Hill named Ujima Program Scholar
Mandy J. Hill, DrPH, associate professor and director of population health in the Department of Emergency Medicine, has been accepted into the 2022 Inaugural Cohort of the University of California San Francisco, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) Ujima Mentoring Program.
The Ujima Program provides multidisciplinary research mentoring and funding to early-stage investigators, particularly those at Historically Black College and Universities, who focus their programs of research on high-priority areas that address HIV prevention, care, and treatment specifically in the Black/African American communities.
All scholars admitted into the program are responsible for forming a mentoring team and are granted an $80,000 stipend to support proposed research, including protected time to engage in research activities and write an NIH R-level grant application, with guidance from mentors and senior Ujima leadership. Hill will receive local mentorship from Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, dean of the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, and Hill’s mentor with the Development Center for AIDS Research (DCFAR) Mentoring Program.
With new HIV cases disproportionately affecting cisgender Black women, Hill looked outside of traditional avenues to engage women in prevention and education by leveraging vlogging as an effective communication strategy to address HIV-related health inquiries.
In a pilot study, Hill compared the vlogging strategy of a one-way monologue by a Black woman who is corrected by a clinician when sharing misinformation to a strategy using storytelling — a conversation between two Black women. While the knowledge base pre- and post-vlog did not improve, the participants were engaged in both types of vlogs, revealing a promising new path for behavioral interventions.
The proposed pilot project was identified by the Ujima committee as having significant scientific merit.
“While entertainment did not translate to knowledge, the manuscript reimagines what HIV/AIDS prevention looks like for women and girls using vlogs as an innovative strategy,” Hill said.
Hill will look to further develop the research that builds on vlogging in tandem with an approach from another study she completed linking Black women in emergency rooms with community resources that provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The majority of Hill’s research with Ujima will continue developing new vlogs for Black women as a health communication strategy to promote PrEP uptake and HIV prevention.