A randomized pilot trial of a family strengthening intervention to prevent HIV and promote mental health in rural Kenya
PrincIpal Investigator: Eve S. Puffer
Co-Investigators: Sherryl A. Broverman, Kathleen J. Sikkema
READY – Resilience Education And skills Development for Youth and families – is a group-based intervention for adolescents and caregivers that focuses on strengthening family communication and relationships to prevent future risk for HIV and mental health problems. READY was developed using a community-based participatory approach in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, a small community in the Nyanza Province that has the highest rates of HIV in the country. In Muhuru, READY was delivered through religious congregations—the strongest and most trusted social structures in the community. We evaluated READY through a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial in four churches.
Funders: Duke University Center for AIDS Research, Johnson and Johnson, National Institute of Mental Health/Fogarty International Center.
Status: Completed
Relevant Publications:
Green, E. P., Warren, V. R., Broverman, S., Ogwang, B., & Puffer, E. S. (2016). Participatory mapping in low-resource settings: Three novel methods used to engage Kenyan youth and other community members in community-based HIV prevention research. Global public health, 11(5-6), 583-599.
Puffer, E. S., Green, E. P., Sikkema, K. J., Broverman, S. A., Ogwang-Odhiambo, R., & Pian, J. (2016). A church-based intervention for families to promote mental health and prevent HIV among adolescents in rural Kenya: Results of a randomized trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84, 511.
Puffer, E. S., Pian, J., Sikkema, K. J., Ogwang-Odhiambo, R. A., Broverman, S. A. (2013). Developing a family-based HIV prevention intervention in rural Kenya: Ethical challenges in community based participatory research. The Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 8, 119-128.
Puffer, E. S., Meade, C., Drabkin, A., Broverman, S. A., Odhiambo, R. O., & Sikkema, K. J. (2011). Individual- and family-level psychosocial correlates of HIV risk behavior among youth in rural Kenya. AIDS and Behavior, 15, 1264-1274. PMCID: PMC3545696
Puffer, E. S., Watt, M., Sikkema, K. J., Ogwang-Odhiambo, R. A., & Broverman, S. A. (2012). The Protective Role of Religious Coping in Adolescents’ Responses to Poverty and Sexual Decision-Making in Rural Kenya: a brief report. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22, 1-7. PMCID: PMC3325092
Puffer, E. S., Drabkin, A., Stashko, A., Broverman, S. A., Ogwang-Odhiambo, R., & Sikkema, K. J. (2012). Orphan Status, HIV Risk Behavior, and Mental Health Among Adolescents in Rural Kenya. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 37, 868-878. PMCID: PMC3437686