The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University (CIRA)'s Pilot Projects in HIV Research Program offers funding for preliminary and/or feasibility studies in HIV-related research that will ultimately lead to larger studies evaluating novel interventions or implementation strategies. Under the leadership of the CIRA Development Core, CIRA provides pilot project awardees consultation opportunities and other support, including access to the three research cores to ensure the most successful pilot project implementation possible.
We are pleased to announce that 5 proposals have been selected for awards under three funding categories. Click the project title below for full descriptions of each project. For questions and further information about CIRA affiliation, please contact Daniel Davidson (daniel.davidson@yale.edu).
Category 1: CIRA Pilot Research Award
- "Assaulted and Stigmatized: Promising Practices for Reducing Multiple Stigmas Among Black MSM Sexual Assault Survivors at Increased Exposure to HIV Risk"
- Daniel Jacobson Lopez, Boston University
This project focuses on identifying the medical concerns of Black men who have sex with men (MSM) who are at increased exposure to HIV risk as a result of being sexually assaulted, and determining the ways in which multiple stigmas (racial, anti-gay, HIV-related, and identity as a male sexual assault survivor) affect help-seeking behaviors for post-assault HIV/STI care. Dr. Jacobson Lopez hopes "to help make the post-assault care process easier and less traumatizing for Black MSM sexual assault survivors," who are "too often ignored in research and practice." He will consult with CIRA JuCCE Core Director LaRon Nelson as well as receiving support from CIRA's Development Core. - "Implementing Physical Activity Screening and Interventions into Clinical Settings for People with HIV (PWH)"
- Colleen Mistler, Yale School of Medicine
For this project, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Colleen Mistler and colleagues will interview patients in an HIV clinical care setting, seeking to inform strategies to increase adoption of systematic screening for physical inactivity among people with HIV into clinical workflow. "We know that physical inactivity is bad for your health," writes collaborator Dr. Jaimie Meyer. "Emerging data suggests physical inactivity is especially unhealthy for people with HIV and people with unhealthy substance use, widening health disparities. Yet clinicians rarely screen for physical inactivity in people with HIV and unhealthy substance use and, when they do, often have few resources to offer to address it." The project will also focus on education, counseling, and linkage to physical activity services. Dr. Meyer stresses: "It's not enough to prescribe 'hitting the gym'."
Category 2: CIRA Community Partnership Kickstarter Research Award
- "Loving Well in Spirituality and Sexuality – An Initiative for Sexual Health and Wellness"
- Natalie Leblanc, University of Rochester School of Nursing
This project is a 1-year human-centered, community participatory project in Rochester, New York to inform a sexual health promotion campaign called Loving Well, which promotes self-care as a motivator for HIV/STI screening and treatment, primarily among Black persons. Proposed activities include engaging the faith-based, family-centered, and LGBT communities to inform the campaign and its rollout. According to Dr. Leblanc, "Our understanding of sexual health is where mental health was 20 years ago. Sexual health and wellness are integral to overall health and work in tandem with our mental, physical, metabolic, emotional, and spiritual health. Loving Well is not just inclusive of disease prevention and treatment, but is about loving of self, kindness, and communal respect."
Category 3: CIRA-Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) Joint Pilot Call
- "Economic Evaluation of HIV Differentiated Service Delivery Models to Screen and Treat Hypertension in Ugandan Persons Living with HIV"
- Drew B. Cameron, Yale School of Public Health
This project proposes to conduct an economic evaluation of integrating existing HIV community-based differentiated service delivery models (community screening, counseling, and medication distribution) to improve the identification and management of hypertension (HTN) among comorbid patients as part of a larger implementation science study in two health facilities in Uganda. Community-based care presents a unique opportunity to improve the HTN care cascade for comorbid patients through integration. According to Drs. Drew Cameron and collaborator Carol Kamya, "This grant will facilitate the provision of critically needed evidence for health policymaking regarding HTN among people with HIV in Uganda and other low-middle income countries." The pilot award will also facilitate a critical collaboration between researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and the Infectious Disease Research Collaboration (IDRC) Uganda, who are working on the frontlines of HIV and non-communicable disease. - "Opioid Agonist Therapy Access among Displaced People Who Inject Drugs in Ukraine"
Eteri Machavariani, Yale School of Medicine
This project proposes to explore the challenges people who inject drugs (PWID) experience when they are internally displaced and seek and/or access opioid agonist therapies (OAT) in Ukraine. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study will conduct interviews with PWID who are seeking OAT (either as transfer or new patients) in conflict, near conflict, and remote destination regions. The study will also conduct interviews with providers to understand main provider- and system-level barriers to streamlining OAT provision across different sites and regions. "Individuals with health conditions often face exacerbated challenges during conflict as their access to life-saving treatment or medications can be compromised," writes Dr. Machavariani. "We hope that the lessons learned from our project will contribute to improving healthcare access for vulnerable populations in conflict settings."
Published: Sunday, November 3, 2024
