UNC CFAR Social and Behavioral Science Research Core

Currently, the SBSRC is sponsoring three work groups related to Social and Behavioral aspects of HIV infection. Please see descriptions below for the descriptions of each group. You may click on the above corresponding tabs for each work group to learn more about the members of the group, an event calendar including the dates for upcoming meetings, and a list of ongoing work group projects. Please contact the Core Manager if you are interested in participating with a group or groups, or if you have ideas for a future work group.

Social and Behavioral Aspects of Acute Infection (SBAHI) Work Group

Developed in Fall 2007, the SBAHI Workgroup brings together researchers from UNC, Duke, FHI and the North Carolina State Department of Health to collaborate on current research projects as well as on new proposals involving Acute HIV Infection. The Workgroup has served as an important tool for members and participants to discuss their methods of conducting research with the social and behavioral aspects of Acute HIV as well as a means to address challenges working with this population. Drs. Audrey Pettifor and Lisa Hightow-Weidman co-direct the Workgroup on Acute HIV Infection and bring both domestic and international experience with AHI to their leadership of the group.

The Workgroup has used their CFAR funds to present multiple speakers and events that involve the larger social and behavioral research and biomedical communities in the research and education concerning Acute HIV Infection. The Workgroup and UNC CFAR Core G conducted an Acute HIV Symposium in September, 2008, with speakers from UNC, Duke and NIMH. The Workgroup has also sponsored a speaker from Family Health International to discuss social and behavioral research concerning AHI and experiences with this population. Future plans for this working group involve a collaborative approach to addressing the effectiveness of current research with AHI and plans for innovative new research with this population.

HIV-Related Stigma Work Group

The HIV-Related Stigma Workgroup was created in Fall 2008 in response to interests from social and behavioral researchers from multiple disciplines relating to HIV. This Workgroup provides a platform for faculty and graduate student researchers to discuss issues surrounding stigma and HIV and collaborate on research projects and reviews. The group has focused on defining stigma, issues concerning compounded stigma and overlapping of diseases affecting stigma, as well as measurement of stigma, both perceived and experienced. The Workgroup collaboratively created an informational matrix to assess the quality and generalizability of existing stigma measurements and scales.

Chaired by Dr. Sohini Sengupta, a junior faculty member in the Department of Social Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, this Workgroup is currently working towards the development of a database and criteria to assess the effectiveness and applicability of scales measuring HIV stigma. The Workgroup has future plans for collaboration on a review publication of these stigma scales. This group is also discussing and coordinating the invitation of scholars on stigma and HIV to speak for a wider community in the social and behavioral research fields.

Criminal Justice Work Group

The Core G sponsored Criminal Justice Work Group (CJWG) has a rich history of successful grant development, publications, and program implementation. Reinvigorated in the Spring of 2009, the CJWG seeks to think critically about issues of criminal justice and HIV, to raise awareness about these issues, and to develop interventions to address the challenges of this area of research and program implementation. Chaired by Dr. Catherine Fogel of the UNC School of Nursing, the CJWG has founded a diverse steering committee whose members include Drs. Carol Golin, David Wohl, Adaora Adimora, Becky White, and Anna Scheyett. The members of this steering committee were instrumental in previous CJWG activities and organization, and have a demonstrated dedication to this area of research.

In addition to developing collaborative approaches for new and innovative research, the CJWG is Currently planning to host a national symposium that will focus on social, behavioral, clinical, and biomedical issues of conducting research and implementing interventions in the broad topic of criminal justice and HIV. The group hopes to hold the symposium in the Summer of 2010.