Ongoing Research Projects
C-Raven
People with HIV have 2.5 times the prevalence of smoking compared to those without HIV. With grant funding from the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund (CRF) we refined an interactive computer-delivered counseling intervention for tobacco smoking cessation, tailored for persons with HIV (PWH). We followed several steps to tailor and adapt our intervention, including in-depth interviews and focus groups to inform the initial content. After programming the counseling session into the software, we then invited individuals to participate in the program to provide feedback on the content, the usability of the program and the avatar counselor. In April 2018, we began a pilot randomized controlled trial of 40 PWH who smoke cigarettes. We are now developing a second counseling session focused on uptake of pharmacotherapy for tobacco smoking session which we will be piloted in late 2019 and early 2020, with continued support from the Maryland CRF. The goal of this program is to develop a program for smoking cessation that is relevant to individuals in Baltimore City, effective, and scalable.
People with HIV have 2.5 times the prevalence of smoking compared to those without HIV. With grant funding from the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund (CRF) we refined an interactive computer-delivered counseling intervention for tobacco smoking cessation, tailored for persons with HIV (PWH). We followed several steps to tailor and adapt our intervention, including in-depth interviews and focus groups to inform the initial content. After programming the counseling session into the software, we then invited individuals to participate in the program to provide feedback on the content, the usability of the program and the avatar counselor. In April 2018, we began a pilot randomized controlled trial of 40 PWH who smoke cigarettes. We are now developing a second counseling session focused on uptake of pharmacotherapy for tobacco smoking session which we will be piloted in late 2019 and early 2020, with continued support from the Maryland CRF. The goal of this program is to develop a program for smoking cessation that is relevant to individuals in Baltimore City, effective, and scalable.
FEED Study: a partnership with Moveable Feast
This year the Brancati Center formed an important partnership with Moveable Feast, an organization that provides medically tailored meals to people living with chronic disease. With funding from the Leonard & Helen R. Stulman and France-Merrick Foundations, our two organizations are partnering on a research project that will characterize the impact of medically-tailored meals and nutrition counseling on health-related outcomes among food insecure adults with type 2 diabetes in East Baltimore.
This year the Brancati Center formed an important partnership with Moveable Feast, an organization that provides medically tailored meals to people living with chronic disease. With funding from the Leonard & Helen R. Stulman and France-Merrick Foundations, our two organizations are partnering on a research project that will characterize the impact of medically-tailored meals and nutrition counseling on health-related outcomes among food insecure adults with type 2 diabetes in East Baltimore.
SHARP Women
With funding from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and following the principles of Community Based Participatory Research, we are developing and piloting a program to reduce alcohol use and HIV risk among women in Baltimore. We have partnered with our active community advisory board (consisting of local stakeholders) to tailor an intervention that addresses not only alcohol use and its intersection with HIV risk and treatment outcomes, but also alcohol’s intersection with trauma among women. We will be piloting this program in late 2019.
With funding from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and following the principles of Community Based Participatory Research, we are developing and piloting a program to reduce alcohol use and HIV risk among women in Baltimore. We have partnered with our active community advisory board (consisting of local stakeholders) to tailor an intervention that addresses not only alcohol use and its intersection with HIV risk and treatment outcomes, but also alcohol’s intersection with trauma among women. We will be piloting this program in late 2019.
