This Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will allow the candidate to pursue her research and training goals at the University of California, San Diego and Pro-COMUSIDA, a community health clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. The candidate's long-term career goal is to become a leader in the area of international HIV prevention.
She aims to develop a base of skills and knowledge necessary to facilitate her transition into an independent investigator. Her specific training objectives are to: 1) develop a thorough understanding of individual- and dyad-level factors that contribute to HIV risk among couples with particular emphasis on drug use, sexual relationship power, and intimate partner violence;2) gain proficiency in research design and statistical techniques necessary for conducting dyad-level analyses with couples;3) acquire an in-depth understanding of theory-based HIV prevention interventions in order to design a couples-based HIV prevention intervention for female sex workers (FSWs) and their regular sexual partners;4) obtain further training in the ethical conduct of research, particularly with unique populations such as FSWs;and 5) to build general skills for an academic career. Recently, HIV prevalence among FSWs in Tijuana has increased from 2% to 6%, and 14% among FSW who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs). Globally, FSWs are considered a """"""""bridge"""""""" population who may transmit HIV/STIs to the general population. While the majority of research thus far has focused on individual-level risk factors among FSWs, comparatively little is known about their sexual partners and relationship characteristics. To address these gaps in knowledge, the proposed cross-sectional study will utilize quantitative methods to examine individual- and dyad-level correlates of HIV drug- and sex-risk behaviors among FSWs and their regular sexual partners in Tijuana.

Public Health Relevance

The current study will yield information critical to HIV prevention policy in both the U.S. and Mexico, and will produce data to be used in the development of an intervention proposed in a subsequent R01 application. Interventions that reduce HIV risks among FSWs and their main sexual partners may curtail the growing HIV epidemic in the U.S.-Mexico border region.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01DA026307-05
Application #
8635322
Study Section
AIDS Behavioral Research Subcommittee (NIDA)
Program Officer
Jenkins, Richard A
Project Start
2010-04-01
Project End
2015-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
Ulibarri, Monica D; Salazar, Marissa; Syvertsen, Jennifer L et al. (2018) Intimate Partner Violence Among Female Sex Workers and Their Noncommercial Male Partners in Mexico: A Mixed-Methods Study. Violence Against Women :1077801218794302
Seidman, Dominika; Rusch, Melanie; Abramovitz, Daniela et al. (2016) Intravaginal practices among HIV-negative female sex workers along the US-Mexico border and their implications for emerging HIV prevention interventions. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 133:212-6
Bazzi, Angela R; Syvertsen, Jennifer L; Rolón, María Luisa et al. (2016) Social and Structural Challenges to Drug Cessation Among Couples in Northern Mexico: Implications for Drug Treatment in Underserved Communities. J Subst Abuse Treat 61:26-33
Tracas, Ashley; Bazzi, Angela Robertson; Artamonova, Irina et al. (2016) Changes in Condom Use Over Time Among Female Sex Workers and Their Male Noncommercial Partners and Clients. AIDS Educ Prev 28:312-24
Pines, Heather A; Patterson, Thomas L; Rangel, Gudelia et al. (2015) STI/HIV test result disclosure between female sex workers and their primary, non-commercial male partners in two Mexico-US border cities: a prospective study. Sex Transm Infect 91:207-13
Bazzi, Angela Robertson; Rangel, Gudelia; Martinez, Gustavo et al. (2015) Incidence and Predictors of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers and Their Intimate Male Partners in Northern Mexico: A Longitudinal, Multilevel Study. Am J Epidemiol 181:723-31
Syvertsen, Jennifer L; Bazzi, Angela Robertson; Martinez, Gustavo et al. (2015) Love, Trust, and HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers and Their Intimate Male Partners. Am J Public Health 105:1667-74
Ulibarri, Monica D; Roesch, Scott; Rangel, M Gudelia et al. (2015) ""Amar te Duele"" (""love hurts""): sexual relationship power, intimate partner violence, depression symptoms and HIV risk among female sex workers who use drugs and their non-commercial, steady partners in Mexico. AIDS Behav 19:9-18
Palinkas, Lawrence A; Robertson, Angela M; Syvertsen, Jennifer L et al. (2014) Client perspectives on design and implementation of a couples-based intervention to reduce sexual and drug risk behaviors among female sex workers and their noncommercial partners in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, México. AIDS Behav 18:583-94
Ulibarri, Monica D; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Lozada, Remedios et al. (2014) Prevalence and correlates of client-perpetrated abuse among female sex workers in two Mexico-U.S. border cities. Violence Against Women 20:427-45

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