Moderated Effects of Latinx Ethnicity for a Stepped-Care, Technology and Counseling-Based Intervention (Positive STEPS) on Antiretroviral Adherence and Viral Load Suppression Among Youths With HIV, United States, 2018‒2023.

We report findings from a secondary analysis examining moderated effects by Latinx ethnicity of an efficacious, stepped-care, technology and counseling-based intervention-Positive Strategies to Enhance Problem-Solving Skills (Positive STEPS)-to improve antiretroviral adherence and viral load suppression among adolescents and young adults with HIV in the United States. Latinx participants randomized to the Positive STEPS arm, relative to a standard-of-care control, experienced equal or greater improvements in antiretroviral adherence and viral load suppression compared with their non-Latinx peers. These findings suggest that Positive STEPS addresses unique behavioral and psychosocial barriers to HIV treatment adherence and viral load suppression among Latinx adolescents and young adults. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03092531 (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(S1):S36-S41. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308341).