Strengthening behavioral and social science research capacity to address the evolving challenges in HIV care and prevention in Uganda

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Project summary: The effectiveness of and increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in longer, healthier, and more productive lives for people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, this success presents unexpected consequences of a growing population of people aging with HIV. Challenges of aging with HIV include a high risk of co-morbidities, a double burden of intersectional stigma related to both aging and HIV, and an accelerated aging process. Previous research has shown that older PLHIV are more likely to be socially isolated. The intersection of HIV-related stigma and ageism is a complex issue requiring further research on the design and feasibility of implementing stigma reduction interventions. There is also an urgent need for research to address critical gaps in our understanding of the impacts of aging on the health of PLHIV and the nature of the accelerated aging process in PLHIV. There is therefore a need to train the next generation of researchers to address these challenges and to design, implement, and scale-up tailored and context-specific interventions for the growing population of older PLHIV in Uganda and similar resource-limited settings. In the past 4 years, we have established a comprehensive research-training program at Makerere University (Mak) with emphasis on strengthening leadership and expertise in Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (BSSR-D43TW011304) to address the evolving challenges in HIV care and prevention in Uganda. We have built on longstanding and productive collaborations between faculty at Mak and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), to provide a suitable environment for interdisciplinary training in BSSR. We propose to continue the program and focus the next year and a renewal application to address the challenges of HIV and aging. We propose a one-year supplement to spur interest in research on HIV and aging and to obtain preliminary data to inform future long-term research training in this area. Specifically, we aim to: 1) broaden the MakBSSR training program to include research training on HIV and aging, ageism, and intersectional stigma, 2) provide research training and mentorship to masters and postdoctoral fellowship trainees to address the evolving challenges of HIV and aging in Uganda and, 3) prepare a renewal application of the MakBSSR research training program focused on aging with HIV, ageism and intersectional stigma. This supplement will leverage existing resources of the MakBSSR program including collaborations among social, behavioral, and biomedical scientists at Mak, collaborating HIV programs, and partner universities in the USA. During the one-year supplement, we plan to train one master’s degree candidate and two post-doctoral fellowship trainees, all at Mak.