Center for Community Health and Intervention Research | Center for AIDS Intervention Research Current Research Projects

Yuri Amirkhanian, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: The National Institute of Mental Health
The Networks project developed and tested an intervention to increase social capital resources among HIV-positive MSM who are presently out-of-care. If positive effects on care engagement are produced in this exploratory intervention development study, a full-scale implementation evaluation of the intervention will be undertaken.

Michelle Broaddus, PhD, Associate Professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
CAtCH Enhanced uses safety plan formats and methodologies developed in several previous AHW projects to reduce traumatic encounters with first responders at the time of crisis that often lead to costly emergency detentions.

Kelly Gagnon, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
The goal of this project is to develop an intervention that utilizes friendship networks to reach and engage out-of-treatment African American individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in medication for opioid disorder treatment regimens. Additionally, the project aims to adapt the strategy for integration into local peer programs, thereby expanding the reach of the project beyond healthcare settings.

Carol Galletly, JD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: National Institute of Nursing Research
This project uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the influence of actual and perceived immigration laws on Latinx immigrants’ willingness to engage in three central population-level communicable disease management efforts—screening, contact tracing, and treatment. To ensure that the results of our research can be applied rapidly to public health practice, we will collaborate with colleagues at the National Association of City and County Health Officers (NACCHO) to explore the informational needs of public health practitioners tasked with addressing law and law-related concerns.

Jeffrey Kelly, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; Yuri Amirkhanian, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; and Katherine Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Sponsor: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
The development of a vaccine alone does not ensure its uptake in racial minority communities on the scale needed to reduce COVID-19 disparities and bring the disease under control. This research is using mixed methods to identify concerns in the African American community about COVID-19 vaccination; to determine factors that influence the strength of community members’ intentions to vaccinate; and to pilot test and establish the feasibility and acceptability of a virtually delivered intervention that engages personally known and credible community social influencers to address vaccine concerns and endorse vaccine benefits within their social networks. The research will allow us to characterize community vaccine concerns and identify strategies to optimize vaccine uptake in minority populations disproportionately burdened by COVID-19.

Katherine Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
This project will conduct a needs assessment of rural LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin and expand the +YOU program—a community-facing program for parents, guardians, family, and loved ones supporting LGBTQ+ youth—to support the mental health and social support of LGBTQ+ youth in rural Wisconsin communities.

Katherine Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual and gender minoritized young people (LGBTQ+) in Wisconsin face disproportionately high rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, there are no evidence-based suicide prevention interventions that have been developed specifically for Black LGBTQ+ youth. Sources of Strength is a leading evidence-based suicide prevention program for youth that focuses on building social support and resilience. This project, in collaboration with community leaders, the project aims to tailor, pilot, and evaluate a Sources of Strength program for Black LGBTQ+ youth.

Katherine Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
The goal of the project is to develop and launch a health equity implementation science fellowship training program designed to establish and support a pipeline of Wisconsin-based investigators and increase the capacity of MCW to engage in implementation research targeting public health issues.

Katherine Quinn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The proposed study responds to the urgent call for public health to address rising rates of suicide among young Black men by accounting for relevant structural and systemic factors, including police violence. We will used mixed-methods to examine the suicidal thoughts and behaviors of young Black men who have been exposed to police violence in Milwaukee.

Jennifer Walsh, PhD, Associate Professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and Andrew Petroll, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: National Institute of Nursing Research
Engagement in HIV medical care and adherence to HIV medications are both essential in improving health outcomes among people living with HIV (PLH), but PLH living in rural areas—who suffer higher mortality rates than their urban counterparts—can confront multiple barriers to care engagement and adherence, especially as they face the logistical, medical, and social challenges associated with aging. This project is testing the efficacy of two interventions—supportive-expressive peer social support groups and strengths-based case management—to determine their impact on health outcomes and quality of life among rural older PLH in the Southern U.S. If efficacious, these interventions could be disseminated by organizations serving rural PLH throughout the U.S. and result in improved health outcomes and quality of life in this population.

Jennifer Walsh, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: National Institute of Nursing Research
More than half of people living with HIV (PLH) in the US are over age 50, and the majority of older PLH also have other chronic health conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Maintaining engagement in medical care and adhering to medications is essential but can be challenging for people aging with HIV, especially when they also have other chronic health conditions. This mixed-methods study will increase our understanding of the pathways through which stigma and social support impact HIV and other chronic condition care engagement and adherence, informing the development of interventions to improve HIV health outcomes and quality of life for older PLH.

Jennifer Walsh, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
Food insecurity remains an issue for many individuals in Wisconsin. This project is establishing mutual aid groups focused on food equity based in predominantly African American churches in southeast Wisconsin. Groups are expanding community access to adequate nutrition through self-determined projects. The collective efforts will improve mental health outcomes by increasing feelings of self-efficacy and a sense of contributing to a strengthened community.

Jennifer Walsh, PhD, Associate Professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Sponsor: Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
The HCET STIM aims to build a larger network of healthcare providers, distributed across Wisconsin, who are able to promptly identify and treat a person who may be infected with or exposed to a sexually-transmitted infection.