Male partner involvement has been recognized as an important component of prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT); however, male antenatal attendance has been difficult to achieve. Home-based testing among pregnant couples may be an effective strategy to test men. Women attending their first antenatal visit ...

Introduction We investigated whether 100% fruit juice and whole fruit were independently related to incident hypertension or incident type 2 diabetes. Methods We included women 50-79 years old enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative. The risk of incident hypertension was analyzed in 80,539 participants and risk of incident ...

The studies within this dissertation address gender-based violence (GBV) and its relationship with risk factors for HIV acquisition in African women. Women exposed to GBV have a higher risk of HIV infection, but the mechanisms for this association are not well understood, and the mechanisms may differ according to the patterns ...

Background: Birth weight is an indicator of fetal growth and development, important determinants of life course health. Maternal birthweight (BW) is one of the strongest predictors of offspring BW, perpetuating generational cycles of poor health and risk for adverse birth outcomes. However, potential non-linear relationships ...

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of violence amongst women. IPV experienced during pregnancy can expose women and their babies to fatal and non-fatal adverse outcomes. This study assessed socio-demographic factors associated with current or past intimate partner violence to better identify ...

In the United States (U.S.), the purpose of HIV surveillance and related data systems is changing. Evolving programmatic priorities and complicated care needs of an aging population has led to greater demand for timely, accurate, and detailed data. My dissertation evaluates three prominent data systems: (1) National HIV ...

Introduction: The multi-step cascade of care for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) paves the way to potentially eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission; yet, it also lays the foundation for attrition and disengagement from care, increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality for both mother and child. ...

Malaria is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal death in areas of malaria transmission. Worldwide, it is responsible for up to 100,000 neonatal deaths and 10,000 maternal deaths annually. There is a need for better information on the safety of antimalarial drugs for women and their fetuses. ...

Knowledge of one’s HIV status is vital to accessing treatment and prevention yet only a fraction of individuals in sub-Saharan Africa are regularly tested for HIV. Community-based HIV testing and counseling (HTC), defined as HTC conducted outside of a healthcare facility, has the potential to achieve high population testing ...

Introduction: Migration is a livelihood strategy for many poor households in Nepal where about 56% of the households receive remittances, money sent by migrants. The country also has high rates of undernutrition; 41% of children under five years of age are reported to be stunted. Although remittance payments are known to ...