Image of one pager.Adolescents and young adults in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV, with an estimated 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses occurring among 13 to 24 year olds. This is exacerbated by the relatively limited number of interventions designed with and for adolescents and young adults in mind, a critical part of addressing HIV incidence among young people. Consequently, the rate of new HIV diagnoses is unlikely to reach the goal of a 90% decrease by 2030—a key goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative—unless immediate changes are made to approaches to HIV interventions for adolescents and young adults.

To improve HIV outcomes, several EHE-funded projects tested evidence-based approaches to engage adolescents and young adults in HIV care and prevention that support ethical, just, culturally sensitive, and developmentally appropriate HIV research. An article in the April 2025 open access supplemental issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) synthesizes key findings from five of these projects and highlights effective approaches with key examples on how to improve HIV research. The SISCI Team developed a one-page snapshot summarizing the article and project takeaways.

Adolescents and young adults in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV, with an estimated 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses occurring among 13 to 24 year olds. This is exacerbated by the relatively limited number of interventions designed with and for adolescents and young adults in mind, a critical part of addressing HIV incidence among young people. Consequently, the rate of new HIV diagnoses is unlikely to reach the goal of a 90% decrease by 2030—a key goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE) initiative—unless immediate changes are made to approaches to HIV interventions for adolescents and young adults.

To improve HIV outcomes, several EHE-funded projects tested evidence-based approaches to engage adolescents and young adults in HIV care and prevention that support ethical, just, culturally sensitive, and developmentally appropriate HIV research. An article in the April 2025 open access supplemental issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) synthesizes key findings from five of these projects and highlights effective approaches with key examples on how to improve HIV research. The SISCI Team developed a one-page snapshot summarizing the article and project takeaways.

JAIDS Supplemental Issue Snapshot: Evidence-Based Approaches to Engage Adolescents and Young Adults to End the HIV Epidemic.

More About the JAIDS Supplemental Issue

The JAIDS supplemental issue, “State of US HIV Implementation Science: Progress and Priorities to End the Epidemic by 2030,” (volume 98, supplement 5), was coordinated and edited by SISCI co-investigators. It aims to accelerate progress toward ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by examining key findings and takeaways from 120 National Institutes of Health-funded projects through 24 collaborative articles. The articles synthesize findings from a wide array of interventions, settings, target populations, and implementation strategies.

Cite the Snapshot Article: Macapagal K, Stoner M, Guss CE, Sukhija-Cohen AC, Moucheraud C, Saberi P, Maragh-Bass A. Lessons Learned in Engaging Adolescents and Young Adults to End the US HIV Epidemic. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS), 98(5S):e88-e97. https://doi.org/10.1097/qai.0000000000003616