The emergence of rapid, user-friendly, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic systems is paving the way for better disease diagnosis and control. Lately, there has been a strong emphasis on developing molecular-based systems due to their potential for greatly increased sensitivity and specificity. One of the most critical aspects ...

Background: There are limited data on the incidence and predictors of virologic failure among HIV infected children on antiretroviral treatment (ART), particularly among children who have previously suppressed virus. We examined incidence, timing, and correlates of virologic failure following suppression in a longitudinal ...

Introduction Assisted partner services (aPS), a strategy to test and link to care the sexual partners of HIV infected persons, is effective in finding new HIV cases. This study assessed whether the effectiveness of aPS differs by region, rural location and gender in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Kenya. Methods ...

Very little is known about the environmental contamination, due to soiled clinical linens, of hospital laundry facilities. To study this environment, an exposure assessment was performed at an industrial clinical laundry facility in Seattle, WA, USA. Surface swab samples (n=240) from the environment were collected from the ...

Hexavalent chromium-based primers and paints, which are used widely in the aerospace industry as anti-corrosive coatings, pose a health risk to painters and other workers exposed to the paints and primers. Hexavalent chromium has been established as a carcinogen associated with cancers of the lung and nasal passages. Moreover, ...

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 ...

Objectives: To determine the impact of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) on risky sexual behavior practices during the acute period of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and compare the ability of different survey modalities to capture these risky sexual behavior practices. Methods/Study Population: Our study looked ...

Objectives: Recent research finds that self-provided and non-clinical abortions are on the rise, largely due to abortion restrictions. This is a qualitative study with a geographically diverse sample to describe people’s motivations for using and providing alternative abortion outside the formal healthcare system in North ...

Objective: To examine influences of contraceptive access and use pre- and postpartum among a group of postpartum adolescents. Design/Setting/Participants: This qualitative study utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted between October and November 2013 at 2 public sector hospitals in western Kenya. Participants ...