Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, an associate professor at the Brown School, has received a $5 million federal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to streamline mental health treatment and HIV medication support for adolescents living with HIV in rural Uganda.
The five-year project (2025-2030) is a collaboration with researchers from The City University of New York and other partners. The study aims to integrate evidence-based mental health care into existing HIV treatment systems to improve outcomes for young people navigating both challenges.
(Photo: The Source)
The team will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the intervention, as well as the barriers affecting access to care and treatment adherence. Ultimately, researchers hope their findings also can help improve treatment protocols and scale up the approach to help HIV patients in other in low-income settings.
“This new study builds on lessons learned from our earlier work with young people living with HIV,” said Nabunya, who is also director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) at Washington University in St. Louis. “By integrating mental health support within existing HIV care, we hope to close a critical gap in how we serve this young population. Our ultimate goal is to identify practical, scalable solutions that strengthen both mental health care and medication adherence— two essential components of long-term HIV treatment success.”