HIV
May 19, 2023
Predoctoral researcher Tessa Concepcion receives award to support integration of long-acting PrEP methods into antenatal care in Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV, Research, students
Tessa Concepcion, a second-year PhD student in the Global Health Implementation Science Program, recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to fund her predoctoral research with Global WACh at UW and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Kenya.
The three-year grant titled, “Planning for delivery of novel PrEP formulations to pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya,” leverages the ongoing mWACh-PrEP randomized trial (MPIs: John Kinuthia, KNH and Jillian Pintye, UW)—a SMS-based support intervention to enhance PrEP adherence during pregnancy through the postpartum period—to identify pregnant and postpartum women’s preferences for novel PrEP agents and identify early process indicators for implementing these options in MCH systems. This proposal was guided by the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation and Sustainment (EPIS) framework to answer questions related to implementation of LA-PrEP for pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya. (more…)
March 31, 2023
Sikiliza Mama study centers patients’ needs to inform perinatal mental health services
Categories: HIV, Mental Health, Research
Sikiliza Mama study team members from left to right: Ben Ochieng, Joan Mutahi, Helen Moraa, Winnie Atieno, Anna Larsen
The Sikiliza Mama (Kiswahili for “Listen to Mama”) study, funded by a UW Behavioral Research Center for HIV (BIRCH) Community Centered Pilot AIDS Research Center (C-PARC) award, recently initiated qualitative data collection.
The team is using a human-centered design approach to conduct in-depth interviews among perinatal women with likely depression and/or anxiety to evaluate acceptability of existing formal and informal mental health services.
The findings can help inform patient-centered perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) services for women at risk for HIV and women living with HIV and result in better maternal and infant outcomes. (more…)
March 22, 2023
New review of WHO HIV testing guidelines to increase uptake of testing services
Categories: HIV, Publication
A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in PLOS Medicine informed World Health Organization (WHO) 2019 HIV testing guidelines and assessed the research question, “Which demand creation strategies are effective for enhancing uptake of HIV testing services?” focused on populations globally.
HIV testing services (HTS) are the first step in reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals for HIV management and control. Evaluating the effectiveness of different demand creation interventions to increase uptake of HTS is useful to prioritize limited programmatic resources.
Read the full review by contributing Global WACh authors Anjuli Wagner, Irene Njuguna, Jill Neary, Kendall Lawley, Diana Louden (UW Libraries), Ruchi Tiwari, Wenwen Jiang, Dorothy Mangale, Jaclyn Escudero, Michelle Bulterys, Chloe Waters, Hannah Han, and Alison Drake.
September 19, 2022
Ashenafi Cherkos accepts faculty position at University of North Texas
Congratulations to Ashenafi Cherkos, PhD Candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Global WACh student trainee, who accepted a tenure track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Texas. (more…)
August 4, 2022
Laurén Gómez awarded young investigator prizes at the 2022 International AIDS Society Conference
Categories: Awards, HIV, PrEP, Research
Laurén Gómez (second to right) stands with other winners selected for the IAS/MSD Prize for Research in HIV Prevention
At the 2022 International AIDS Society Conference, Laurén Gómez, a Research Coordinator with Global WACh, was selected as a winner of the Lange/van Tongeren Prize for Young Investigators (co-partnered with ANRS – France Recherche Nord & Sud Sida-HIV Hépatites) and the Prize for Research in HIV Prevention (co-partnered with MSD – Merck Sharpe & Dohme).
The young investigator awards support early career researchers who demonstrate innovation, originality, rationale and quality in the field of HIV research. The prizes are granted to the top-scoring abstract in each of the five tracks: Track A – Basic and translational research; Track B – Clinical research; Track C – Epidemiology and prevention research; Track D – Social and political research, law, policy and human rights; and Track E – Implementation research, economics, systems and synergies with other health and development sectors. The Prize for Research in HIV Prevention is given to the top-scoring abstracts with a focus on prevention research that addresses critical knowledge gaps and links new evidence to program priorities in the response to the HIV pandemic. Laurén received both awards for the Track C abstract titled, “Association of prenatal PrEP exposure with neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes beyond 24 months among Kenyan children.” (more…)
Researchers present latest scientific evidence at Pediatric HIV Workshop and AIDS 2022
Categories: Conferences, COVID-19, HIV, Research
Our researchers presented 12 poster abstracts and one oral presentation featuring the latest evidence from their studies, in relation to long-acting HIV treatment and prevention technologies, integrated and differentiated models of care, and monitoring and innovations in service delivery. Laurén Gómez, a Research Coordinator at UW, was selected as a winner of the Lange/van Tongeren Prize for Young Investigators (co-partnered with ANRS – France Recherche Nord & Sud Sida-HIV Hépatites) and the Prize for Research in HIV Prevention (co-partnered with MSD – Merck Sharpe & Dohme). Learn more about Laurén’s analysis that aimed to address safety gaps in the impacts of prenatal pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on growth and development in early childhood. See a list of accepted abstracts for both scientific gatherings below.
March 29, 2022
New publication on implementation of HIV retesting guidelines for pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya
Categories: HIV, Publication, Uncategorized
The February 2022 edition of Global Health: Science and Practice features a new publication by UW Global WACh students, Monalisa Penumetsa (DGH MPH alumni) and Epidemiology PhD student Jillian Neary, and faculty (Drs. Alison Drake and Grace John-Stewart).
The “Implementation of HIV Retesting During Pregnancy and Postpartum in Kenya: A Cross Sectional Study” they supported aimed to measure the prevalence of maternal HIV retesting in Kenya, and HIV incidence among Kenyan mothers. (more…)
March 23, 2022
Tunza Mwana study researchers enroll 350 participants amid COVID-19 limitations
Categories: HIV
Global WACh’s Tunza Mwana study recently celebrated an important milestone. The team has been working in Migori County, Kenya, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to enroll mother-baby pairs in a long term, prospective cohort study. sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and led by Christine McGrath, Grace Aldrovandi, and Benson Singa. The study was created to evaluate the association between maternal HIV infection and infant health outcomes through breast-milk mediated pathways, which can help practitioners determine the best possible care for HIV positive mothers and their children. (more…)
November 10, 2021
Researchers present latest findings to support adolescents living with HIV at Adherence 2021
Categories: HIV, Research, Youth
Adherence 2021, hosted by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care and held from November 7-9, 2021, focused on state-of-the-science evidence, best practices, and the real-world implementation of behavioral, clinical, structural, and other interventions to maximize the therapeutic and preventative effects of antiretroviral agents. The annual conference provides a forum for discussion and presentation of implementation science focused on closing evidence-to-practice gaps across the HIV prevention and care continua, as well as community engagement in planning, implementing, and monitoring HIV responses in affected communities.
Below are three abstracts by Global WACh researchers and collaborators that showcase the latest discoveries in interventions to improve outcomes in adolescents living with HIV in Kenya.
November 1, 2021
Global WACh Graduate Certificate Student Sarah Hicks helps facilitate a virtual workshop to identify best PrEP delivery approaches in maternal-child health clinics in Kenya
Categories: Certificate Program, HIV, PrEP, students
For the required 90-hour Global WACh Certificate capstone, Sarah Hicks, a 2nd year student in the Department of Epidemiology, wanted to use the opportunity to join a HIV research team to understand what goes on “behind the scenes” of a large international study and to build on quantitative data management and processing skills.
The PrEP Optimized for Mothers: Efficient PrEP Integration in MCH Clinics (PrEPARE) study, led by investigators Dr. Anjuli Wagner and John Kinuthia from the Department of Global Health, was a natural fit. PrEPARE seeks to identify ways to improve the efficiency of PrEP integration within maternal-child health (MCH) clinics in Kenya through stakeholder engagement, identifying challenges to implementation in the health system, and piloting and evaluating optimized MCH-PrEP approaches that decrease health care workers’ workload and enhance client experiences. (more…)
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