Ain't I A Woman: Bridging Womanist Theory and HIV Implementation Science.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper explores how womanist theory. a framework grounded in the lived experiences, cultural knowledge, and spiritual traditions of Black women, can enhance HIV implementation science. We ask: How can womanist theory advance more equitable, effective, and culturally congruent HIV prevention, care, and treatment for Black women? RECENT FINDINGS: Black women account for 55% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. despite being only 13% of the female population. Traditional implementation strategies often fail to account for the structural racism, gendered stigma, and socio-spiritual factors that shape their experiences. Recent womanist-informed interventions have centered radical subjectivity, community, and spiritual wholeness to transform engagement, care, and healing. Womanist theory offers a vital and underutilized paradigm for designing HIV implementation strategies thatprioritize the wellness, agency, and leadership of Black women. By integrating womanist principles into studydesign, implementation processes, and evaluation, researchers and practitioners can develop more just andsustainable approaches to ending the HIV epidemic among Black women.