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Greetings from the ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams!
As our summer training programs wrap up, we want to thank all of the many presenters, collaborators, and trainees for their hard work this summer, as well as recognize the impressive accomplishments
of our current trainees and alumni. (See notables section).
On the research side, the second COVID-related lockdown continues in Uganda, yet our team continues to safely follow-up with participants across our many studies, deliver interventions,
transcribe interviews and plan for future activities. This month, we highlight the latest developments in our Kyaterekera Project.
We wish everyone good health and happiness!
The ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams
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Research Study Spotlight
Kyaterekera Project
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A Kyaterekera Project Participant gets blood drawn during an 18-month follow-up visit
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The Kyaterekera Project evaluates
the efficacy of adding economic empowerment components to traditional HIV risk reduction (HIVRR) to reduce new incidences of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV among women engaged in sex work (WESW) in Uganda.
With the completion of intervention delivery, 6-months and 12-months follow-up interviews, the field team embarked on 18-months follow-up interviews earlier in June. Currently, 87 participants
(out of the 542 enrolled participants) have been interviewed, and their biomarker data (for HIV and STI testing) were collected. All participants who tested positive for STIs received full treatment from the medical team at the sites; and new cases of HIV were
initiated on treatment and/or referred to care. This exercise is still ongoing.
Earlier in June, the team convened the fourth quarterly community collaborative board (CCB) meeting, via zoom. The goal of the meeting was to update CCB members on the study progress, share
preliminary findings from the study, and planned activities. During the meeting, CCB members also shared their experiences with COVID-19 and how it has impacted the wellbeing of study participants. The research team also shared COVID-19-related challenges on
study activities, as well as changes made in response to these challenges.
During the intervention period, participants’ financial expenses were self-captured in financial diaries that were reviewed on a monthly basis by the field team. Currently, the team is
analyzing the financial diaries data to understand the spending patterns of study participants, and how they utilized their matched savings. Finally, the team has continued with transcribing and translating qualitative interviews, focused on understanding
participants’ experiences with the intervention sessions, as well as the perceived impact of the intervention on their wellbeing and decision making processes. This exercise is still ongoing.
You can learn more about this study here.
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Kyaterekera Project Community Collaborative Board Members share their experiences, particularly dealing with COVID-19, with the study team
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Training Programs Wrap up Summer Programming
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CHILD-GRF Fellow, Yvonne Karamagi, shares her working draft of framing a problem from a dynamic perspective during a Community-Based System Dynamics workshop
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July has been an eventful month for our CHILD-GRF,
LEAD, and RRT research training fellows and trainees. Fellows have engaged in a full schedule
of training webinars and career development activities while working with their mentors on unique research projects. Some of the training topics covered this month include Developing a Grant Budget, Community Based System Dynamics, Visualizing and Disseminating
Results, and Adaptive Frameworks and Equity in Implementation and Dissemination. Fellows also engaged in discussion panels exploring topics with U.S.- and Africa-based experts covering topics including Applications of Qualitative Methods in Mental Health Research,
Community Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Mental Health Policy. In addition, fellows and trainees Lindsey Filiatreau (LEAD), Nicole Ford (LEAD), Ijeoma Opara (RRT), and Sonyia Richardson (RRT) took turns leading professional development and networking
meetings. As we near the final week of training, participants are preparing final presentations to share the work accomplished with their mentors and to celebrate ten weeks of hard work and network building, with the common goal of advancing the careers of
researchers in child and adolescent mental health, health disparities, and HIV from underrepresented groups and the global South.
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Newly Published Work
“The Relationship between Life Satisfaction, Personal Health, Quality of Life, and Medication Adherence among Adolescents Living with HIV in Southwestern Uganda.”
Journal
of Public Health
Byansi, W., Nabunya, P., Muwanga, J., Mwebembezi, A., Damulira, C., Mukasa, B., Zmachinski, L., Nattabi, J., Brathwaite, R., Namuwonge, F., Sensoy Bahar, O., Neilands, T.B., Mellins, C.A.,
& Ssewamala, F.M.
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