The Research Branch of the Duke Sexual and Gender Minority Health Program brings together SGM-led multidisciplinary teams of researchers and clinicians to work collaboratively and diligently to deliver evidence designed to promote SGM health and reduce SGM health inequities, locally, nationally, and globally.
SMILE Study (Mental Health and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minorities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries)
The SMILE Study is an NIH-funded R01 longitudinal cohort study in Brazil, Kenya, and Vietnam that seeks to estimate prevalence of mental health symptomatology among SGMs by country and SGM identity group, identify cultural, contextual, interpersonal, and individual determinants of mental health over time, and determine SGMs' mental health intervention preferences through discrete choice experiments.
Sexual and Gender Minorities Pilot Project
The Wellbeing of Sexual and Gender Minorities seeks to learn about the lives and experiences of sexual and gender minorities (SGM) living in four countries: Cambodia, India, Kenya, and Brazil. This pilot will help to better examine the effect of international, national and local policies and care practices regarding SGM on: stigma, discrimination, mental health, including symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidality; physical health; and health care seeking practices. The findings from this study will allow the research team to apply for a 5-year longitudinal grant that will test the hypothesized associations and thereby identify areas for potential intervention strengthening.
Assessing Mental Health Among MSM in Chongqing, China
This study is conducting an online survey to 1) assess mental health outcomes among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chongqing, China; 2) determine factors associated with mental health outcomes; and 3) assess use of existing mental health services and preferences for new mental health services.
Epic Allies: A Smartphone App for ART Uptake and Adherence Among YMSM
This multi-site study tests the efficacy of Epic Allies, a mobile phone application (app) that utilizes game mechanics and social networking features to improve engagement in care, anti-retroviral therapy (ART) uptake, ART adherence and viral suppression rates among HIV+ young men who have sex with men (YMSM).
Tough Talks
This study will further refine and enhance Tough Talks, a virtual reality disclosure intervention for HIV-positive young men who have sex with men, and develop a full-feature version to test via a multi-site study.
Addressing Stigma Among Black MSM in a Mobile Phone and Internet HIV Intervention
This study assesses how young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are utilizing an online social support platform to address the multiple stigmas they face in their daily lives.
Prepared, Protected, emPowered (P3): A PrEP Adherence App for YMSM
This study will refine and test the efficacy of a mobile phone app that uses social networking and game mechanics to improve PrEP adherence among young men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TW).
Test Rehearsal: A Virtual Reality Intervention to Maximize the HIV Testing Experience for YMSM
This study is developing a virtual reality intervention to increase HIV testing uptake among adolescent men who have sex with men (MSM) by providing realistic character-driven scenarios that allow youth to actively experience the HIV testing process.