CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Virtual Conference

The 2023 CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Virtual Conference occurred on Friday, December 2, 2022 from 9:00 AM – 12:15 PM. The conference is VIRTUAL and FREE to attend. Access the conference recap with opening remarks, open plenary, and panel discussions. https://chipts.ucla.edu/news/2022-chipts-hiv-next-generation-virtual-conference-recap/

The conference is organized to support the next generation of HIV researchers and service providers who are working towards an end to HIV/AIDS through networking and sharing visions for future priorities. The theme of this year’s conference is “Implementation Science for HIV Prevention and Treatment to End the Epidemics” The conference will feature oral and poster presentations by faculty, student and emerging researchers from various institutions.

Download conference program:
2022 CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Conference Program
Download agenda only:
2022 CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Conference - Agenda
Download oral presentations:
2022 CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Conference Oral Presentations List
Download poster presentations:
2022 CHIPTS HIV Next Generation Conference Poster Presentations

We invite you to take a look at the poster presentations below which will be featured at the 2022 Next Generation Virtual Conference.

CEU credits: Attend the conference, and sign in and out using the form that will be provided to receive credits. The PAETC will follow up post-conference.

The Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center – Los Angeles Area is accredited to provide the following: Continuing LCSW and MFT Education Credit. Courses meet the qualification for a maximum 3.5 hour of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Provider #PCE 128280. Continuing Nursing Education Credit. Course is approved for a maximum of 3.5 contact hour by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider #15484.

POSTER PRESENTATION 1
Presenter(s):

Gabriel Edwards, MD, MPH, Associate Project Scientist, Department of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Presentation Title: Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support: App Design for People Leaving Jail

Summary: This is a project which received funding as part of the CHIPTS 2022 Mentored Pilot Grant Program. It focuses on a population at high risk for HIV -sexual and gender minorities with a recent history of incarceration and substance use, and aims to gather qualitative data on the way the population engages with mobile technology to address health and social needs. We use an implementation science framework centering around health equity to guide data collection.

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POSTER PRESENTATION 2
Presenter(s):

Khadesia Howell, MPH, RAND Corporation, Doctoral Student, Pardee RAND Graduate SchooL
Presentation Title: A ‘Think Aloud’ Qualitative Study to Improve Coping with Discrimination and Reduce Health Disparities among Black Sexual Minority Men

Summary: ‘Think Aloud’ is a processes can add depth to the quantitative and qualitative research and gives dimension to thought processes and behavioral responses. There are a variety of studies looking at Black sexual minority men and intersectionality’s impact on mental health and stigma; however, they do not combine ‘Think Aloud’ with self-reported discrimination for a better understanding of the impact of discrimination and stigma on mental health and coping mechanisms.

POSTER PRESENTATION 3
Presenter(s):

Aliaa Ibnidris, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town
Presentation Title: Association of combined antiretroviral therapy with altered brain function and cognition dysfunction in people with HIV

Summary: Neurocognitive impairment in later stages of HIV is common ad still occurs even in controlled HIV infections with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). This project aims to look at the association between being on cART with brain function as well as with cognitive performance in people with HIV.

POSTER PRESENTATION 4
Presenter(s):

Ricardo Mendoza Lepe, PhD, Bilingual Research Coordinator, Bienestar Human Services
Presentation Title: Desde su Persectiva: Inclusivity and Research Community Advisory Boards in Transgender Research

Summary: Meetings to improve research about their communities, learn and be part of their research, learn about research development, and create inclusive and trusted programs for the transgender community.

POSTER PRESENTATION 5
Presenter(s):

Amanda P. Miller, MS, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, San Diego State University & University of California San Diego (Joint T32 program)
Presentation Title: Evaluating the relationship between hazardous alcohol use andintimate partner violence and PrEP use in pregnant and breastfeeding women at high risk of HIV in Cape Town, South Africa

Summary: HIV, perinatal alcohol use and intimate partner violence (IPV) represent a syndemic that produces a tremendous public health burden for both mother and fetus in South Africa. Contextualizing drivers of alcohol use and risk factors for IPV among pregnant and breastfeeding women and how alcohol use, IPV victimization and other social determinants of health experienced by South African women influence decision making around PrEP use will provide critical insight into potential points of intervention to address these intersecting health issues. We qualitatively explored these themes among pregnant women at high risk of HIV infection who report using alcohol and/or experiencing intimate partner violence during pregnancy.

POSTER PRESENTATION 6
Presenter(s):

Bret Moulton, MPH, Supervising Epidemiologist, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs
Presentation Title: “Ending the HIV Epidemic” in Los Angeles County: HIV Diagnoses Among Clients Utilizing Free, Mailed HIV Self-Test Kits

Summary: As an emerging strategy to expand HIV testing availability, self-testing can expand screening access to persons who might experience barriers to accessing health care. Since 2020, Los Angeles County has provided free HIV self-test kits through  the mail to targeted residents. One-third of people who ordered a kit reported never testing for HIV before, and 1.1% of participants had an HIV diagnosis within one year

POSTER PRESENTATION 7
Presenter(s):

Jada Williams, BS, Graduate Student, UCLA Division of Population Behavioral Health
Presentation Title: Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Queer Black Men in Los Angeles: Reflections from a Virtual Listening Session

Summary: The CFAR Health Disparities Core convened a virtual listening session with queer Black men living in Los Angeles to describe the meanings of a shared lived experience, as well as the situations, conditions, and contexts that are part of the lived experience of participants. The current study was designed to better understand the experiences of queer Black men, including experiences associated with their sexual minority and race or racialized identities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

POSTER PRESENTATION 8
Presenter(s):

Jocelyn Limas, BSc, Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health – Epidemiology, UCLA Semel Institute Center for Community Health
Presentation Title: Barriers to PrEP initiation among at-risk youth in Los Angeles and New Orleans

Summary: HIV PrEP uptake among adolescents and young adults remains low, prompting research and interventions to address barriers to PrEP initiation with a focus on expanding PrEP awareness and knowledge. In this analysis, data from a study of the Adolescents HIV Medicines Trial Network (ATN 149) was used to identify other underlying and often overlooked barriers to PrEP initiation amongst this population and how these barriers changed over time.

POSTER PRESENTATION 9
Presenter(s):

Reshmi Mukerji, MPH, Graduate Student, University College London, Institute for Global Health
Presentation Title: Qualitative study of intersectional stigma of HIV and other marginalized identities among women living with HIV in India

Summary: Women living with HIV carry a disproportionate burden of HIV stigma, especially in countries where gender discrimination is rampant. Women who have additional marginalized identities often experience worsened violence as a result of multiple stigmas. The nature of this violence can be temporal in nature, as there is a reduction in enacted and internalized stigma over time.

POSTER PRESENTATION 10
Presenter(s):

Ali Mhungu, PhD Student, School of Health Sciences University of Dundee
Presentation Title: Adult Girls and Young Women’s experiences of HIV in the context of patriarchal culture in Murewa, Zimbabwe

Summary: This presentation presents the personal, relational and social experiences of living with HIV amongst the adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). The results of this study indicated that despite being disfranchised by HIV, AGYW demonstrated agency and resilience.

POSTER PRESENTATION 11
Presenter(s):

Antwan De’Sean Matthews, BSc, Director Of Youth Programs, Code Tenderloin
Presentation Title: Code Tenderloin Empowering Black Youth Program Provides Incentives And Resources to Address Health Disparities in San Francisco, CA.

Summary: Throughout this workshop, the audience will learn how Nonprofits can effectively provide resources and solutions for the communities they serve through program implementation. Through the EBY program process, students are incentivized to participate in the development of the program by providing financial opportunities throughout the 16 weeks. With a diverse funding source, EBY 2022 cohort funded ten interns at $8,000 per student and three fellows at $10,500 per student. Audience members will have learned by the end of the presentation how to develop effective programs through advocacy and program development and implementation to help address health disparities in their communities.

POSTER PRESENTATION 12
Presenter(s):

Vanessa R. Warri, MSW, PhD Student, UCLA Department of Social Welfare, Luskin School of Public Affairs, Center for the Study of Women
Presentation Title: Towards Justice-Centered Futures in Transgender Research: Community-Driven Insights for Repairing and Forging Stronger Academic and Community Relations

Summary: : Robust safeguards against exploitative or harmful research practices related to transgender, gender-expansive, and intersex (TGI) communities have not yet fully been articulated, much less systematically implemented in institutional settings. This presentation offers reflective insights from phase one qualitative interviews of an ongoing collaboration between research universities and TGI communities in California to examine research priorities, ethical considerations, and opportunities to foster greater relationships among TGI and academic research communities

WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Opening Remarks by:

• Norweeta Milburn, PhD, Director, CHIPTS Development Core
• Steve Shoptaw, PhD, Director, CHIPTS 

Conference Facilitator and Announcements by:

• Dallas Swendeman, PHD, Co-Director, CHIPTS Development Core

OPENING PLENARY

Amaya Perez-Brumer, PhD, MSC, Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Division of Social and Behavioural Health Science

Presentation Title: Who Benefits from Global HIV Prevention Science? A Call for Researcher Accountability

Presentation Summary: To imagine and reimagine a more just praxis for HIV research globally, we, as scholars and practitioners, must grapple with the extreme privilege at the center of who gets to do global HIV health research, who are its beneficiaries, and who are its subjects. To begin to think through these provocations, this talk will discuss three ongoing paradoxes rooted in data politics and the extractive logics at the center of global HIV prevention science.

Set 1 – Panel 1: Mental Health and HIV Prevention 

1. Jasmine Lucero Lopez, BS

Presentation Title:
A virtual platform to mitigate the effects of isolation among older people living with HIV: Lessons learned in usability with Discord - Slides

Presentation Summary: This presentation will discuss the perspectives of a Community Advisory Board (CAB) on the usability of Discord as a virtual village. We will explore the benefits and drawbacks of this platform for the purpose of this study, based on the opinions expressed by the CAB. Lessons learned from this experience and how to improve future studies will be shared.

2. Katherine Lewis, BA

Presentation Title:
I have moments where I am down, but it has made me resilient: Mental health strengths among youth at-risk for and living with HIV - Slides

Presentation Summary: Youth enrolled in several linked HIV prevention and treatment continua studies who participated in a telehealth coaching intervention completed a strengths assessment, and qualitative data on mental health strengths was analyzed using thematic analysis and a resilience lens. Youth self-described mental health strengths included intrapersonal resilience assets (protective traits, stress management activities, feeling positive despite current mental health challenges, and no current mental health challenges) and external resilience resources (social/emotional support, therapy/counseling, and use of mental health medication). These results highlight the utility of strengths-based intervention methods and resilience for youth at-risk for and living with HIV.

3. Curtis Wong, BSc & Alice Ma, BSc

Presentation Title:
Sexual health promotion methods and decision-making among youth at-risk for and living with HIV in Los Angeles and New Orleans: A qualitative, choice-based analysis - Slides

Presentation Summary: A strengths-based telehealth coaching intervention was delivered to youth at-risk for or living with HIV in Los Angeles and New Orleans within the context of several linked HIV prevention and treatment continua studies. We used a choice-based framework and qualitative methods to analyize strengths assessment data, which revealed intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural factors that influenced participants’ sexual health decision-making, including decisions regarding PrEP use, condom use, and other strategies. These results demonstrate the utility of self-determination and choice-based frameworks in sexual health promotion efforts for youth.

Set 1 – Panel 2: HIV Prevention 

1. David Mosqueda & Dino Selders, B.S

Presentation Title:
Addressing PrEP/ PEP Use Disparities Amongst Marginalized Communities by way of a Peer-led Collaborative Initiative - Slides

Presentation Summary: PrEP Furnishing shows promise of assisting marginalized peoples living in primary care healthcare shortage areas. Altamed fast tracks furnishing initiatives by placing PrEP navigators in the lead when it comes to Patient initial care and retention.

2. Lori Zomback BS

Presentation Title:
Medical Student-run Telehealth for HIV Testing and Counseling Among Sexual Minority Men: Impact on Patient Experience and Implications for Student Education - Slides

Presentation Summary: A group of medical students conducted tele-health HIV testing using OraQuick and provided education and risk-reduction counseling during the turnaround time. There was high participant satisfaction and educational benefit for the students, demonstrating benefits to both public health and medical education.

3. Pablo Zapata, PhD

Presentation Title:
Factors Associated with HIV Testing Among Spanish and English Speaking Latinx Youth - Slides

Presentation Summary: Data for the current project were collected as part of SMART, an ongoing pragmatic trial of an online HIV prevention intervention for adolescent sexual minority youth. Despite higher risk, few Latino youth reported ever having received an HIV test. Results suggest sexual health education and pediatricians are an important, but largely untapped, source of testing and could be further supported with familial support to end the epidemic

Set 2 – Panel 1: Substance Use and HIV

1. Boram Kim, PhD, RN & Cheng-Shi Shiu, PhD & Wei-Ti Chen, RN, CNM, PhD, FAAN

Presentation Title:
Factors Influencing Betel Nut Chewing Behavior in People Living with HIV in Myanmar

Presentation Summary: Despite the WHO classifying betel nuts as a carcinogen with a high risk of oral and laryngeal cancer, Myanmar is one of the world’s largest consumers of betel nuts because chewing betel nuts is socially and culturally influenced in Myanmar. The study aimed to examine factors that influence betel nut chewing in people living with HIV (PLWH) in Myanmar. From a secondary analysis of 2020 Myanmar PLWH data, physiological hyperarousal symptoms and loneliness were associated with increased betel nut chewing among PLWH in Myanmar.

2. Amanda P. Miller, PhD, MS

Presentation Title:
Substance use and associated intimate partner violence risk among MSM in Los Angeles, California

Presentation Summary: Prior work suggests substance use is a risk factor for intimate partner violence but limited research exploring this association among MSM exists. We explored associations between substance use and experiences of IPV among MSM participating in the mSTUDY cohort in Los Angeles. Stimulant use was associated with increased odds of experiencing IPV relative to those reporting no stimulant use and the magnitude of this association was greater among MSM living with HIV.

Set 2 – Panel 2: EHE Implementation Science (PT. 1)

1. Alison Hamilton, PHD, MPH

Presentation Title:
The UCLA Rapid, Rigorous, Relevant (3R) Implementation Science Hub: Supporting EHE Initiatives

Presentation Summary: The UCLA 3R Hub, a supplement to CHIPTS, is one of eight hubs funded by the NIMH to support EHE pilot Implementation studies. Tis presentation will briefly address the critical role of Implementation science in ending the HIV Epidemic and will describe services and supports that are available to the Southern California community and beyond.

2. Wei-Ti Chen, RN, CNM, PhD, FAAN

Presentation Title:
Addressing Intersectional Oppression in Asian Pacific Americans with HIV in Southern CA: An Implementation Science Framework - Slides

Presentation Summary: The purpose of this study is to collaborate with the local Asian Pacific American With HIV (APAWH) community to adapt and evaluate the appropriateness, acceptability, and feasibility of a 4-session, 4-week Social-justice Oriented, Family Informed self-management intervention to promote health among APAWH in Southern California, particularly Orange counties (SOFIAA). The scientific premise is that APAWH experience systematic barriers in healthcare delivery and policies, resulting in poor health outcomes. Additionally, regardless of ethnicity, APAs often prioritize their responsibilities to their families over their own individual needs. Our hypothesis is that APAWH will perceive SOFIAA as acceptable, feasible, and appropriate and a future study will demonstrate SOFIAA may be used to promote family support, decrease the effects of structural racism and HIV-related stigma, and achieve better outcomes in APAWH. This study addresses the critical need to optimize an intervention to promote self-management skills among APAWH by simultaneously addressing the reality and effects of structural racism and discrimination against APAWH from both the mainstream U.S. society and the APA communities.

3. Laura Hoyt D’Anna, MPA, DrPH & Everardo Alvizo, LCSW & Jaelen Owens, BA

Presentation Title:
Implementing a Community-Engaged Equity Approach to Identify Barriers and Facilitators to the PrEP Care Continuum in Long Beach, CA - Slides

Presentation Summary: The study aims to address the HIV epidemic by improving PrEP linkage, uptake, and retention among Black and Latinx same-gender loving men, transgender women, and other gender-diverse persons in Long Beach, CA. This is a mixed methods study designed to explore barriers and facilitators to engagement along the PrEP care continuum from the viewpoints of community members and current and potential PrEP providers. Findings will inform the following: 1) the Long Beach HIV/STI Strategic Plan, 2) a culturally appropriate PrEP readiness and facilitation tool, and 3) intervention opportunities to be studied in future research.

Set 3 – Panel 1: Policy Impact

1. Felipe Findley, PA-C, MAPS, AAHIVS & Vanessa Warri, MSW

Presentation Title:
HIV and the Carceral State: Researching Effects on Health Outcomes - Slides

Presentation Summary: This panel will share broad perspectives of CHIPTS Community Advisory Board member and community partners engaged in CHIPTS PIC work to address disproportionate health outcomes across communities engaged by carceral systems. Panelists will elucidate pathways for researchers to better capture the effects of criminalization on health outcomes.

Set 3 – Panel 2: EHE Implementation Science (PT. 2)

1. Ronald A. Brooks, PhD

Presentation Title:
The Incentives for Prevention Study (TIPS): Financially Incentivizing Strategies for HIV Prevention in High-Incidence Populations in LA County - Slides

Presentation Summary: The project will host 7 informational/educational community workshops to provide up-to-date and relevant information on LAI-PrEP to providers (medical and non-medical) that serve Black/Latino/a MSM and transgender women and potential consumers. Additionally, the project will develop a community-derived and culturally appropriate strategic messaging guide to facilitate ongoing dissemination of LAI PrEP information to our focused populations of providers and consumers.

2. Raiza M. Beltran, PhD, MPH & Tam Phan, PharmD, AAHIVP

Presentation Title:
Pharmacist delivered PrEP and PEP in three high priority EHE Counties in CA: An Overview - Slides

Presentation Summary: For this presentation, we will provide a short overview of our proposed project that builds community capacity to better examine the facilitators and barriers to pharmacists-furnished HIV services in select priority areas of Southern California.

3. Carl Highshaw, PhD & Sung-Jae Lee, PhD

Presentation Title:
Haus of C.H.O.P (Choosing Healthy Options for Prevention/PrEP) - Slides

Presentation Summary: For this study, we provide a plan on the equity-focused approaches aimed at optimizing engagement of young Black LGBTQ+ individuals across the PrEP care continuum by partnering with House & Ball Community (H&BC) members using social work guiding principles.

4. Corrina Moucheraud, ScD, MPH & Raphael J. Landovitz, MD, MSc

Presentation Title:
The Incentives for Prevention Study (TIPS): Financially Incentivizing Strategies for HIV prevention in High-Incidence Populations in LA County - Slides

Presentation Summary: TIPS is a recently-funded project (an Ending the HIV Epidemic supplement to CHIPTS) that is using a mixed methods approach to understand how best to design an investigational financial incentives program for PrEP use and HIV prevention among young, Latino, Black and African American, cisgender men who have sex with men in South Los Angeles. This represents a collaborative research endeavor between investigators at UCLA, APLA Health & Wellness, and DHSP; and aims to generate policy- and program-relevant insights.