The purpose of the proposed Mentored Scientist Career Development Award (K01) is to provide the candidate with mentoring and research experiences that will promote his development as an independent researcher, with particular emphasis in operations and translational research of evidence based (EB) HIV prevention behavioral interventions among vulnerable populations. The objectives of the training are to develop knowledge and skills in: 1) qualitative and mixed methods research to understand the decision-making process among policy makers as it relates to HIV prevention policies; 2) expertise in operations research of EB HIV prevention intervention in international settings; 3) advanced methods for cost-effectiveness analysis; 4) theory-driven behavioral HIV prevention interventions among vulnerable populations and 5) additional training in the ethical conduct of research among vulnerable populations. Training activities will include didactic coursework and specific workshops, directed readings and one-on-one tutorials with mentors. The candidate will receive mentorship from a training committee comprised of internationally renowned experts in the fields of translational research, behavioral science, and mixed methods research at the University of California San Diego.
The specific aims of the proposed research are to: 1) qualitatively describe policy makers' perspectives vis-`-vis institutional, political, cultural and individual factors that facilitate or impede the use of economic evaluation research in translating EB behavioral interventions into health policy; 2) To quantitatively characterize Mexican government and community based organizations (CBO) policy-makers' knowledge, attitudes and the experience of translating results from economic evaluation research into policy decisions; 3) To estimate the programmatic cost-effectiveness of the Mujer Segura behavioral intervention, shown to reduce HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among female sex workers (FSWs) in Mexico during the large scale implementation process compared to current Mexican HIV/STI prevention guidelines.
The research aims will be accomplished by conducting a mixed methods research study. Quantitative data will be drawn from the operations costs and health outcomes of the upscale implementation of an efficacious intervention (Mujer Segura) among 960 FSWs in twelve different cities in Mexico (National Institute of Mental Health grant titled: Implementation of an efficacious intervention for Female Sex Workers in Mexico; R01MH08754; PI: Patterson; Co-I: Dr. Strathdee). Qualitative data will be collected from in-depth interviews of a sample of 40 policy makers from governmental institutions and CBOs involved in HIV prevention in Mexico. Findings from the proposed research will position the candidate to propose an R01 proposal for in depth study of HIV policy maker's decision making process in HIV translation. Moreover, the candidate's binational and ethnic minority background combined with the proposed training and research will support a career trajectory focused on vulnerable, underserved populations at risk for HIV infection.

Public Health Relevance

This project seeks to determine the programmatic cost-effectiveness of the upscale implementation a brief, single session counseling session (called 'Mujer Segura') that has been proven efficacious in controlled trials in reducing HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among female sex workers who work in Mexican cities along the U.S. border. This project will use a mixed methods design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods to study Mexican policy-marker's beliefs, attitudes and knowledge about the use of economic evaluation studies in the health policy decision making process from both the public and private sectors to inform the proposed cost-effectiveness analysis. Developing skills in mixed methods HIV translational research will uniquely position the candidate as one of a handful of researchers in economic evaluation research with expertise in applying mixed methods to HIV prevention translational research and international research.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
4K01MH095680-05
Application #
8982257
Study Section
Behavioral and Social Science Approaches to Preventing HIV/AIDS Study Section (BSPH)
Program Officer
Brouwers, Pim
Project Start
2012-01-01
Project End
2016-12-31
Budget Start
2016-01-01
Budget End
2016-12-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$180,360
Indirect Cost
$13,360
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
804355790
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
Ferraiolo, Natalie; Pinedo, Miguel; McCurley, Jessica et al. (2016) Depressive symptoms among patients at a clinic in the Red Light District of Tijuana, Mexico. Int J Cult Ment Health 9:151-163
Smith, Laramie R; Patterson, Thomas L; Magis-Rodriguez, Carlos et al. (2016) Engagement in the HIV Care Continuum among Key Populations in Tijuana, Mexico. AIDS Behav 20:1017-25
Burgos, Jose L; Patterson, Thomas L; Graff-Zivin, Joshua S et al. (2016) Cost-Effectiveness of Combined Sexual and Injection Risk Reduction Interventions among Female Sex Workers Who Inject Drugs in Two Very Distinct Mexican Border Cities. PLoS One 11:e0147719
Burgos, Jose L; Yee, Daniel C; Vargas-Ojeda, Adriana Carolina et al. (2016) The Health Frontiers in Tijuana Undergraduate Internship Program: A Novel Global Health Experience in Mexico for Pre-medical/Pre-health Undergraduates. J Health Care Poor Underserved 27:947-53
Garfein, R S; Collins, K; Muñoz, F et al. (2015) Feasibility of tuberculosis treatment monitoring by video directly observed therapy: a binational pilot study. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 19:1057-64
Pinedo, Miguel; Burgos, Jose Luis; Ojeda, Adriana Vargas et al. (2015) The role of visual markers in police victimization among structurally vulnerable persons in Tijuana, Mexico. Int J Drug Policy 26:501-8
Burgos, Jose L; Yee, Daniel; Csordas, Thomas et al. (2015) Supporting the minority physician pipeline: providing global health experiences to undergraduate students in the United States-Mexico border region. Med Educ Online 20:27260
Pinedo, Miguel; Burgos, Jose Luis; Zuniga, Maria Luisa et al. (2015) Police Victimization Among Persons Who Inject Drugs Along the U.S.-Mexico Border. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 76:758-63
Pitpitan, Eileen V; Goodman-Meza, David; Burgos, Jose Luis et al. (2015) Prevalence and correlates of HIV among men who have sex with men in Tijuana, Mexico. J Int AIDS Soc 18:19304
Muñoz, Fátima; Burgos, José Luis; Cuevas-Mota, Jazmine et al. (2015) Individual and socio-environmental factors associated with unsafe injection practices among young adult injection drug users in San Diego. AIDS Behav 19:199-210

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