International Health Institute

Treatment and Prevention of Infectious Disease

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Treatment and Prevention of Infectious Disease

Projects dedicated to treatments and prevention strategies to protect global health.

Projects

Harambee: Integrated Community-Based HIV/NCD Care & Microfinance Groups in Kenya

Multiple Principal Investigators: Omar Galarraga (Contact PI) and Becky L Genberg
Agency: NIH/NIMH (R01MH118075)
The objective of this project is to use a cluster randomized trial to demonstrate the effectiveness and longer-term sustainability of a differentiated care delivery model for improving HIV treatment outcomes. The central hypothesis is that the integration of HIV care delivery and community-based primary care with group-based microfinance will improve retention and rates of viral suppression among people living with HIV in Kenya via two mechanisms: improved household economic status and easier access to care.

Testing the Efficacy of Safe South Africa: An Intervention to Prevent HIV Risk and Interpersonal Violence Among Adolescent Boys

Investigators: Catherine Mathews and Caroline Kuo (Multi-Principal Investigators); Abigail Harrison (co-I) and others
Agency: NIH/NIMH (1R01MH129-161-01A1)
Our long-term goal is to prevent risk behaviors relating to HIV/STIs and IPV perpetration in a global priority population/setting by expanding our prevention toolbox through developmentally- and gender-tailored interventions. In this study, our overall objective is to test the efficacy of Safe South Africa, an integrated HIV-IPV intervention that uses correction of misperceived social norms to prevent HIV risk and IPV perpetration among adolescent boys 15-17 years. This efficacy trial focuses on individual-level prevention in Safe South Africa, complementing a school community-level prevention (R34MH124469) that we are currently testing.

Masibambane ('Ladies Chat'): Developing a Gender-Focused PrEP Information-Motivation Intervention for Young South-African Women

Investigators: Jill Hanass-Hancock and Susie Hoffman (MPIs); Abigail Harrison (co-I) and others
Agencies: NIH/NIMH (R34MH11578), NIH/NIAID (T32AI114398), South African Medical Research Council SIB grant 2019
This NIH-funded intervention development study focuses on HIV prevention through PrEP in the context of reproductive health and gender equity. The study, conducted in partnership with the Columbia University HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies and the South African Medical Research Council, is based in Durban, South Africa, an epicenter of the global HIV pandemic, where young women face disproportionately high levels of HIV. In Phase 1 of this study, researchers developed an online workshop based on in-depth formative research with young women and men, and used a peer recruitment and peer support approach to consider optimal strategies for implementing PrEP to lower HIV risk for diverse youth populations.

The Role of Casual Contact and Migration in XDR TB Transmission in South Africa: a Geospatial, Genomic and Social Network Study

Investigators: Sarita Shah, PIs, Emory University; Mark Lurie Co-I
Agency: NIH/NIAID 5R01AI138646
An epidemic of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) has converged with the long-standing HIV epidemic in South Africa. We have previously demonstrated that transmission is driving the spread of XDR TB, yet the majority of this transmission could not be traced to either close contacts or healthcare-associated transmission. The CONTEXT (Casual Contact and Migration in XDR TB) study will integrate geospatial, genomic, and social network data to comprehensively characterize the contributions of casual contact and migration to XDR TB transmission and generate concrete, actionable data to inform targeted public health interventions to curb the XDR TB epidemic.