This application seeks funding to develop an AIDS Research Program at KCN in partnership with the UlC. The partnership at UIC will involve faculty from both the College of Nursing (CON) and the School of Public Health (SPH) who participate in the AIDS International Training and Research Program at UIC funded by the NIH John E. Fogarty Center. The proposed research program will be located within KCN's Primary Health Care and Nursing Research Center. Although meant to support a wide range of studies on HIV/AIDS, the Kamuzu AIDS Research Program (KARP) will give special priority to behavioral science research that focuses on one or more of the following three areas 1) behavioral, cultural, social, and psychosocial factors that influence HIV/AIDS prevention, care and management; 2) the role and impact of traditional health practitioners and practices in the arena of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; and 3) the role of reproductive health in the acquisition, prevention, progression, and treatment of HIV. To this end, the proposed project and the research program have the following three aims: (1) To develop a research infrastructure at KCN that will strengthen the capacity of KCN faculty and students, collaborating research partners from UIC, and other research scientists in Malawi and from other countries to conduct relevant HIV/AIDS behavioral science research; (2) To establish and/or enhance KCN research and service linkages with institutional partners outside of Malawi, including UIC, as well as local in-country investigators, public health officials, community institutions, and health care providers, including traditional health practitioners; and (3) To support and implement three behavioral science, exploratory research studies in Malawi as a first step in building an AIDS Research Program at KCN. The over-riding scientific goal of this study is to build an institutional program of research excellence at KCN to facilitate innovative behavioral science research that helps to improve the effectiveness of AIDS treatment and prevention throughout Africa including Malawi.
| Ngalande, Rebecca C; Levy, Judith; Kapondo, Chrissie P N et al. (2006) Acceptability of male circumcision for prevention of HIV infection in Malawi. AIDS Behav 10:377-85 |
