New K23 Awarded to DC CFAR Investigator, Rachel Scott, MD, MPH

DC CFAR Investigator, Rachel Scott, MD, MPH, has recently been awarded a K23 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) entitled, "Behavioral Health Determinants of Adherence in Women Living with HIV". 

 

This project seeks to better understand adherence to drugs for the treatment of HIV and retention in medical care in women living with HIV in the United States, particularly during pregnancy and postpartum. Despite very high levels of trauma and resulting mental illness in these women living with HIV, there is little research on the relationship between these problems and adherence and retention in care and no established way to objectively measure adherence in these women during pregnancy and postpartum. To study this further, the researchers will develop a prospective, cohort study of women with HIV during pregnancy and postpartum to 1) adapt an objective ART adherence measure in each trimester and postpartum, 2) characterize the behavioral health predictors of postpartum ART adherence and retention in care, and 3) inform the feasibility and design of future research on behavioral health interventions to improve adherence and retention in care.