SIG and GHRCCA Presentations at AIDS 2024

July 22, 2024

Numerous studies from the Social Intervention Group and the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia (GHRCCA) will be represented in the presentations at at AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference. The oral abstract and poster presentations will include work on information sharing, ensuring that transgender women are included in research and interventions, stigma and mistrust in healthcare systems, HIV self-testing, and more.

AIDS, held by the International AIDS Society, is the premier global conference about HIV and AIDS.


Olivia Cordingley, former MSW student

Information-sharing within social networks of women who exchange sex and use drugs/alcohol in Kazakhstan: implications for increasing consistent HIV testing

Olivia Cordingley, Tara McCrimmon, Brooke S. West, Meruyert Darisheva, Natalya Zholnerova, Ekaterina Grigochuk, Sholpan Primbetova, Assel Terlikbaeva, Louisa Gilbert, Nabila El-Bassel, Victoria Frye 

Funding: Aegida
PIs: Victoria Frye and Nabila El-Bassel

Session: Wednesday, 24 July from 12:00 to 13:00 in the poster exhibition area


Meruyert Darisheva, Project Director for AEGIDA and Orleu, GHRCCA

Covering ALL women via AEGIDA: experiences of transgender women who exchange sex and engaged with an HIV prevention study in Kazakhstan

M. Darisheva, B. West, T. McCrimmon, A. Terlikbayeva, S. Primbetova, D. Belkesheva, S. Kuskulova, M. Nurkatova, O. Balabekova, P. Gulyaev, N. Zholnerova, E. Grigorchuk, L. Starbird, L. Gilbert, N. El-Bassel, V. Frye

Funding: Aegida
PIs: Victoria Frye and Nabila El-Bassel

Presentation: Wednesday, 24 July, from 12:00 to 13:00

Healthcare provider stigma as a barrier to HIV care engagement for women who exchange sex and use substances (WESUS) in Kazakhstan in Project Orleu

M. Darisheva, V. Frye, T. McCrimmon, A. Terlikbayeva, S. Primbetova, N. Zholnerova, E. Grigorchuk, K. Alipova, D. Gryazev, P. Gulyaev, D. Bekishev, Z. Mussina, L. Starbird, A. Davis, B. West

Funding: Orleu
PIs: Victoria Frye and Brooke West

Presentation: Thursday, 25 July from 12:00 to 13:00

Oral abstract session: Paving the way to safety: Harm reduction successes in challenging settings

Track C: Epidemiology and prevention science. CME accredited. Moderator: Meruyert Darisheva

Session: Wednesday 24 July, 10:30 to 11:30, Room 14b/Channel 3


Nishita Dsouza, T32 Postdoctoral Fellow

Investigating Group Modality Dose Effects of an HIV/STI Intervention for Black Women in Community Supervision in New York City, NY: a Moderation Analysis

Nishita Dsouza, Mingway Chang, Elwin Wu, Nabila El Bassel, Dawn  Goddard-Eckrich, Louisa Gilbert

Funding: E-WORTH
PIs: Louisa Gilbert and Nabila El-Bassel

Presentation: Digital poster available throughout the conference


Victoria A. Frye, Co-Director of SIG

AEGIDA: an intervention to support uptake of HIV self-testing and PrEP among women who exchange sex and/or use substances in Kazakhstan

V. Frye, B. West, M. Darisheva, N. Zholnerova, E. Grigochuk, A. Terlikbayeva, S. Primbetova, T. McCrimmon, L. Gilbert, M. Chang, N. El-Bassel

Funding: Aegida
PIs: Victoria Frye and Nabila El-Bassel

Presentation: 24 July from 15:19 to 15:27, Room 14b/Channel 3


Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Associate Director of SIG

“Yeah they suck. It’s like they don’t care about our health.” Perceptions on provider mistrust and PrEP among Black women under community supervision in New York City

Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Kristi L. Stringer, Ariel Richer, Anindita Dasgupta, Deidra Brooks, Melissa Cervantes, Dget L. Downey, Phoebe Kelleher, Sydney L. Bell, Timothy Hunt,  Elwin Wu, Karen A Johnson, Jennifer Hall, Gail-Ann N. Guy-Cupid, Brittany V. Thomas, Kevonyah Edwards, Vineha Ramesh, and Louisa Gilbert

Funding: E-WORTH
PIs: Louisa Gilbert and Nabila El-Bassel

Presentation: Tuesday, 23 July from 12:00 to 13:00


Tara McCrimmon, T32 Predoctoral Fellow

Sex work venue and vulnerability to HIV acquisition among women who exchange sex and use substances in Kazakhstan

McCrimmon T, Darisheva M, West BW, Zholnerova N, Grigorchuk E, Terlikbayeva A, Primbetova S, Gilbert L, El-Bassel N, Frye VA. 

Funding: Aegida
PIs: Victoria Frye and Nabila El-Bassel

Presentation: Wednesday, July 24th, 12:00 to 13:00

The HIV status of peer recruiters and their recruits in a social network strategy promoting HIV testing among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Kazakhstan

McCrimmon T, Hunt T, Gilbert L, Wu E, Chang M, Darisheva M, Terlikbayeva A, Primbetova S, El-Bassel N.

Funding: Bridge
PIs: Nabila El-Bassel and Louisa Gilbert.

Presentation: Thursday, July 25th, 12:00 to 13:00

Perspectives on shared decision-making for HIV treatment in the era of long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy: Qualitative interviews with medical and social service providers across six U.S. cities

McCrimmon T, Collins LF, Shaffer VA, Alcaide ML, Philbin MM.

Funding: "Optimizing HIV adherence by developing a shared decision support tool to facilitate women's choice between oral and LAI ART", NIMH
PI: Philbin

Presentation: Tuesday, July 23rd, 12:00 to 13:00


Brooke S. West, Associate Professor of Social Work

Crowdsourcing and Message Testing to Reduce Stigma among Women who Exchange Sex and/or Use Drugs and Healthcare Providers in Kazakhstan: Examining Tensions between Community and Provider Needs and Goals

Brooke S. West, Meruyert Darisheva, Karina Alipova, Denis Gryazev, Natalya Zholnerova, Ekaterina Grigorchuk, Assel Terlikbayeva, Sholpan Primbetova, Alissa Davis, Victoria Frye

Funding: Orleu
PIs: Victoria Frye and Brooke West

Presentation: Wednesday, July 24 at 12:30