El Camino HIV Prevention and Care Study

The Camino Study evaluates a status-neutral, multi-level pilot intervention designed to improve HIV prevention and care engagement among Latin Americans with unmet HIV prevention and care needs. The intervention combines legal services with peer navigation to reduce fear of healthcare engagement, reduce stress, and improve access to HIV prevention and care services. The study will enroll 50 Latin American participants in the Washington, DC, and Oakland, California areas. Using a quasi-experimental wait-list control design, the study will compare HIV outcomes among participants who receive the Camino intervention with those on a rolling waitlist over 18 months. Primary outcomes include HIV testing within the past six months and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), as well as HIV care visit attendance, antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, and viral load among people living with HIV. The study will also examine legal, social, and mental health factors associated with HIV prevention and care engagement and assess the feasibility of testing the intervention at a larger scale.