Community Health
Program Staff

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Scientific Support Staff:

(photo pending from psych)
Robert E. O'Bannnon, III,
Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Statistician
Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, University of Alabama, 1970.

HIV-Risk Reduction for Incarcerated Women (NIMH Grant):

This five-year grant is funded by the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) to develop and evaluate an HIV-prevention program for incarcerated women. During our collaboration with Central Mississippi Correctional System, we have provided comprehensive HIV-prevention services to over 700 incarcerated women. We have followed over 450 women for 18 months after release from prison to understand better how to provide HIV-prevention programs for women in correctional settings.

Research Sites: Mississippi Department of Corrections, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and Tennessee Prison for Women

Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator:
Janet S. St. Lawrence, Ph.D.
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, GA

HIV-Risk Reduction for Women in Drug Treatment (NIDA Grant):
This five-year grant is funded by the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) to compare behavior skills training and motivational enhancement interventions in reducing HIV-risk for women in drug treatment. Drug treatment in itself is a highly effective method for HIV-prevention. This project seeks to develop an HIV-prevention program that enhances the protective impact of drug treatment.

Research Site: Mississippi State Hospital, Chemical Dependence Unit, Whitfield, MS

Principal Investigator: Gloria D. Eldridge, Ph.D.
Project Director: Kaye F. Sly, Ph.D.

HIV & STD Intervention for Young Men Leaving Prison (CDC Grant)

This five-year cooperative agreement is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and evaluate an HIV and STD risk reduction program for young men being released from prison. The other sites in the cooperative agreement are Brown University, the Center for AIDS Intervention Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California at San Francisco.

Research Sites: Mississippi Department of Corrections and Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Pearl, MS.

Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator:

Gloria D. Eldridge, Ph.D.

James M. Fitterling, Ph.D.
Homeless Veterans Service, Veterans Affairs, Anchorage, Alaska

HIV/STD Prevention for African-American Adolescents

This is a five-year grant funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (LINK TO NICHD WEBSITE.) to evaluate three approaches for reducing HIV and STD risk among African-American teenagers. One approach is a pure abstinence program; the second focuses on abstinence but adds in additional prevention information; and the third focuses on the development of personal pride and self-esteem. The grant is new and in its earliest start-up phase. In months to come, we will be hiring staff and starting work in the community to recruit teens and parents into our programs.

Research Sites: Jackson Medical Mall

Co-Principal Investigators:

Gloria D. Eldridge, Ph.D.
Janet S. St. Lawrence, Ph.D.
Frieda M. Bush, M.D.
Aaron Shirley, M.D.
Eva Henderson, M.D.