CDIS Researchers presented their work at the 13th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics 2021, which showcased the latest developments in pediatric and maternal HIV research in an interactive, virtual global platform.
In a “poster walk” session highlighting the top posters from investigators and moderated by experts in pediatric and perinatal HIV research, Kate Merrill, PhD, presented “IMARA-SA: Piloting A Family-Based HIV/STI Prevention Package For South African Adolescent Girls and Young Women,” which assessed the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of an evidence-based HIV/STI risk reduction program adapted for 15-19 year old adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their female caregivers in South Africa and found IMARA-SA to be a promising strategy to improve sexual health outcomes.
Geri Donenberg, PhD, presented “Mental Health Outcomes of an HIV-Prevention Program for South African Adolescent Girls and Young Women and their Female Caregivers” on a pilot test of the effects of IMARA-SA on AGYW anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. IMARA-SA shows promise in reducing mental health symptoms and a RCT is warranted.
Both posters were prepared with colleagues Millicent Atujuna, Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF); Erin Emerson, CDIS; Dara Blachman-Demner, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences, NIH; Bethany Bray, CDIS; and Linda-Gail Bekker, DTHF. The IMARA-SA project is a part of Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource Constrained Settings (PATC3H), and sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), and the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).