# Cost-effectiveness of cardiovascular disease prevention in HIV care: a systems science approach

> **NIH NIH K01** · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $125,409

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Implementing effective cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention strategies is critical for reducing the
disproportionately greater burden of adverse CVD outcomes facing people living with HIV. Lifestyle
modification has been identified as a first-line CVD prevention strategy for the general population and
recommended in HIV clinical guidelines. Yet, evidence-based lifestyle modification interventions such as
behavioral counseling and referrals to community resources are rarely used in routine HIV care workflows.
Addressing this research-to-practice gap requires understanding what processes and structures are needed for
effective intervention delivery in HIV care, estimating the costs of interventions, and identifying leverage points
in existing systems to integrate interventions. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a novel systems science
approach that can sort through these intervention and system complexities to find the most cost-effective
intervention solutions and delivery paths. Thus, the overall goal of this study is to engineer a cost-effective
strategy to integrate lifestyle modification interventions in HIV care using ABM. With guidance from experts in
HIV (Dr. Ofotokun), CVD (Dr. Ali), ABM (Dr. Bodner), and economic evaluation (Dr. Rask), this goal will be
accomplished through the following specific aims: 1) assess the contributions of traditional and HIV-specific
risk factors to CVD development in people living with HIV; 2) develop, calibrate, and validate an exploratory
ABM that simulates the cost-effectiveness of implementation strategies focused on integrating lifestyle
counseling and referral in HIV care; and 3) engineer an optimized strategy for integrating lifestyle counseling
and referral in HIV care using ABM and the Multiphase Optimization Strategy. Leveraging these novel
computer modeling and engineering methods will allow us to preemptively model intervention solutions and
delivery paths to address research-to-practice gaps in HIV care.
 I am an Assistant Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. I
have expertise in health intervention research, knowledge translation and epidemiology and possess the
ability, experience, motivation, and determination to successfully complete the proposed training and research
plans. This K01 award will equip me with new systems science and economic evaluation skills and broaden my
understanding and abilities to effect true change in CVD prevention in the HIV population. Because this
application aligns with NHLBI's HIV-CVD research priorities and its strategic mission to optimize
implementation research, it represents a strong platform on which to build my career as an independent
implementation scientist working at the intersection of cardiometabolic diseases and HIV.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10219503
- **Project number:** 7K01HL149479-02
- **Recipient organization:** TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Karla Ivette Galaviz
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $125,409
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2019-09-20 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10219503

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10219503, Cost-effectiveness of cardiovascular disease prevention in HIV care: a systems science approach (7K01HL149479-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10219503. Licensed CC0.

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