# Implementation Research to Optimize ART Delivery for Adolescent Girls and Young Women Living with HIV in South Africa

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $158,210

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This five-year K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will provide Dr. Rucinski with the
mentorship and training to become an independent investigator focused on research that optimizes the health
and well-being of women and girls at high risk of HIV acquisition and transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. Training
is at the foundation of this proposal and comprises mentorship with expert and multi-disciplinary
implementation science (IS) researchers, didactic coursework, experiential learning, meetings with key
HIV and
stakeholders and community leaders, and rigorous mentored research. The following training objectives will be
accomplished during this award: (1) Obtain scientific expertise in the concepts, theories, tools and methods used
to advance HIV-related IS research and practice; (2) Develop comprehensive skills in qualitative research
methods to support the application of mixed-methods approaches for HIV-related IS research; and (3) Acquire
content expertise in adolescent health and development to inform the tailoring, adaptation, and testing of
developmentally appropriate sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young adults.
Supported by these objectives, the proposed mentored research project
will generate a tailored packaged of
implementation strategies to strengthen contextually appropriate antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs for
adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15-24 living with HIV in Dar es Salaam. In Tanzania, a quarter
of all new annual HIV infections are among AGYW. Despite efforts to decrease incident infections, the number
of AGYW living with HIV in southern and eastern Africa continues to rise and increasingly, the burden is among
those with sexually acquired HIV
. Further, more than half of the 130,000 AGYW living with HIV in Tanzania are
virally unsuppressed, increasing their risk for onward HIV transmission, morbidity, and mortality. Few evidence-
based interventions exist to improve retention in care and viral suppression for adolescents, and even fewer
have been implemented at scale. Peer support models known as “teen clubs” have been prioritized by PEPFAR
and the Government of Tanzania for scale up. Yet evidence to support the feasibility, acceptability, and
effectiveness of this intervention is mixed, and implementation research is needed to close the evidence to
practice gap. Guided by a community-driven implementation planning framework and the Consolidated
Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we propose the following aims in Dar es Salaam: (1)
Examine the social, structural, and clinic-level factors associated with retention in care and HIV viral
suppression among AGYW participating in the DREAMS prevention program who were newly infected or
diagnosed with HIV; (2) Refine a tailored package of implementation strategies to optimize a peer-support model
for HIV treatment; and (3) Pilot the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10911964
- **Project number:** 5K01MH129226-03
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Katherine B Rucinski
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $158,210
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10911964

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10911964, Implementation Research to Optimize ART Delivery for Adolescent Girls and Young Women Living with HIV in South Africa (5K01MH129226-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10911964. Licensed CC0.

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