Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Research in the AHISA Network

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Elizabeth D Lowenthal, University of Pennsylvania; Stephanie M DeLong, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Brian Zanoni, Emory University; Irene Njuguna, Kenyatta National Hospital; Kristin Beima-Sofie, University of Washington; Dorothy Dow, Duke University; Aisa Shayo, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre; Alana Schreibman, University of Pennsylvania; Charisse Ahmed, University of Pennsylvania; Jennifer Chapman, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Lydia Chen, University of Pennsylvania; Shreya Mehta, University of Pennsylvania; Michael T Mbizvo, Population Council
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-09-12
• Publisher: SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2022
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-022-03811-5
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: AIDS AND BEHAVIOR
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 11
• Grant/Funding Information: AHISA was established through a collaboration between the Center for Global Health Studies at the Fogarty International Center and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and other NIH Institutes and Centers.; This work was supported by the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA); This work was funded in part through NIH/NIAID Grant T32AI102623 (Stephanie M. DeLong) and P30AI045008 (Elizabeth D. Lowenthal).
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Implementation science; Social Sciences; AFRICA; Pandemic; Survey; Africa; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Biomedical Social Sciences; Social Sciences, Biomedical
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nursing; Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Abstract

Members of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) network conduct research aiming to close gaps between what is known to be impactful across the HIV prevention and treatment cascade, and services delivered to optimize outcomes for adolescents/young adults (AYA) in high HIV-prevalence settings. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges which threaten to exacerbate care and access disparities. We report results of a survey among AHISA teams with active AYA HIV research programs in African countries to determine how the pandemic has impacted their efforts. Results highlighted the detrimental impact of the pandemic on research efforts and the expanded need for implementation research to help provide evidence-based, context-specific pandemic recovery support. Key lessons learned included the viability of remote service delivery strategies and other innovations, the need for adaptive systems that respond to evolving contextual needs, and the need for organized documentation plans, within empathic and flexible environments.