Julia Dickson‐gómez
Biographic Data
| ID | 80078 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Julia Dickson‐gómez |
| GIVEN NAMES | Julia |
| FAMILY NAME | Dickson‐gómez |
| SIGNATURE | GOMEZ J D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Medical College of Wisconsin |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9388-847X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 72 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 172 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 72 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Understanding the burden of poor health outcomes among climate-related migrant populations in Sub-Saharan Africa
Emotional Burden and Selfcare Strategies Among Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response Personnel in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin, USA
INTRODUCTION: Opioid prevention personnel who interface with overdose events are at a risk of emotional challenges, though little research has explored their emotional experiences and self-care strategies. We explored the emotional experiences and self-care strategies to manage mental and emotional challenges among individuals who work in overdose prevention and response. METHODS: This was a qualitative study. Using a phenomenological approach, w…
Correlates of behavioral and emotional disorders among school-going adolescents in Uganda
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a critical development transition period that increases vulnerability to poor mental health outcomes. Recent evidence suggests that adolescents in Uganda experience high rates of behavioral and emotional disorders. We examined the factors associated with emotional and behavioral health outcomes among school-going adolescents in Uganda. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 1,953 students aged 10-18 enrolle…
Effect of intimate partner violence on depression severity among women in informal settlements of Uganda
The increase in depression severity among women exposed to IPV underscores the compounding effects of IPV during early phases of the pandemic. Public health responses to outbreaks should integrate mental health support and violence prevention strategies, particularly for women experiencing IPV. Future research should explore the long-term impact of the pandemic on mental health, especially in informal settlements
Strategies to Facilitate Interorganizational Collaboration in County-Level Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response
Community-level overdose prevention interventions often require collaboration among organizations from various sectors including emergency medicine, criminal justice, harm reduction, and drug treatment organizations, yet little is known about ways to foster interorganizational collaboration among organizations with very different missions and in different socio-political contexts. This paper presents results from interviews with key informants in…
Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and substance use among secondary school adolescents in central and Eastern Uganda
Targeted school-based interventions addressing sex-specific risks, and urban-rural disparities in mental health may help reduce use of alcohol, substances and SUD impairment among adolescent students in central and eastern Uganda
They tossed me up like a ball”
Our study reveals important and substantial gaps in the current healthcare system in Uganda. The main perceived health system challenges were its affordability and 'approachability' among residents of informal settlements. GHIs drain resources from the national health system and neglect coverage for non-priority diseases. We call upon policymakers to re-prioritize and respond to these health system challenges
Effects of a Sequential Community-Based Multi Component HIV Intervention on Sexual Behavior, Drug Use and Syringe Sharing for People Who Inject Drugs on the US-Mexico Border
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Pilot Study To Integrate Buprenorphine into a Harm-reduction Drop-in-Center in Kampala, Uganda
Illicit drug use has been increasing rapidly in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade. However, until recently HIV prevention has largely ignored people who inject drugs and medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) were largely absent. This paper reports results of a pilot intervention that integrated buprenorphine into a harm-reduction drop-in-center for people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in Kampala, Uganda. We collected implementation…
Navigating misinformation and political polarization of Covid-19
Introduction: The spread of misinformation combined with the political polarization of the COVID-19 vaccine created major challenges for public health officials responding to the COVID pandemic and vaccine roll-out. The challenges public health officials faced when making safety recommendations and promoting the vaccine only exacerbated the already exhausting work conditions they experienced since the start of the pandemic. Combating misinformati…
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Challenges in Informal Settlements in Kampala, Uganda
Diarrhea causes 1.6 million deaths annually, including 525,000 children. Further, chronic diarrhea puts children at risk for mineral deficiencies, malnutrition, and stunting which, in turn, can result in cognitive deficits, poor performance in school, and decreased disease immunity in adulthood. Most diarrhea is caused by water contaminated by fecal matter. Interventions to improve clean water and sanitation can save lives; however, challenges pe…
Intimate partner violence and antenatal care utilization predictors in Uganda
Addressing enabling and healthcare system/environmental factors may increase ANC utilization among Ugandan women experiencing IPV. Prevention and response interventions for IPV should include strategies to increase girls' higher education completion rates, improve women's financial autonomy, and mass media exposure to improve ANC utilization in similar populations in Uganda
The Relative Influence of Perceived Immigration Laws and Consequences on HIV Testing Among US Latino Immigrants
Institutional violence from police militarization and drug cartel wars as a ‘Big Event’ and its influence on drug use harms and HIV risk in people who inject drugs on the U.S.–Mexico border
Covid-19-Related Disruptions to HIV Testing and Prevention Among Young Sexual Minority Men 17–24 Years Old
Syndemics and the etiology of opioid misuse among women
The opioid epidemic remains a public health priority in the United States. There is evidence that women are experiencing disparities within the epidemic, including an earlier onset of prescription opioid misuse and a higher prevalence of child maltreatment, interpersonal violence, and mental health disorders. The purpose of the current study was to explore the social context of opioid misuse initiation among women using a syndemics framework. In-…
The Role of Context in Integrating Buprenorphine into a Drop-In Center in Kampala, Uganda, Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research
DIC staff and their commitment to harm reduction and advocacy facilitated the process of obtaining necessary approvals
Latinx Immigrants’ Legal Concerns About Sars-CoV-2 Testing and Covid-19 Diagnosis and Treatment
A qualitative examination of naloxone access in three states
Findings suggest that public health interventions that target naloxone distribution through harm reduction programs can enhance access within local communities. Strategies that address stigmatizing attitudes toward people who use drugs and harm reduction may also facilitate naloxone expansion efforts, overall, as well as policies that improve the affordability and awareness of naloxone through the pharmacy
Intersectional Discrimination and PrEP use Among Young Black Sexual Minority Individuals
US public charge policy and Latinx immigrants’ thoughts about health and healthcare utilization
Participants were acutely aware of the image of immigrants as public charges or potential burdens on government resources that underlies US immigration policy. In some cases, participants came to inaccurate and potentially harmful conclusions about the substance of laws and regulations based on their beliefs about the government's rejection of immigrants who may burden public resources. This underscores the importance of ensuring that immigrants …
Intersectional Resilience Among Black Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men, Wisconsin and Ohio, 2019
Objectives. To investigate resilience strategies used by Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) to navigate racism and heterosexism. Methods. In 2019, we conducted in-depth interviews with 46 Black MSM in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cleveland, Ohio. Thematic analysis, informed by intersectionality, was used to identify intersectional resilience within the context of participants’ lives. Results. Our analyses revealed ways in…
Barriers to drug treatment in police diversion programs and drug courts
Drug treatment courts and police diversion programs are designed to divert people away from incarceration and into drug treatment. This article explores barriers in linking people who use drugs (PWUD) into drug treatment facilities in urban, suburban, and rural areas of Connecticut, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Between December 2018 and March 2020, study teams in the three states conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with key informants invol…
Validation of Brief Condom Use Attitudes Scales for Spanish-Speaking People Who Use Crack Cocaine in El Salvador
A qualitative examination of substance use disorder treatment-seeking among women with opioid use disorders
Women with opioid use disorders (WWOUD) experience disparities in access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, yet the reasons for these differences are unclear. Co-occurring social and structural factors may work synergistically to impede women's treatment-seeking efforts. The current study explored the socio-structural context of SUD treatment-seeking among WWOUD. We used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 56 women who had misused a…
The fear of being Black plus the fear of being gay
The Sound of Barking Dogs
This article examines the trans generational transmission of trauma among campesinos living in a rural, repopulated community in El Salvador. Research with Holocaust survivors and their children has shown that traumatic symptoms can be transmitted to children who did not directly experience the Holocaust. The mechanisms by which this transgenerational transmission occurs have not been fully explored and require an expansion of medical and anthrop…
A Little Thing Called Love
HIV prevention approaches must recognize the importance of love and the needs that primary relationships satisfy if they are to be considered relevant by those at greatest risk. Negotiated safety and similar strategies may be an important risk reduction tool for heterosexuals, particularly those in HIV-affected relationships, but their potential effectiveness may vary
Cultural stress and psychological symptoms in recent Venezuelan immigrants to the United States and Colombia
Growing Up in Guerrilla Camp
Many recent wars are characterized by high levels of civilian casualties, a large proportion of whom are women and children. Furthermore, an estimated 300,000 children are actively participating in 36 ongoing or recently ended conflicts around the world. However, there is a dearth of research on the long-term effects of war trauma experienced in childhood or children's active participation in armed conflicts. This article explores the long-term e…
An Exploration of Syndemic Factors That Influence Engagement in HIV Care Among Black Men
Syndemic theory seeks to understand the interactions and clustering of disease and social conditions and explain racial disparities in HIV. Traditionally applied to HIV risk, this study characterizes the syndemic challenges of engagement in care among Black men living with HIV and provides insight into potential HIV treatment interventions to retain vulnerable individuals in care. Interviews were conducted with 23 HIV-positive men who were either…
Changing Drug Users' Risk Environments
Peer delivered, social oriented HIV prevention intervention designs are increasingly popular for addressing broader contexts of health risk beyond a focus on individual factors. Such interventions have the potential to affect multiple social levels of risk and change, including at the individual, network, and community levels, and reflect social ecological principles of interaction across social levels over time. The iterative and feedback dynami…
Supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals
Chronically homeless individuals often have extensive health, mental health and psychosocial needs that pose barriers to obtaining and maintain supportive housing. This study aims to qualitatively explore supportive housing providers' experiences and challenges with housing chronically homeless individuals and examine opportunities to improve supportive housing systems of care. In 2014, we conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 65 program…
Gender Norms and Age-Disparate Sexual Relationships as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, and Risky Sex among Adolescent Gang Members
US public charge policy and Latinx immigrants’ thoughts about health and healthcare utilization
Participants were acutely aware of the image of immigrants as public charges or potential burdens on government resources that underlies US immigration policy. In some cases, participants came to inaccurate and potentially harmful conclusions about the substance of laws and regulations based on their beliefs about the government's rejection of immigrants who may burden public resources. This underscores the importance of ensuring that immigrants …
Intersectional Resilience Among Black Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men, Wisconsin and Ohio, 2019
Objectives. To investigate resilience strategies used by Black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) to navigate racism and heterosexism. Methods. In 2019, we conducted in-depth interviews with 46 Black MSM in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cleveland, Ohio. Thematic analysis, informed by intersectionality, was used to identify intersectional resilience within the context of participants’ lives. Results. Our analyses revealed ways in…
Childhood Adversity and the Continued Exposure to Trauma and Violence Among Adolescent Gang Members
This study investigates interfaith groups from across the United States to understand how these religious settings may serve as mediating structures to facilitate individual political action. Based on a multilevel modeling analysis with 169 individuals from 25 interfaith groups, we found that core activities of the group, such as group members sharing community information (e.g., announcing upcoming events, political meetings, community issues) o…
Altruism and Peer-Led HIV Prevention Targeting Heroin and Cocaine Users
Peer-delivered HIV prevention and intervention programs play an important role in halting the spread of HIV. Rigorous scientific analysis of the aforementioned programs has focused on the immediate reduction of risk-related behaviors among the target populations. In our longitudinal study of the Risk Avoidance Partnership Peer Intervention for HIV, we assessed the long-term behavioral effects of a peer-led HIV intervention project with active dru…
Structural and Personal Factors Related to Access to Housing and Housing Stability among Urban Drug Users in Hartford, Connecticut
Several policies criminalizing drug use significantly impact drug users' access to housing. This article explores the impact of housing policies on active drug users' access to housing and structural and personal factors related to their homelessness and housing stability. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 65 active cocaine or heroin users at baseline, three and six months. Participants were purposively sampled to reflect a variety of ho…
Placement of chronically homeless into different types of permanent supportive housing before and after a coordinated entry system
AIMS: Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is designed to house people who experience chronic homelessness with one or more of the following: serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorders (SUD) or human immunodeficiency virus. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has required major metropolitan areas to develop a coordinated entry system (CES) to prioritize access to PSH to those who need it the most. The aim of this paper is to …
Running Trains' and 'Sexing-In
Gang members are exposed to unique sexual risks, yet little work has explored the influence of gang social norms. This study examines the functions and meanings of sex within gangs, with a specific focus on the ways in which sex is used to reinforce gang membership and norms, gender roles, and group cohesion. We conducted 58 semi-structured interviews with adolescent members of six gangs. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis and con…
HIV Treatment for Alcohol and Non-Injection Drug Users in El Salvador
Since the mid-1990s, many developing countries have introduced and expanded the availability of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to persons living with HIV (PLH). However, AIDS-related mortality continues to be high particularly among drug users. In this article, we present results from in-depth interviews with 13 HIV medical providers and 29 crack cocaine and alcohol using PLH in El Salvador. Providers endorsed negative attitudes toward…
Text Messaging for Sexual Communication and Safety Among African American Young Adults
African American young adults are at high risk of HIV infection during their lifetimes, and the male condom remains the best method of prevention. Efforts to increase condom use should address the barrier of condom negotiation. We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative, semistructured interviews with African American young adults to examine their use of text messaging for requesting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or sexually transmitted…
Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador
Structural Factors Influencing Patterns of Drug Selling and Use and HIV Risk in the San Salvador Metropolitan Area
This article explores differences in the social context in which crack sales and use and HIV risk take place in seven low-income communities in San Salvador, and structural factors that may influence these differences. The organization of drug selling varied among the communities on a number of dimensions including: whether drug sales were open or closed systems; the type of drug-selling site; and the participation of drug users in drug-distribut…
Childhood Sexual Abuse and HIV Risk among Crack-Using Commercial Sex Workers in San Salvador, El Salvador
This article explores the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and later HIV risk. It draws on qualitative, in-depth interviews with 40 women who either used crack or engaged in commercial sex work in the greater metropolitan area of San Salvador, El Salvador, 28 of whom experienced CSA. Although the relationship between CSA and later HIV risk has been clearly demonstrated, the processes that lead women who have experienced CSA to ex…
The Sound of Barking Dogs
This article examines the trans generational transmission of trauma among campesinos living in a rural, repopulated community in El Salvador. Research with Holocaust survivors and their children has shown that traumatic symptoms can be transmitted to children who did not directly experience the Holocaust. The mechanisms by which this transgenerational transmission occurs have not been fully explored and require an expansion of medical and anthrop…
Growing Up in Guerrilla Camp
Many recent wars are characterized by high levels of civilian casualties, a large proportion of whom are women and children. Furthermore, an estimated 300,000 children are actively participating in 36 ongoing or recently ended conflicts around the world. However, there is a dearth of research on the long-term effects of war trauma experienced in childhood or children's active participation in armed conflicts. This article explores the long-term e…
Hoppers and Oldheads
“One Who Doesn't Know War, Doesn't Know Anything”
Many times as I was interviewing campesinos living in a repopulated community in El Salvador about their experiences during the war, they would comment, “They say, he who hasn't experienced war doesn't know anything.” This article is an exploration of that statement and the challenge it presents to the implicit assumptions in much of the anthropological writing on violence
Childhood Sexual Abuse and HIV Risk among Crack-Using Commercial Sex Workers in San Salvador, El Salvador
This article explores the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and later HIV risk. It draws on qualitative, in-depth interviews with 40 women who either used crack or engaged in commercial sex work in the greater metropolitan area of San Salvador, El Salvador, 28 of whom experienced CSA. Although the relationship between CSA and later HIV risk has been clearly demonstrated, the processes that lead women who have experienced CSA to ex…
Structural and Personal Factors Related to Access to Housing and Housing Stability among Urban Drug Users in Hartford, Connecticut
Several policies criminalizing drug use significantly impact drug users' access to housing. This article explores the impact of housing policies on active drug users' access to housing and structural and personal factors related to their homelessness and housing stability. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 65 active cocaine or heroin users at baseline, three and six months. Participants were purposively sampled to reflect a variety of ho…
Child Soldiers
Hustling and Housing
Research has documented illicit drug users' participation in the informal and drug economies as a result of barriers in obtaining legitimate sources of work and income. Less research has explored ways drug users utilize income from various sources to obtain shelter and meet other basic needs. This paper draws on longitudinal qualitative interviews that were conducted with 65 active cocaine or heroin users in various housed or homeless statuses to…
A Little Thing Called Love
HIV prevention approaches must recognize the importance of love and the needs that primary relationships satisfy if they are to be considered relevant by those at greatest risk. Negotiated safety and similar strategies may be an important risk reduction tool for heterosexuals, particularly those in HIV-affected relationships, but their potential effectiveness may vary
Changing Drug Users' Risk Environments
Peer delivered, social oriented HIV prevention intervention designs are increasingly popular for addressing broader contexts of health risk beyond a focus on individual factors. Such interventions have the potential to affect multiple social levels of risk and change, including at the individual, network, and community levels, and reflect social ecological principles of interaction across social levels over time. The iterative and feedback dynami…
Altruism and Peer-Led HIV Prevention Targeting Heroin and Cocaine Users
Peer-delivered HIV prevention and intervention programs play an important role in halting the spread of HIV. Rigorous scientific analysis of the aforementioned programs has focused on the immediate reduction of risk-related behaviors among the target populations. In our longitudinal study of the Risk Avoidance Partnership Peer Intervention for HIV, we assessed the long-term behavioral effects of a peer-led HIV intervention project with active dru…
Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador
Structural Factors Influencing Patterns of Drug Selling and Use and HIV Risk in the San Salvador Metropolitan Area
This article explores differences in the social context in which crack sales and use and HIV risk take place in seven low-income communities in San Salvador, and structural factors that may influence these differences. The organization of drug selling varied among the communities on a number of dimensions including: whether drug sales were open or closed systems; the type of drug-selling site; and the participation of drug users in drug-distribut…
Social psychological dynamics of enhanced HIV risk reduction among peer interventionists
The authors present a model of interactive social psychological and relational feedback processes leading to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk reduction behavior change among active drug users trained as Peer Health Advocates (PHAs). The model is supported by data from qualitative interviews with PHAs and members of their drug‐using networks in the Risk Avoidance Partnership (RAP) project. Results suggest three mutually reinforcing social p…
What is "Support" in Supportive Housing
Supportive housing programs are proposed as a way of increasing housing access and stability for the chronically homeless, improving access to needed services, and decreasing vulnerability to HIV and other diseases. Little is known about residents' understandings of and experiences with different models of supportive housing and how they fit within residents' broader strategies to maintain housing. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 …
Text Messaging for Sexual Communication and Safety Among African American Young Adults
African American young adults are at high risk of HIV infection during their lifetimes, and the male condom remains the best method of prevention. Efforts to increase condom use should address the barrier of condom negotiation. We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative, semistructured interviews with African American young adults to examine their use of text messaging for requesting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or sexually transmitted…
Context and group dynamics in a CBPR-developed HIV prevention intervention
This paper will explore in detail the effects of context and group dynamics on the development of a multi-level community-based HIV prevention intervention for crack cocaine users in the San Salvador Metropolitan Area, El Salvador. Community partners included residents from marginal communities, service providers from the historic center of San Salvador and research staff from a non-profit organization. The community contexts from which partners …
Beyond the Ball
Using Peer-Referral Chains with Incentives to Promote HIV Testing and Identify Undiagnosed HIV Infections Among Crack Users in San Salvador
Homonegativity, Religiosity, and the Intersecting Identities of Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men
HIV Treatment for Alcohol and Non-Injection Drug Users in El Salvador
Since the mid-1990s, many developing countries have introduced and expanded the availability of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to persons living with HIV (PLH). However, AIDS-related mortality continues to be high particularly among drug users. In this article, we present results from in-depth interviews with 13 HIV medical providers and 29 crack cocaine and alcohol using PLH in El Salvador. Providers endorsed negative attitudes toward…
The Influence of Pastors’ Ideologies of Homosexuality on HIV Prevention in the Black Church
The role of the Black Church in the lives of young Black men who have sex with men
In the USA, the Black Church is among the most important institutions in the Black community, offering numerous spiritual, social and health benefits. Yet, the presence of homonegativity in many Black Churches may mitigate those effects for gay Black youth. This research examines the role of the Church in the lives of gay and bisexual Black youth to understand how they reconcile any tension between their religious and sexual identities. Through i…
Gender Norms and Age-Disparate Sexual Relationships as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, and Risky Sex among Adolescent Gang Members
Combination HIV Prevention Strategy Implementation in El Salvador
El Salvador was one of three countries to receive funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to conduct a combination HIV prevention intervention among transwomen (TW), men who have sex with men (MSM), and commercial sex workers (CSW). Program evaluation revealed that prevention activities reached only 50% of the target population. The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers that Salvadoran educators faced in im…
Medicine (57 works) · Psychology (42 works) · Sociology (37 works) · Public health (33 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (31 works) · Psychiatry (31 works) · Political science (30 works) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (29 works) · Nursing (27 works) · Family medicine (25 works)