Research and Projects

This research is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) R01 DA057342.

The primary objective of this project is to address the urgent need for HIV prevention and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in women involved in the criminal justice system (WICJ). We aim to achieve this through a newly validated decision aid and eHealth to remotely deliver integrated pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and MOUD to women within the diverse settings of New Haven, CT and Birmingham, Alabama. Using this innovative healthcare delivery model that integrates services, we seek to reduce social and structural barriers to facilitate engagement of prevention services, as well as holistically improve one’s quality of life.

This research study is registered at Clinical Trials.gov NCT05547048

This research is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R34-MH127986-02

This study is designed to develop and test an individual decision aid for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) tailored to Black women who have been exposed to intimate partner violence and are working with a domestic violence service provider. Three different ways of delivering the tailored decision aid are being tested: 1) as an individual tool, 2) as a shared decision-making tool with a domestic violence advocate, and 3) as compared to generalized information. The goal of the decision aid will be to address key cultural and structural factors and help women gain PrEP awareness and access

This research study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05614492

This research is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)- 1R34MH137756-01

The primary objective of this study is to address the need for HIV prevention to be integrated into contraceptive counseling visits at sexual and reproductive health clinics. We aim to achieve this through expanding and enhancing a PrEP decision aid to include a full array of available formulation options and then integrate its delivery into sexual and reproductive health (SRH) settings during contraceptive counseling visits, where PrEP can be provided to all women who are interested.

The research study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov NCT06684613

This research is funded by the National Institutes of Health - R01 MH121991

The main purpose of this study is to understand how exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) affects women’s abilities to self-manage their HIV on a daily basis (i.e., adhere to antiretroviral medication), engage in longitudinal HIV care, and achieve and sustain viral suppression. The project aims to build awareness of the IPV-health association and inform strategies/resources to promote resilience.

The research is funded by ViiV Healthcare.

The primary aim of this study is to address the real-world use of the FDA- approved, long-acting injectable, cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CAB/RPV LA) by evaluating the implementation and clinical outcomes of a pharmacist-led collaborative drug therapy management model (CDTM+) that will be expanded for telehealth outreach to women with health-related social needs (HRSN). We aim to achieve this by enhancing the existing CDTM to reduce important social and structural barriers to CAB/RPV LA for women with health-related social needs (HRSN), by increasing accessibility- using telehealth to deliver CDTM outreach to clinical and community sites without a clinician referral (CDTM+).

The research study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov NCT06411223

This research is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) – TI080561

The primary aim of this service-oriented project is to expand and enhance the local implementation of a community infrastructure that integrates housing, behavioral health, and addiction treatment services for justice-involved men and women who experience co-occurring homelessness, psychiatric, and substance use disorders. By co-locating these services for the target population, we aim to improve access to health services, social support, housing, and recovery support services; facilitate reintegration into society and reduce recidivism among this highly vulnerable population. This project is in partnership with the Yale Community Health Care Van (CHCV) and Liberty Community Services.

Visit our project-specific website for prospective participants and service providers.

This research is supported by a Gilead Sciences Investigator-Sponsored Research Award

PrEP is transforming the landscape of HIV prevention but is understudied in women, particularly criminal justice (CJ) involved women. This research study has two central aims (1) To assess PrEP awareness, attitudes, and clinical eligibility among CJ-involved women and compare them across the CJ continuum; and (2) To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of strategically delivering PrEP to CJ-involved women and members of their risk networks. We hypothesize that among those clinically eligible for PrEP, it will be feasible and acceptable to initiate PrEP among CJ-involved women and recruit members of their high-risk networks.

This research study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03293290)

This research is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

We propose to generate qualitative data from interviews with prisoners and prison staff and triangulate it with quantitative data from MATLINK within an analytical HIV risk environment framework which aims to: 1. Describe the individual-environment interactions that shape within-prison drug-related HIV risk practices and health expectations post-release; and 2. Measure how within-prison risk and other factors within the prison environment mediate engagement with OAT both within prison and after release.

This research is funded by a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Scientist Development Award.

The overarching goal of this project is to facilitate HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among women who use drugs by elevating women’s awareness of PrEP and an appropriate perception of their personal HIV risk. We aim to do this in two ways: (1) by creating a patient-centered HIV prevention decision aid for women with substance use disorders entering treatment; and (2) to test the effect of the informed decision aid intervention on PrEP uptake among women with substance use disorders entering treatment. We hypothesize that compared to those receiving standard harm reduction information, women receiving the standard substance use decision aid will have increased PrEP uptake at 6 and 12 months post-intervention.

This research study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03651453)

This project was funded by the National Institute on Drug Use (NIDA)

Research data suggest that the experiences of women require a somewhat different intervention approach compared to men in order to be optimally efficacious for reducing HIV sex and drug-related risk-taking behaviors. This project aimed to fill in the gaps for sex-specific interventions among drug users and those involved in the criminal justice system by adapting and pilot testing the Holistic Health Recovery Program for women with HIV (HHRP+), a CDC evidence-based secondary HIV prevention intervention. This intervention served as a framework to optimize HIV treatment outcomes for women under correctional supervision.

This project is funded by a Pilot Project Award from the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA).

This Type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation study seeks to adapt an existing PrEP decision aid to intimate partner violence (IPV)-exposed women seeking domestic violence (DV) services at two major Connecticut service agencies. This study will: provide support for a PrEP decision aid that addresses the HIV prevention needs of IPV-exposed women; use implementation science to increase PrEP uptake; include DV agencies in intervention development and implementation; and improve understanding of PrEP scale-up by addressing implementation factors in the community settings that serve IPV-exposed women.