# Using Implementation Science to Increase PrEP Uptake among African American Women in the South

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $135,135

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) are intersecting, mutually-reinforcing epidemics that significantly affect
African American women, particularly women in the U.S. South. African American women face some of the
highest rates of both HIV and IPV among U.S. women, and these burdens are most pronounced in the South.
IPV-exposed African American women may experience forced, condomless sex, which increases the risk of
HIV acquisition. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the most innovative HIV prevention strategy, however it
remains underutilized by African American women and residents of the South. In order to reduce African
American women’s HIV acquisition risk in the South, effective HIV prevention interventions need to
concurrently address relationship safety and HIV acquisition risks. The proposed training plan in this Mentored
Research Scientist Development Award (K01) application will provide the knowledge and skills that the
principal investigator, Tiara C. Willie, PhD, MA needs to launch an independent and productive research
career. Further, the proposed research would contribute significantly to PrEP implementation in real-world
settings and facilitate PrEP access to African American women in the South. The proposed research aims to
address this call via the development, testing, and evaluation of a PrEP Implementation Toolkit for staff in
community healthcare clinics in the South. The Toolkit will be evaluated using the Reach, Effectiveness-
Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM). The Toolkit will facilitate PrEP uptake among eligible
African American women in the South, especially IPV-exposed women. This K01 project includes formative
work (i.e., reach stage), like key informant interviews with staff at partnering clinics (N=10), and six focus
groups with African American women. The qualitative data will inform the development of the PrEP
Implementation Toolkit. The Toolkit will be employed in two clinics using a nonrandomized waitlist control
design. Monthly aggregated clinic data will be collected 8-months before and after Toolkit implementation in
each clinic. Toolkit effectiveness will be assessed using interrupted time series analyses and outcomes are
changes in PrEP uptake, coverage and retention among African American women. Four focus groups with staff
will be conducted to assess adoption, acceptability, and feasibility. 20 qualitative interviews with staff will be
conducted to assess fidelity. This project will yield preliminary evidence of a PrEP implementation program for
African American women with a focus on IPV. It will also inform future large-scale studies using stepped-
wedge designs. The training acquired by Dr. Willie via this timely and novel project, courses, workshops,
conferences, manuscript and grant-writing, and mentorship will target 3 training objectives to gain expertise in:
(1) HIV prevention research among African American women, (2) intervention development and evaluatio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10199997
- **Project number:** 5K01MD015005-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tiara C. Willie
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $135,135
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-22 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10199997

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10199997, Using Implementation Science to Increase PrEP Uptake among African American Women in the South (5K01MD015005-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10199997. Licensed CC0.

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