This k24 is an application for mentoring junior investigators in behavioral interventions related to HIV treatment and prevention, specifically focusing on associated psychosocial syndemics relevant to HIV prevention and care. Mental health problems, including substance abuse, are of the most frequent comorbidities to HIV and are consistently identified as barriers to adherence, engagement in care, and reductions in risk behavior. Typically these problems co-occur as syndemics (co-occurring psychosocial problems that interact with each other and with HIV risk). Candidate. The candidate has over 10 years of NIH-funded support addressing mental health, substance abuse, and psychosocial comorbidities in the context of interventions for HIV/AIDS. This includes interventions for depression and adherence in HIV, domestic and international primary and secondary prevention studies, and mentee projects addressing various syndemic indicators and HIV prevention in men who have sex with men (MSM). The candidate also has a strong and consistent successful mentoring history, including over 30 fellows and junior faculty, resulting in >60 publications with mentees as first author. Mentoring Plan/Environment. The candidate is Director of Behavioral Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) / Harvard Medical School (HMS), Co-Director of the Harvard University Behavioral Sciences Program for the CFAR, and an affiliated faculty at Fenway Health. In these roles, the candidate has been receiving increasing and multiple requests to mentor junior level clinical researchers across disciplines. He has access to psychology / behavioral medicine mentees generally from the MGH clinical psychology training program, access to local physician and public health mentees through the Harvard University CFAR, which stems all of the Harvard Hospitals, additional local hospitals (e.g. Shattuck Hospital) the Harvard School of Public Health, and Harvard programs. He also is receiving increasing requests to mentor national and international colleagues in behavioral science methods through the CFAR and NIAID CTU networks and other sources. These emerging and established scientist mentees typically require mentoring in behavioral intervention development and testing, including incorporating behavioral science into biomedical or epidemiological science projects. The current project will allow him to accommodate and grow these requests through protected time for mentoring. Research Plan. The candidate's depression/adherence studies in HIV, although successful in treating depression and improving adherence, to date have found exceptionally high levels of comorbidity in patients with HIV and depression. This has raised the need to address other syndemics (e.g. substance abuse, PTSD, other anxiety disorders) in addition to depression in the context of care. As a platform for mentee involvement in research, the candidate will leverage his existing R01 on treating depression in HIV, to begin to learn how to best treat the most frequent syndemics with HIV, in the context of improving health-related behavior change.

Public Health Relevance

Psychiatric comorbidity with HIV infection is exceptionally high, and is likely one of the biggest barriers to consistent self-care behavior. Behavioral science prevention and treatment interventions related to HIV/AIDS have not typically focused on incorporating the treatment of syndemics into interventions for health-related behavior change, though these problems likely moderate the degree to which behavioral interventions for individuals with HIV can be successful. The candidate has been receiving increasing requests for mentoring in this area, has a strong history of HIV prevention and treatment research related to mental health and substance abuse comorbidities, is situated in a highly furtive environment for selecting mentees to address these public health problems, and needs protected time to meet and expand mentoring activities.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
7K24MH094214-06
Application #
9145974
Study Section
Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS Study Section (BSCH)
Program Officer
Stirratt, Michael J
Project Start
2015-09-21
Project End
2016-05-31
Budget Start
2015-09-21
Budget End
2016-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$127,523
Indirect Cost
$9,446
Name
University of Miami Coral Gables
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
625174149
City
Coral Gables
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
33146
Psaros, Christina; Milford, Cecilia; Smit, Jennifer A et al. (2018) HIV Prevention Among Young Women in South Africa: Understanding Multiple Layers of Risk. Arch Sex Behav 47:1969-1982
Andersen, Lena S; Magidson, Jessica F; O'Cleirigh, Conall et al. (2018) A pilot study of a nurse-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy intervention (Ziphamandla) for adherence and depression in HIV in South Africa. J Health Psychol 23:776-787
O'Cleirigh, Conall; Perry, Nicholas S; Taylor, S Wade et al. (2018) Personality Traits and Adaptive HIV Disease Management: Relationships with Engagement in Care and Condomless Anal Intercourse Among Highly Sexually Active Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV. LGBT Health 5:257-263
Stringer, Kristi Lynn; Azuero, Andres; Ott, Corilyn et al. (2018) Feasibility and Acceptability of Real-Time Antiretroviral Adherence Monitoring among Depressed Women Living with HIV in the Deep South of the US. AIDS Behav :
Bere, Tarisai; Nyamayaro, Primrose; Magidson, Jessica F et al. (2017) Cultural adaptation of a cognitive-behavioural intervention to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe: Nzira Itsva. J Health Psychol 22:1265-1276
Biello, Katie B; Oldenburg, Catherine E; Mitty, Jennifer A et al. (2017) The ""Safe Sex"" Conundrum: Anticipated Stigma From Sexual Partners as a Barrier to PrEP Use Among Substance Using MSM Engaging in Transactional Sex. AIDS Behav 21:300-306
Fields, Errol L; Bogart, Laura M; Thurston, Idia B et al. (2017) Qualitative Comparison of Barriers to Antiretroviral Medication Adherence Among Perinatally and Behaviorally HIV-Infected Youth. Qual Health Res 27:1177-1189
Perry, Nicholas S; Remmert, Jocelyn E; Psaros, Christina et al. (2017) Learning to address multiple syndemics for people living with HIV through client perspectives on CBT. Psychother Res :1-11
Khidir, Hazar; Psaros, Christina; Greener, Letitia et al. (2017) Developing a Safer Conception Intervention for Men Living with HIV in South Africa. AIDS Behav :
Blashill, Aaron J; Safren, Steven A; Wilhelm, Sabine et al. (2017) Cognitive behavioral therapy for body image and self-care (CBT-BISC) in sexual minority men living with HIV: A randomized controlled trial. Health Psychol 36:937-946

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