# Mechanisms and pilot intervention for addressing intimate partner violence and HIV in antenatal care

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $163,245

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This application to the National Institutes of Mental Health will provide Dr. Abigail Hatcher with five years K01
support for further training and mentored research. Dr. Hatcher is a social scientist at the University of North
Carolina (UNC) with experience studying social drivers of HIV-related health. She has lived in South Africa
since 2005, where she has established a solid career foundation for behavioral and social research around HIV
and maternal health. The K01 award will provide essential training and professional scaffolding for a critical
career transition, during which Dr. Hatcher will return to Chapel Hill after considerable time abroad to be an
independent investigator and integral part of UNC Department of Health Behavior's global health research.
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs are only effective if women take medication
regularly, yet many perinatal women in sub-Saharan Africa have sup-optimal adherence. Intimate partner
violence (IPV) worsens women's ability to adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and leads to higher rates of
depression. Dr. Hatcher proposes 3 aims, each linked to a robust career development plan advancing
analytical, adaptation, and implementation science skills. First, she will lead secondary analysis of longitudinal
cohort data to determine mechanisms linking IPV to HIV-related health outcomes (ART adherence, viremia),
exploring a hypothesized pathway of mental health. Coursework and mentorship in statistics and epidemiology
(Drs. Levin, Turan, B, and Myer) will support her analyses. Second, qualitative research with perinatal women
and health workers will explore identified pathways and intervention ideas. Dr. Hatcher will systematically
adapt evidence-based mental health programs, enhanced by site visits to Malawi and Zambia, and mentorship
from IPV and mental health experts (Drs. Maman, Christofides, and Pence). Third, she will conduct a
feasibility study to assess acceptability of intervention content, measures, and study conditions. In a quasi-
experimental design, she will assign 2 inner-city Johannesburg clinics to intervention or enhanced standard of
care conditions. Following 80 women in a prospective cohort will allow for preliminarily assessment of
intervention effects on key pathways (perinatal depression and IPV) and refinement of HIV measures (ART
adherence using drug levels in hair samples). The feasibility study will be underpinned by coursework in
implementation research study design and intensive supervised practice from experts in implementation
science for PMTCT (Drs. Turan, J, Brahmbhatt, and Chi). Overall, the research will provide preliminary results
to inform design of a future trial testing an optimized lay health worker strategy. By supporting didactic and
field-based learning and protected time for research, a K01 will advance Dr. Hatcher's career progression as
an independent HIV behavioral scientist, leading to better health and wellbeing am...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10437816
- **Project number:** 5K01MH121185-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Abigail Mae Hatcher
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $163,245
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10437816

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10437816, Mechanisms and pilot intervention for addressing intimate partner violence and HIV in antenatal care (5K01MH121185-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10437816. Licensed CC0.

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