Focus Area
HIV and Violence
Violence and HIV are often interrelated, with exposure to violence increasing vulnerability to infection and exacerbating health disparities. Research at the intersection of HIV and violence examines how trauma, stigma, and inequity impact prevention, treatment, and care outcomes. Faculty and projects in this area focus on integrating violence prevention into HIV-related programs, supporting affected populations, and creating holistic interventions that address both health and social determinants of risk.
Researchers
Katherine Andrinopoulos, PhD
Associate Professor, The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
Specialty Areas: HIV, Family Planning
Scott Batey, PhD, MSW
Professor, School of Social Work
Specialty Areas: Community Engagement, Health Equity, Care Intervention
Gretchen Clum, PhD
Associate Professor, The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Specialty Areas: Resilience, Mental Health, Women’s Health
Manuel (Manny) Ocasio, PhD
Co-Director, Violence Prevention Institute Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Specialty Areas: Community Engagement, Interventions, Health Equity, Social Media Approaches
Anneliese Singh, PhD
Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Chief Officer for Academic Excellence & Opportunity, Professor, School of SocialWork
Specialty Areas: Multicultural Counseling, Racial Justice, Resilience
Katherine (Kat) Theall
Co-Director, Violence Prevention Institute Cecile Usdin Professorship in Women’s Health
Specialty Areas: Health Equity, Built & Social Environment, Maternal Health, Social Epidemiology
Projects
NOLAHYPE
Publications
Arnold, E. M., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Christodoulou, J., Yalch, M. M., Murphy, D. A., Norwood, P., Comulada, W. S., Swendeman, D., Abdalian, S. E., Bolan, R., Bryson, Y., Comulada, W. S., Cortado, R., Fernandez, M. I., Flynn, R., Rezvan, P. H., Kerin, T., Klausner, J., Lightfoot, M., & Milburn, N. (2025). Increasing Sustained Viral Suppression Among Youth Living with HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Stepped Care Intervention. AIDS and Behavior, 29(7), 2287–2298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-025-04692-0
Balasubramanian, R., Schnure, M., Forster, R., Hanage, W. P., Batey, D. S., Althoff, K. N., Gebo, K. A., Dowdy, D. W., Shah, M., Kasaie, P., & Fojo, A. T. (2025). The potential effect of ending CDC funding for HIV tests: A modeling study in 18 states. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.19.25336182
Clum, G., Madkour, A. S., Judson, J., Tokarz, S., Smith, E., Stojanovski, K., … Theall, K. (2025). Pathways from violence exposure to medication non-adherence: exploration of mental health symptoms and coping in people living with HIV in the U.S. South. AIDS Care, 37(3), 372–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2024.2445202
Forster, R., Schnure, M., Jones, J., et al. (2025). The potential impact of ending the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program on HIV incidence: A simulation study in 31 U.S. cities. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-25-01737
Hahn, A. W., Ruderman, S. A., Nance, R. M., Whitney, B. M., Eltonsy, S., Haidar, L., Drumright, L. N., Ma, J., Mayer, K. H., Napravnik, S., Eron, J. J., Christopoulos, K. A., Bamford, L., Cachay, E. R., Yendewa, G., Pettit, A., Saag, M. S., Heath, S. L., Moore, R. D., Keruly, J. C., Batey, D. S., Chander, G., Kitahata, M. M., Delaney, J. A. C., Crane, H. M., & Fredericksen, R. J. (2025). Racial inequity in prescription of semaglutide among eligible people with HIV. Diabetes Care, 48(10), 1761–1765. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc25-0236
Ma, A. M., Lewis, K. A., Wani, M., Liu, C., Ghalambor, S., Yuva Raju, R., Wong, C., Swendeman, D., ATN CARES Study Team, Abdalian, S. E., Arnold, E., Bolan, R., Bryson, Y., Chaplin, A., Comulada, W. S., Cortado, R., Donahue, C., Fernandez, M. I., Flynn, R., Fournier, J., … Urauchi, S. (2025). Online Peer Support for Youth at Higher Risk of or Living with HIV: A Qualitative Content Analysis. AIDS and behavior, 29(7), 2135–2143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-025-04677-z
Schnure, M., Forster, R., Jones, J. L., Lesko, C. R., Batey, D. S., Butler, I., Ward, D., Musgrove, K., Althoff, K. N., Jain, M. K., Gebo, K. A., Dowdy, D. W., Shah, M., Kasaie, P., & Fojo, A. T. (2025). HIV incidence could rise by 68% in 11 states if Ryan White ends: A simulation study. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.31.25332525
Swendeman, D., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Arnold, E. M., Fernández, M. I., Comulada, W. S., Ishimoto, K., Gertsch, W., Murphy, D. A., Ocasio, M., Lee, S. J., Lewis, K. A., & Adolescent HIV Medicine Trials Network (ATN) CARES Team (2025). Strategies to Facilitate Service Utilization Among Youth at Risk for HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial (ATN 149). AIDS and behavior, 29(2), 626–641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04545-2
Zalesak, A., Schnure, M., Forster, R., Jones, J. L., Lesko, C. R., Batey, D. S., Althoff, K. N., Gebo, K. A., Dowdy, D. W., Shah, M., Kasaie, P., & Fojo, A. T. (2025). Proposed cuts to the Ryan White Program could raise HIV incidence by 18% in 30 US states and the District of Columbia: A simulation study. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.14.25337745
Comulada, W. S., Rezai, R., Sumstine, S., Flores, D. D., Kerin, T., Ocasio, M. A., Swendeman, D., Fernández, M. I., & Adolescent Trials Network (ATN) CARES Team (2024). A necessary conversation to develop chatbots for HIV studies: qualitative findings from research staff, community advisory board members, and study participants. AIDS care, 36(4), 463–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2023.2216926
Gasik, R. E., Madkour, A. S., Skeen, S. J., Clum, G., Francis, T., Felker-Kantor, E., Ferguson, T., Welsh, D. A., Molina, P. E., & Theall, K. P. (2024). The Impact of Childhood Adversity on Life Course Alcohol Use Patterns and Health Status Among People Living with HIV. AIDS and Behavior, 28(9), 2887–2898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04368-1
Gasik, R. E., Smith, E. A., Skeen, S. J., Tokarz, S., Clum, G., Felker-Kantor, E., & Theall, K. P. (2024). Using Geographic Momentary Assessment to Explore Spatial Environment Influences on Wellbeing in People With HIV. AIDS and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04527-4
Gill, A., Clum, G., Molina, P., Welsh, D., Ferguson, T., & Theall, K. P. (2024). Life Course Stressors, Latent Coping Strategies, Alcohol Use, and Latent Coping Strategies Among People with HIV. AIDS and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04541-6
Hai, A. H., Batey, D. S., Lee, C. S., et al. (2024). Examining the intersection of ethnoracial disparities and HIV status in substance use risks among U.S. adults. AIDS and Behavior, 28, 1621–1629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04277-3
Kerin, T., Cortado, R., Paiola, S. G., Ceballos, J., Abdalian, S. E., Flynn, R., Bolan, R., Adebambo, Y. V., Sim, M. S., Swendeman, D., Ocasio, M. A., Fournier, J., Ank, B., Bryson, Y., & Nielsen-Saines, K. (2024). Demographics of Youth With Newly Diagnosed Acute/Recent HIV Infection in Adolescent Trials Network 147: Early Treatment of Acute HIV Infection. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 74(3), 573–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.09.017
Lee, Y., Vance, D. E., & Batey, D. S. (2024). The unique challenges of older informal caregivers living with HIV in the U.S. Deep South: A qualitative study. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 35(5), 409–421. https://doi.org/10.1097/JNC.0000000000000484
Paine, E. A., Rivera-Cash, D., Lopez, J. M., LeBlanc, A. J., Singh, A. A., & Bockting, W. O. (2024). Latent constructs of economic marginality associated with sexual behavior, healthcare access and HIV outcomes among transgender and nonbinary people in three U.S. cities. AIDS and Behavior, 28, 1197–1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04143-8
Steele, K. A., Tokarz, S., Felker-Kantor, E., Theall, K. P., & Clum, G. A. (2024). Exploring the impact of coping self-efficacy on psychological distress among violence-affected people living with HIV. AIDS Care, 36(10), 1434–1440. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2024.2345688
Swendeman, D., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Arnold, E. M., Fernández, M. I., Comulada, W. S., Lee, S.-J., Ocasio, M. A., Ishimoto, K., Gertsch, W., Duan, N., Reback, C. J., Murphy, D. A., Lewis, K. A., & Adolescent HIV Medicine Trials Network (ATN) CARES Study Team. (2024). Optimal strategies to improve uptake of and adherence to HIV prevention among young people at risk for HIV acquisition in the USA (ATN 149): a randomised, controlled, factorial trial. The Lancet. Digital Health, 6(3), e187–e200. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(23)00252-2
Aryal, A. M., Leibowitz, A., Comulada, W. S., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Bolan, R., Ocasio, M. A., Swendeman, D., & the ATN CARES Study Team. (2023). PrEP use and HIV incidence among youth at-risk for HIV infection in Los Angeles and New Orleans: Findings from ATN 149. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 94(3), 220–226. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000003272
Braddock, W. R. T., Ocasio, M. A., Comulada, W. S., Mandani, J., & Fernandez, M. I. (2023). Increasing participation in a TelePrEP program for sexual and gender minority adolescents and young adults in Louisiana: Protocol for an SMS text messaging–based chatbot. JMIR Research Protocols, 12(1), e42983. https://doi.org/10.2196/42983
Comulada, W. S., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Arnold, E. M., Norwood, P., Lee, S.-J., Ocasio, M. A., Flynn, R., Nielsen-Saines, K., Bolan, R., Klausner, J. D., Swendeman, D., & Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN) CARES Team. (2023). Using machine learning to identify predictors of sexually transmitted infections over time among young people living with or at risk for HIV who participated in ATN protocols 147, 148, and 149. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 50(11), 739–745. https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001854
Lozano, A., Ocasio, M. A., Boga, D. J., Fernandez, A., Hodge, S., Estrada, Y., … Prado, G. (2023). Measurement invariance of family functioning among Latina/o/x sexual minority youth and heterosexual Latina/o/x youth. LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19(5), 367–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/27703371.2023.2217096
Ocasio, M. A., Fernandez, M. I., Cortese, S., & Kampa, K. (2023). Piloting a digital campaign to promote awareness of the Louisiana TelePrEP program among sexual and gender minority young adults. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290149
Skeen, S. J., Tokarz, S., Gasik, R. E., Solano, C. M., Smith, E. A., Sagoe, M. B., Hudson, L. V., Steele, K., Theall, K. P., & Clum, G. A. (2023). A trauma-informed, geospatially aware, just-in-time adaptive mHealth intervention to support effective coping skills among people living with HIV in New Orleans: Development and protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e47151. https://doi.org/10.2196/47151
Jackson, L., Lee, Y., & Batey, D. S. (2022). Structural violence within communities and its impact on the well-being of people with HIV (PWH). AIDS Care, 35(2), 265–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2022.2088679
Kay, E. S., Bruce, J., Foster-Hill, S., Rygiel, A., & Batey, D. S. (2022). Addressing HIV and homelessness during COVID-19: A community-based demonstration project. Health Promotion Practice, 25(2), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221135589
Felker-Kantor, E., Polanco, C., Perez, M., Donastorg, Y., Andrinopoulos, K., Kendall, C., Kerrigan, D., & Theall, K. (2021). Daily activity spaces and drug use among female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic. Health & Place, 68, 102527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102527
Felker-Kantor, E., Polanco, C., Perez, M., Donastorg, Y., Andrinopoulos, K., Kendall, C., Kerrigan, D., & Theall, K. P. (2021). “Todo se trata de a quién conoces”: Social networks and drug use among female sex workers living with HIV in the Dominican Republic. AIDS and Behavior, 25(4), 1276–1289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-03094-8
Wagner, A.C., Bartsch, A.A., Manganaro, M., Monson, C.M., Baker, C.N., & Brown, S.M. (2021). Trauma-informed care training with HIV and related community service workers: Short and long term effects on attitudes. Psychological Services, 18(4), 695. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ser0000465
Holloway, I. W., Krueger, E. A., Meyer, I. H., Lightfoot, M., Frost, D. M., & Hammack, P. L. (2020). Longitudinal trends in PrEP familiarity, attitudes, use and discontinuation among a national probability sample of gay and bisexual men, 2016–2018. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0244448. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244448
Kay, E. S., Lee, Y., Hauenstein, K., Jackson, L., Jackson, E., Fordham, M., … Batey, D. S. (2020). “Where people are safe in their own homes:” The interplay of community factors and health among people living with HIV in the Deep South. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 19(2), 156–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/15381501.2020.1765225
Krueger, E. A., Holloway, I. W., Lightfoot, M., Lin, A., Hammack, P. L., & Meyer, I. H. (2020). Psychological distress, felt stigma, and HIV prevention in a national probability sample of sexual minority men. LGBT Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2019.0280
Address
1440 Canal Street, Suite 1510, New Orleans, LA 70112
social media
@tulanevpi