Jenni Wise: The Impact of Environmental and Psychosocial Stressors on Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Women Living with HIV: A Mixed Methods Study
Dr. Jenni Wise, an Assistant Professor in the UAB School of Nursing has been awarded K12 funding by the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to investigate the impact of healthy environments, the support of family and friends, and the ability to manage one’s day-to-day live on cardiovascular health of women living with HIV (WLWH) and women at risk of acquiring HIV (WARH). In the United States, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and WLWH are at elevated risk for CVD compared to women without HIV. Understanding how clinical and socioeconomic disparities influence individual risk for CVD is essential to developing effective interventions and policies to best improve health outcomes.
Dr. Wise’s research aims to 1) examine the relationships between environmental, interpersonal, and individual factors on inflammation, stress, and CVD risk among nearly 2000 women living with HIV and at risk of HIV in the U.S., 2) explore individual traits (i.e., attitudes, behaviors, and coping mechanisms) that influence the impact of the environment on stress and CVD risk among women living with HIV and at risk of HIV in the Southern U.S. This is important since the Southeastern region is the epicenter for HIV infection and CVD risk in the U.S. The research goal is to differentiate how risks for CVD differ by HIV status, age, exposure to geographic disparities, and dose of stress. The knowledge gained from the proposed research will be used to develop evidence-based interventions to improve CVD outcomes among WLWH.
Researchers will leverage the extensive physical exam, laboratory and survey data from the MWCCS research infrastructure, and add qualitative data collection (virtual focus groups and/or in-depth interviews).
To learn more about Dr. Wise, visit https://scholars.uab.edu/display/jmwise
