Yale Team Awarded Two NIH Grants to Study HIV & Aging in Ukraine

Yale School of Medicine researchers Julia Rozanova, PhD and Sheela Shenoi, MD, MPH have been awarded two grants from the NIH to further their work studying HIV & aging in Ukraine:

1. "Adapting a disclosure decision-aid to improve HIV outcomes for older adults in Ukraine" (PI: Rozanova; Co-Is: S. Shenoi, F. Altice, V. Earnshaw, O. Zeziulin) - R34/National Institute of Mental Health:
   In 2020 in Ukraine OPWH reported low (34%) levels of HIV status disclosure to support networks, with those who did not disclose their HIV status 20% were less likely to adhere to ART in the last month, and twice less likely to adhere to therapy for non-HIV comorbidities, than those who disclosed. Using ADAPT-ITT, evidence-based adaptation strategy, we will adapt an evidence-based intervention to create self-administered Decision Aid PORADA (Pursuing Optimal Results over Aging via Decision Aid, “porada” means “advice” in Ukrainian), and pilot test it to assist OPWH make informed decisions about HIV disclosure aligned with their unique needs. Two trained Social Workers will distribute PORADA to 80 OPWH who have at least one person they consider important to them to whom they have not disclosed their HIV status and these participants will be followed up for 12 months and compared to 40 OOC OPWH receiving treatment as usual.
2. "Adapting and coping during the war in Ukraine: lived experiences of older adults with HIV and their healthcare providers" (MPI: Rozanova, Shenoi; Co-Is: K. Khoshnood, F. Altice, O. Zeziulin) - R21/National Institute on Aging:
   Since the war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, experts have warned of possible collapse of the HIV care system and a loss of decades of hard-earned gains in high-priority areas like HIV and addiction care. The study proposed in this supplement builds on the work completed in the parent R21 grant to date, that adapted a US-developed evidence-based FHI Peer Navigation manual to build PROST intervention where Peers assist older people with HIV in Ukraine to (re-) engage in HIV care. We will develop a new component of the PROST Peer Navigation manual for humanitarian crisis, based on analyses of qualitative phone interviews with OPWH and their clinicians in Kyiv and a phone survey of 123 OPWH in Kyiv, whose baseline data on physical and mental health, social support, risky behaviors, and participation in HIV and other healthcare was collected just prior to the war. It is an administrative supplement to the ongoing R21AG072961-021 "Adapting Peer Navigation for Out-of-Care Older Persons with HIV in Ukraine" (MPI: Rozanova, Shenoi).