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January 2022 | ICHAD & SMART Africa Monthly Monitor
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Happy New Year!
We hope our partners, colleagues and friends are welcoming the New Year with good health and optimism. Our Centers are starting the year with a lot to share. Center leaders Dr. Fred Ssewamala and Dr. Ozge Sensoy Bahar, and Vice Provost Mary McKay, co-edited a newly published book, Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development. The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will host a virtual book launch to celebrate this innovative collection of emerging research and policy efforts to address child and adolescent behavioral health in Sub-Saharan Africa. We hope many will join us!
Also, we are pleased to share our Annual Report highlighting the accomplishments of our research studies and training programs. And after a two-year pandemic travel hiatus, Dr. Fred Ssewamala started the new year with a trip to Uganda to meet with the Uganda team.
We look foward to staying in touch in 2022!
The ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams
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ICHAD/SMART Africa Leaders Co-Edit New Book Focused on Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Drs. Ssewamala and Sensoy Bahar from the Brown School and Vice Provost Mary McKay recently published a co-edited book that highlights the emerging research and policy efforts to address child and adolescent behavioral health in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region where mental health policy is at an early stage and in need of context-specific attention to its successes and shortcomings. Titled “Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development,” the book brings together accomplished researchers, practitioners, and leaders both from the region and the U.S. to examine evidence-based, culturally appropriate child and adolescent behavioral health research from the region; highlight intervention research and dialogue on what works to improve child and adolescent behavioral health; and offer insights on how to advance child and adolescent behavioral health in policy, research, and practice.
The first work of its kind with an exclusive focus on the understudied region of Sub-Saharan Africa, the chapters highlight the current state of policy and research evidence both in the region as a whole and in country-specific contexts, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. “This is a unique and timely book that will be a valuable resource to policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and students who are committed to improving child behavioral health and strengthening mental health service models for a healthier future for children and their families in the region,” wrote Dr. Fred Ssewamala, William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at the Brown School. “I am very committed to generating research evidence and policy to improve the well-being of children and families in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book allowed us the opportunity to bring together the important work that has been undertaken by our colleagues both in the region and the U.S. to outline the current state of child behavioral health in Sub-Saharan Africa and to think of next steps in research, policy, and practice,” added Dr. Mary McKay, Vice Provost of Interdisciplinary Initiatives. “I am very excited to see this book in print. Inspired by our work at SMART Africa Center and the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) at the Brown School, with field offices in Uganda, the book is a collective effort to draw attention to the importance of investing in child and adolescent behavioral health in Sub-Saharan Africa, where children and adolescents make more than half of the population. I am grateful to all of our colleagues who contributed to this timely book,” stated Dr. Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Research Assistant Professor at the Brown School.
To learn more about the book, visit https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-83707-5
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Don't Miss the Virtual Book Launch!
Join the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis for the virtual book launch event on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:00 a.m. CST. The event will feature a discussion with the co-editors on the development of the groundbreaking book “Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development”. For registration information, click here . All participants will receive a 20% discount code towards the purchase of a book.
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Study Highlight:
Suubi+Adherence-R2
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Field reserach staff from ICHAD, Ivan (second from left), and partner organization Mildmay Uganda, Frank (far right), conduct participant interviews and biomarker sample collection, respectively
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The Suubi+Adherence-R2 study seeks to examine the long-term impact of the Suubi+Adherence intervention on HIV viral suppression, and to explore the impact of the intervention on key HIV treatment adherence outcomes for youth living with HIV (YLHIV), including cognitive functioning and their ability to access and refill prescribed medication, adherence to prescribed daily medication routines, and their engagement in HIV care such as keeping medical appointments. The study focuses on adolescents, ages 10-16 years at the initial recruitment.
Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), this competitive renewal grant will allow the team to dig deeper into the potential mechanisms of change including whether the intervention has any long-term effects on economic stability, sexual risk-taking behavior, adherence self-efficacy, cognitive functioning, mental health functioning, and young adult transitions and social support. To date, 572 participants have completed quantitative interviews and their biomarker samples were collected. Of these, 561 were eligible for and completed cognitive functioning testing to measure memory and executive functioning. The team will continue collecting data over the next few months. Learn more about the Suubi+Adherence-R2 study here.
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RESEARCH STUDIES
ANZANSI Family Program
SMART Africa Studies
Kyaterekera Project
mHealth Pilot
M-Suubi
Say No to Stigma
Suubi+Adherence-R2
Suubi4Cancer
Suubi4Her
Suubi4STEM
Suubi4Stigma
TRAINING PROGRAMS
CHILD Global Research Fellowship
LEAD Global Training Program
Researcher Resilience Training
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UPCOMING EVENTS
February 9 | 12:30 pm CST
ICHAD Speaker Series: Leveraging the Couple Relationship to Improve HIV Treatment Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Dr. Amy Conroy, UCSF Prevention Research Center. Register here.
February 16 | 10:00 am CST
Book Launch Event: Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development, with Drs. Fred Ssewamala, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, and Mary McKay, Washington University in St. Louis. Register here.
March 9 | 12:30 pm CST
ICHAD Speaker Series: Dropping the Head-pan for Better Educational Opportunities: The Case of Girls in Northern Ghana at Risk of Dropping out of School for Child Labor, with Drs. Alice Boateng and Abdallah Ibrahim, University of Ghana. Register here.
April 13 | 12:30 pm CST
ICHAD Speaker Series: Harnessing the Power of Digital Technology to Support and Improve Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Tuberculosis Disease in Uganda, with Dr. Juliet Nabbuye Sekandi, University of Georgia. Registration coming soon.
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OTHER EVENTS, FUNDING & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Monthly Capacity Building Connection
Bi-Weekly Newsletter with Research Opportunities and Information for Training Program Fellows and Alumni
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
Global Social Welfare
Global Social Welfare Special Issue: Financial Capability and Assets for Socioeconomic Development
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QUICK LINKS
Our Team
ICHAD News
ICHAD/SMART Africa Speaker Series
SMART Africa Conference Videos
Publications
Donate
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NOTABLES
Congratulations to the following trainees for their recent accomplishments!
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Dr. Rachel Brathwaite (RRT 2020), with Joshua Kiyingi (RRT 2021), and Dr. Apollo Kivumbi (CHILD-GRF 2020), and others, published The longitudinal impact of an evidence-based multiple family group intervention (Amaka Amasanyufu) on oppositional defiant disorder and impaired functioning among children in Uganda: analysis of a cluster randomized trial from the SMART Africa-Uganda scale-up study (2016–2022), in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
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Jennifer Nattabi (RRT 2021), Apollo Kivumbi (CHILD-GRF 2020) co-authored the recently published Pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer in an HIV-infected rural Sub-Saharan African population, in AIDS Care.
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Dr. Anita Arinda (CHILD-GRF 2020) presented, with co-director Dr. Noeline Nakasujja, at the NIH Fogarty International Center Sexual Harassment Supplement Networking Meeting.
Dr. Husain Lateef (RRT 2020) with Dr. Sean Joe, presented "HomeGrown STL: Effective Research Management of University Resources to Advance Community Science" at the Washington University School of Medicine Researcher Forum.
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Recent Publications
Brathwaite, R., Ssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, M. M., Neilands, T. B., Namatovu, P., Kiyingi, J., Zmachinski, L., Nabayinda, J., Huang, K. Y., Kivumbi, A., Bhana, A., Mwebembezi, A., Petersen, I., Hoagwood, K., & SMART Africa – Uganda Field Team (2022). The longitudinal impact of an evidence-based multiple family group intervention (Amaka Amasanyufu) on oppositional defiant disorder and impaired functioning among children in Uganda: analysis of a cluster randomized trial from the SMART Africa-Uganda scale-up study (2016-2022). Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.
Ssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., & McKay, M. M. (Eds.). (2022). Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Springer.
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Recent Presentations
26th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), January 12-16, 2022, Washington, DC.
- “The Relationship between Family Cohesion and Depression Among School Going Children with Elevated Symptoms of Behavioral Challenges in Southern Uganda.” Presented by Josephine Nabayinda, co-authored by Phionah Namatovu, Christopher Damulira, Vicent Ssentumbwe, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Proscovia Nabunya, Flavia Namuwonge, Mary McKay, and Fred Ssewamala.
- “Low Levels of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Adolescents Living with HIV in Southern Uganda: Understanding Key Contributing Factors.” Presented by Samuel Kizito.
- “The Longitudinal Impact of an Evidence-Based Multiple Family Group Intervention (Amaka Amasanyufu), on Child Behavioral Outcomes in Uganda: The SMART Africa Uganda Study (2016-2021).” Presented by Rachel Brathwaite.
- “Gender and HIV-Related Stigma Among Caregivers of Children Orphaned By HIV/AIDS in Uganda.” Presented by Proscovia Nabunya, with co-authors Emmanuel Amoako, William Byansi, and Fred Ssewamala.
- “Testing Reciprocal Relationships between Perceived Social Support, Self-Concept, and Depression Among Adolescents Orphaned By AIDS in Uganda: A Cross-Lagged Structural Equation Model.” Presented by Moses Okumu.
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Social Corner
Welcome Baby Katrina!
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Jennifer Nattabi, ICHAD doctoral research associate, and her family, welcomed a baby girl, Katrina Mulungi, early in the morning on Friday, January 21. We wish Baby Katrina a life of joy and love!
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Director Dr. Fred Visits Uganda
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Dr. Fred Ssewamala started the new year with a trip to Uganda and reunited with the ICHAD Masaka team after a two-year travel hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Welcome to St. Louis, Vicent!
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We are delighted to welcome ICHAD Data Manager Vicent Ssentumbwe to the US office! Vicent is a first-year MPH student at WashU and has been working at the ICHAD-Uganda field office for 6 years managing data for three NIMH studies.
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