# LeveRaging Community Engagement to SusTAIN NCD InTegrated Care Models (RETAIN-IT)

> **NIH NIH K01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $162,820

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The increased life expectancy of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) and the associated burden of non-
communicable diseases (NCDs) in PLWH has prompted an urgent need for effective community engaged
strategies that engage care PLWH with comorbid NCDs in clinical treatment. Current integrated models of care
lack a focus on community engagement as a strategy to refer impacted individuals to clinical treatment – an
integral aspect of translating evidence-based practices (EBPs) in LMICs. More specifically, despite the use of
community clinical linkages as an effective strategy to link impacted individuals to clinical treatment for complex
health conditions (such as opioid use disorder and emerging infections like the COVID-19 pandemic), its use for
NCD prevention among PLWH and comorbid hypertension in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is
suboptimal. In order to sustain the public health gains made in the treatment of HIV, community clinical linkages
must be prioritized as a key component of HIV/NCD integrated care models in LMICs. Guided by the Community-
Based System Dynamics (CBSD) and Human-Centered Design (participatory approaches that involve
participants in developing solutions to complex system challenges), this K01, “LeveRaging Community
Engagement to SusTAIN NCD InTegrated Care Models (RETAIN-IT)”, leverages the infrastructure of a
community-based organization (Network of People Living with HIV in Nigeria (NEPWHAN)) to co-develop a
community-clinical linkage (CCL) model that will facilitate the referral of PLWH to primary healthcare centers for
hypertension treatment. The research aims of this proposal are to: 1) identify and map the multi-level barriers
and facilitators of developing a community-clinical linkage model for care of PLWH and comorbid hypertension
in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria; 2) co-develop with NEPWHAN, a culturally tailored, community led strategy for linking
PLWH with comorbid hypertension to primary health centers for management of hypertension; and 3) assess
the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of the community-led strategy using a pre-post pilot study
design. To accomplish these research aims and prepare for a larger study, the applicant will receive training in:
1) systems science theory and methods, including community-based system dynamics; 2) partnership building
with community partners; and 3) in using community clinical linkage models as an implementation strategy for
advancing evidence-based practices for integrated models of care in PLWH and comorbid NCDs under the
direction of Drs. Gbenga Ogedegbe, Antoinette Schoenthaler, Nadia Islam, Brita Roy, and Dike Ojji. Findings
from the proposed research will advance research on the role of community clinical linkages in sustaining
integrated NCD models of care in LMICs and directly aligns with NHLBI’s strategic goal to advance translational
research by facilitating innovation and accelerating research translation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10887205
- **Project number:** 1K01HL165086-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Angela Aifah
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $162,820
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10887205

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10887205, LeveRaging Community Engagement to SusTAIN NCD InTegrated Care Models (RETAIN-IT) (1K01HL165086-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10887205. Licensed CC0.

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