population with elevated HIV risk but few targeted behavioral interventions.

• The study authors note 'there is a dearth of HIV prevention behavioral interventions for transgender Latinas, despite this population's HIV risk.'
• ChiCAS stands for Chicas Creando Acceso a la Salud.
• The study used semistructured interviews with 28 ChiCAS participants conducted postintervention.
• Thematic analysis with inductive coding was the analytic approach.