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The Effectiveness Of Interventions To Increase Antiretroviral Therapy (Art) Adherence Among Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) In The United States: A Systematic Review, Everardo Leon

Doctoral Dissertations

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to affect Latinx men who have sex with men (MSM). Interventions have been developed to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, but little is known about the number of available interventions and their effectiveness to assist Latinx MSM. The current systematic review investigated the effects of interventions aimed at improving ART adherence for the treatment of adult Latinx MSM with HIV in the United States. The systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to communicate the results. The inclusion criteria comprised Latinx MSM with HIV, any type of …

Aging Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Narrative Analysis Of Stigma, Seja Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations

Aging Women with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Narrative Analysis of Stigma

Seja Jackson, Ph.D.

University of Connecticut, 2020

Over 50 % of people living with HIV are over age 50 (CDC, 2019a). Older women face unique challenges due to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) stigma, which leads to complications including late diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Despite the transition of HIV to a chronic disease, HIV stigma remains.

In alignment with feminist principles, this author used Catherine Riessman’s (1993; 2008) method of thematic narrative analysis to illuminate the stories of aging women living with HIV. I interviewed 12 women over 50, aging …

Factors Related To Medication Adherence And Viral Variability In Hiv+ Individuals, Shannon Bierma

Doctoral Dissertations

Research on HIV treatment has indicated there are numerous factors that contribute to medication nonadherence, and therefore, risk of transmission. Mental health issues, substance abuse, and co-occurring physical health issues have shown to have negative impacts on HIV medication adherence. Additionally, living in a rural area compared to an urban region negatively impacts adherence. African American males fare the worst in HIV treatment, having the least engagement with HIV care resulting in late stage HIV upon diagnosis, and are within a group that are at the highest risk of infection. Gender role socialization theory and research on male help-seeking behavior …

A Symptom Cluster Approach To Psychiatric Disorders Among Men Who Have Sex With Men And Have Experiences Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Impact On Sexual Health Knowledge And Sexual Risk Taking Behavior, Brett M. Goshe

Doctoral Dissertations

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men carry a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections in the United States. This same group is also particularly vulnerable to experiences of childhood trauma, including sexual abuse, and subsequently developing psychiatric disorders later in adulthood. This study examines how particular psychiatric disorders and their underlying symptom clusters impair sexual health knowledge and condom use self-efficacy, and also increase sexual risk taking behavior. A total of 296 HIV-uninfected men who have recently had condomless sex with other men completed a baseline survey and psychodiagnostic interview. Among the measures included in this …

Beyond The Individual: The Roles Of Social And Structural Contexts In Hiv Prevention And Hiv Acquisition In The United States, Jessica L. Maksut

Doctoral Dissertations

The present dissertation leverages the utility of analyzing a variety of secondary data sources to explore relationships between qualities of social and structural environments and HIV-related outcomes via a social-ecological approach. Advances in HIV outcomes for vulnerable, high-risk populations, e.g., African-American/Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (BMSM), have been stymied by social and behavioral scientists’ tendency to primarily call upon individual-behavioral factors to explain the elevated rates of HIV observed within BMSM communities. This dissertation employs a broader analytical lens to explore relationships between social and structural variables with HIV acquisition and other key HIV-related …

Comparison Of The Efficacy Of Arv Medications Alone And In Combination With Herbal Medications In The Treatment Of Hiv Among Nigerian Hiv+ Patients, Abdulfattah Durojaiye

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT COMPARISON OF THE EFFICACY OF ARV MEDICATIONS ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH HERBAL MEDICATIONS IN THE TREATMENT OF HIV AMONG NIGERIAN HIV+ PATIENTS MAY 2017 ABDULFATTAH B. DUROJAIYE, BSN, UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY OF NJ (NOW RUTGERS UNIVERSITY) BSc, UNIVESITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA MSc, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA PhD, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST Directed by Prof. Donna Zucker Background/Purpose: There is disproportionate incidence of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to the rest of the world. Of the estimated 35.3 million people living with HIV, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest level of HIV infections, accounting for 69% …

Hiv-Related Stigma And Health Among People Living With Hiv In Middle Georgia: Examining The Roles Of Stress And Coping, Kaylee Burnham

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective – HIV-related stigma and discrimination are drivers of health disparities among people living with HIV (PLWH). The U.S. South bears much of the burden of the domestic HIV epidemic. This study seeks to explore the dynamic effects of HIV-related stigma on health outcomes in a population of PLWH in middle Georgia. Experiences of enacted HIV stigma in the past year were assessed and participants indicated how stressful these events were and how they coped with the most impactful event. The primary study aim tested a moderated serial mediation model of HIV stigma on health in this population.

Method – …

Overweight And Obesity In Persons Living With Hiv: Stigma And Health, Dominica B. Hernandez

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective: Both obesity and HIV are highly stigmatized diseases; however, little is known about the psychological experience of individuals at the intersection of these two conditions. This cross-sectional study examined whether PLWH with overweight or obesity endorsed and experienced less anticipated and enacted stigma due to their weight status.

Methods: PLWH (n = 671; 428 male and 196 females) were recruited from a holiday donation center in Atlanta, Georgia. Self-reports of medical history, HIV and weight stigma, body image, perceptions of weight status, and nutritional intake were collected.

Results: 26.8% were overweight (BMI >25-25.9 kg/m²) and 32.4% …

The Daily Relationship Between Food Insecurity And Medication Adherence Among People Living With Hiv, Jennifer A. Pellowski

Doctoral Dissertations

Limited access to resources based on social position can significantly impact health behaviors. Previous research on food insecurity and HIV has focused on establishing the relationship between food insecurity and antiretroviral (ARV) medication non-adherence in a variety of social contexts (i.e. resource poor and resource rich environments). However, one main caveat of these studies is the level of analysis. Previous studies have used cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that concentrate on the individual level of analysis. However, these study designs do not allow for a true test of whether ARV medication non-adherence occurs on days with limited access to food.

The …

Nipe-Nikupe: A Multi-Level Perspective Of Gender And Hiv Prevention In Heterosexual Marriages In Kenya, Rose Anne N. Njiru

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

Intimacy Uncertainty And Identity In Gay Male Couples Dealing With A Serodiscordant Hiv Status, Scott Allen Eldredge

Doctoral Dissertations

When individuals are diagnosed with a chronic illness, their lives instantly change. Daily routines are interrupted and attendance to the symptoms and side effects of illness and medication becomes a daily chore. However, the patient is not the only one that feels the disruptive effects of illness and the partner of the chronically ill patient must also contend with the daily effects of an illness that they themselves do not have. In the case of HIV, the infectious nature of the disease, along with the stigma associated with the disease, serve to be additional sources of stress in an already-stressful …

Hiv Infection: Solitary Work, Silent Suffering Beliefs About Responsibility For Health And The Ability To Impact Disease Progression, Cynthia A. Frank

Doctoral Dissertations

HIV Infection: Solitary Work, Silent Suffering

Beliefs about Responsibility for Health

and the Ability to Impact Disease Progression

Cynthia Frank, PhD

University of Connecticut 2014

In contemporary Western society, health has become a personal and moral responsibility. People are blamed for their unhealthy or risky behavior and for acquiring certain diseases according to socially and culturally constructed norms. HIV is an infectious disease that is imbued with moral overtones and stigma, often multidimensional, creating an illness in which responsibility (for acquisition, transmission, and viral suppression) is an overarching theme. Thus, it represents a unique vehicle for exploring belief systems related …

Growing Up With Hiv In Kisumu, Kenya: Participatory Action Research With Young People Living With Hiv, Zoe Alexis Hobbs Marinkovich

Doctoral Dissertations

Forty-one percent of new HIV infections are in young people between the ages of 15-24 (Masquillier, et al., 2012). In addition to new infections, advances in medications are now making it possible for children born with HIV to survive into adolescence and adulthood (Bland, 2011; Gray, 2010). Due to the growing population of youth living with HIV, there is an increased need for adolescent-appropriate care and intervention. While many studies have examined the role of education in preventing HIV transmission for HIV-negative youth in the Sub-Saharan context, few have focused on the education and experiences of young people living with …