Lesley Gittings

Datos Biográficos

ID174220
NOMBRELesley Gittings
NOMBRESLesley
APELLIDOGittings
FIRMAGITTINGS L
AFILIACIONESWestern University
ORCID0000-0002-0463-0478
VERIFICADOSí
TOTAL DE OBRAS34
TOTAL DE CITAS0
TOTAL COMO AUTOR34
TOTAL COMO EDITOR0
PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN2016
AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN2026
ÍNDICE H0

  • Extreme weather events, resource insecurities, and pathways to health and wellbeing

    Open AccessAndie MacNeil, Carmen H Logie et al.ARTICLEHealth & Place2026

    Climate change and related extreme weather events (EWE) harm the health and well-being of people living in climate-affected regions such as Kenya. Populations facing unique challenges related to EWE and related resource insecurities (e.g., food, water) include nomadic pastoralist communities whose livelihoods are reliant on agriculture, and refugees living in humanitarian settlements disproportionately exposed to EWE. Knowledge gaps persist on th…

  • Extreme weather exposure, resource insecurity, and associations with mental health outcomes among Kenyan adolescent girls and young women

    Open AccessJames Stannah, Carmen H Logie et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    Extreme weather events (EWEs), including floods, heatwaves, and drought, increasingly undermine access to essential resources such as food, water, and sanitation, potentially worsening mental health outcomes. These links are understudied among youth in climate-affected settings. We examined experiences of traumatic EWE exposure, resource insecurity, and mental health among a prospective cohort of 597 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 1…

  • Rethinking homelessness

    Open AccessColleen Van Loon, Abe Oudshoorn et al.ARTICLEJournal of Social Distress and…2026

    Debates on defining homelessness have persisted for decades, with the hope that refined definitions might better address this complex problem However, with homelessness rates continuing to rise, there is a need to reexamine how the term is understood since definitions shape societal perceptions and neglecting social and structural factors risks framing homelessness as an individual failing rather than a systemic issue. Grounded in social construc…

  • An international and interdisciplinary framework for nature prescribing in healthcare

    Open AccessNicole A Struthers, Aleksandra Zecevic et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2026

    Nature prescriptions allow healthcare providers to recommend nature connection and exposure for health and well-being benefits. However, an accepted interdisciplinary shared definition of nature prescription is currently lacking, as are frameworks to guide the use of nature prescription in healthcare. To help fill this knowledge gap, we used an international modified Delphi technique to develop a framework for nature prescribing in healthcare by …

  • Psychosocial stressors related to extreme weather events and multiple resource insecurities

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Ofir Sivan et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2026

    Extreme weather events (EWE) contribute to heightened psychosocial stressors through complex pathways, including by worsening resource insecurities. Refugee settlements globally are disproportionately exposed to EWE compared with host national populations, yet refugees' experiences of resource insecurity-related psychosocial stressors in low-income humanitarian settings are understudied. Our study focused on understanding the lived experiences of…

  • Associations Between Extreme Weather Events, Resource Insecurities, and HIV Vulnerabilities Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kenya

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Zerihun Admassu et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2026

  • “It’s a very, very thorny issue … ”

    Open AccessAgnes Ronan, Lesley Gittings et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2026

    Knowing one's HIV status is associated with better outcomes for children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV). The World Health Organization (2021) recommends that adolescents be counselled about the potential benefits and risks of disclosing their HIV status. CALHIV who are fully disclosed to by an appropriate age have better retention in care and better psychosocial outcomes. Most disclosures occur in health system settings, with healthcare…

  • “There’s no school that trains attitude”

    Open AccessJane Kelly, Jane F Kelly et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2026

    Despite growing recognition of the need for adolescent-responsive HIV and sexual and reproductive (SRH) health services, implementation remains inconsistent, especially in Africa and other low - and middle-income countries where HIV rates are highest. Frontline health and social providers play a critical role in delivering care; however, little is known about their training needs or how to strengthen their capacity in these settings. This study d…

  • Mental health and workplace wellbeing among Frontline healthcare providers who provide HIV care to children, adolescents and their families

    Open AccessLesley Gittings, Afshin Vafaei et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2026

    Frontline healthcare providers (HCPs) are critical to the paediatric-adolescent HIV response in Africa, yet their mental health and workplace wellbeing remain underexplored. We conducted a mixed-methods study with 617 frontline HCP who provide HIV services to children and adolescents in 12 high-prevalence African countries. Participants completed a cross-sectional survey assessing depression, work-related quality of life, empowerment, job satisfa…

  • Exploring Gendered Health Inequities Through Group Object Narrative

    Open AccessAnushka Ataullahjan, Hussain Ali et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2026Referencias: 33

    Our study describes the utility of group object narrative to understand the experiences of women affected by humanitarian crises. Drawing on a case study from the Swat Valley, Pakistan, we illustrate how objects act as an entry point to understand participants gendered experiences of the 2022 floods. Our findings demonstrate how this method can foster solidarity among participants, illuminate oft overlooked gender-specific challenges, and facilit…

  • Climate change, resource insecurities and sexual and reproductive health among young adolescents in Kenya

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Aryssa Hasham et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2025

    INTRODUCTION: Growing evidence supports linkages between climate change and extreme weather events (EWEs) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among adults. Yet knowledge gaps persist regarding climate-related experiences and pathways to SRH among young adolescents (YA). We conducted a multi-method qualitative study to explore climate change-related factors and linkages with SRH among YA aged 10-14 years in Kenya. METHODS: This six-site study…

  • Sexual consent education among youth experiencing homelessness in Toronto, Canada

    Open AccessLesley Gittings, Carmen H Logie et al.ARTICLEWellbeing Space and Society2025

    Homeless youth do not feel safe anywhere, which constrains sexual agency. • Relational factors include in-person and digital spaces, and lack of family support. • Symbolic factors include gender, sexual orientation and substance use stigmas. • Material factors include housing insecurity and poverty. • Poetry and comics are effective arts-based approaches with homeless youth. Homeless youth face elevated risks of sexual violence, diminishing their…

  • Extreme Weather Events and Linkages with HIV Vulnerabilities Among Young Sex Workers and Sexually Diverse Men in Nairobi, Kenya

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Andie MacNeil et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025

  • Climate change and resource insecurity-related mental health stressors among young adolescents in Kenya

    Open AccessJulia Kagunda, Aryssa Hasham et al.ARTICLECambridge Prisms Global Mental…2025Referencias: 38

    While the links between extreme weather events and mental health have received growing attention, little is known about how climate change impacts adolescent mental health in low- and middle-income climate-affected settings. To address this gap, we conducted a multi-method qualitative study exploring how young adolescents (YAs) aged 10–14 years experience climate-related stressors across six regions in Kenya. Guided by the resource insecurity fra…

  • Findings from the Tushirikiane-4-MH (supporting each other for mental health) mobile health–supported virtual reality randomized controlled trial among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Moses Okumu et al.ARTICLECambridge Prisms Global Mental…2025Referencias: 59

    Virtual reality (VR) for mental health promotion remains understudied in low-income humanitarian settings. We examined the effectiveness of VR in reducing depression with urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda. This randomized controlled trial assessed VR alone (Arm 1), VR followed by Group Problem Management Plus (GPM+) (Arm 2) and a control group (Arm 3), with a peer-driven and convenience sample of refugee youth aged 16–25 in Kampala. The prim…

  • Developing Digital Stories with Youth on Climate Change and HIV Vulnerabilities in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Sarah Van Borek et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2025Referencias: 24

    There is a growing focus on the linkages between climate change and HIV vulnerabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa through pathways such as sexual and gender-based violence and transactional sex. Kenya is a relevant context to understand these linkages, with one of the world's largest HIV epidemics and increasing climate-related extreme weather events (EWE) such as drought and flooding. Yet, the lived experiences of Kenyan youth at the nexus …

  • Perspectives from the frontline

    Open AccessJane Kelly, Maya Low et al.ARTICLEHealth Education Journal2024

    Background: Nurses have a critical role to play in the delivery of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to adolescents and young people. Nurses’ interactions with adolescents and young people can shape sexual and reproductive behaviours and outcomes, including willingness to access and engage with healthcare services. However, little research from low- and middle-income contexts has explored nurses’ firsthand perspectives regarding their…

  • Applying the Index of Vulnerability approach to understand water insecurity and other social-ecological factors associated with depression among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Moses Okumu et al.ARTICLESSM - Mental Health2024

    Water insecurity and other social-ecological factors may be associated with depression in low and middle-income contexts (LMICs). This is understudied among urban refugee youth in LMICs, who experience multiple forms of marginalization. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with a peer-driven sample of urban refugee youth aged 16–24 in Kampala, Uganda. We explored: the prevalence of depression (moderate, moderately severe); associations between s…

  • The path towards an HIV-free generation

    Open AccessTawanda Makusha, Lesley GittingsARTICLEAIDS Care2024

    This paper highlights the pressing need to address the HIV epidemic among adolescent boys and young men (ABYM) in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite progress in HIV prevention, ABYM still experience low diagnosis rates, treatment adherence, and linkage to care. The paper emphasizes ABYM's vulnerability due to societal norms, limited healthcare access, and economic pressures. It calls for gender-responsive interventions, including comprehensive sexual ed…

  • Empowering and supporting frontline providers in the paediatric-adolescent HIV response

    Open AccessLesley Gittings, Nokuzola Ncube et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2024

    Children and adolescents living with HIV in Africa experience poor outcomes across the HIV cascade of care. Paediatric and adolescent-friendly services are crucial to their well-being, and recent years have seen a call for urgent service improvements. While frontline health workers are responsible for these services, less attention has been given to their contextual realities, and what constitutes an enabling service delivery environment. We enga…

  • Land-Based Retreats as a Method for Building Enabling Environments for HIV Prevention with Northern and Indigenous Adolescents in the Northwest Territories, Canada

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, Candice Lys et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024

  • Intersecting Stigma and the HIV Care Cascade

    Open AccessCarmen H Logie, David J Kinitz et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024

  • Remember there is that thing called confidentiality’

    Lesley Gittings, Rebecca Hodes et al.ARTICLECulture Health & Sexuality2024

    Adolescents and men are two populations that perform poorly within the HIV cascade of care, having worse AIDS-related health outcomes, and experiencing higher levels of HIV-related stigma. This paper explores institutional health system discrimination as experienced by adolescent boys with perinatally-acquired HIV, situating them within the social and gendered contexts of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Life history narratives (n = 36) a…

  • Exploring uptake of HIV/STI knowledge and safer sex-efficacy in an arts-based sexual health workshop among Northern and Indigenous adolescents in the Northwest Territories, Canada

    Candice Lys, Carmen H Logie et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2023

    Limited research has evaluated sexual health promotion projects with adolescents living in Arctic regions. The study objective was to examine changes in STI knowledge and safer sex efficacy among youth in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada who participated in arts-based sexual health workshops. We used a pre/post-test design with a convenience sample of students aged 13–18 years recruited from 17 NWT communities. We conducted summary statist…

  • Traditional and biomedical health practices of adolescent boys and young men living with perinatally-acquired HIV in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

    Open AccessLesley Gittings, C J Colvin et al.ARTICLEGlobal Public Health2023

    Men are less vulnerable to HIV acquisition than women, but have poorer HIV-related health outcomes. They access HIV services less, and are more likely to die on antiretroviral therapy. The adolescent epidemic presents further challenges, and AIDS-related illness is the leading cause of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We explored the health practices of adolescent boys and young men (aged 13-22) living with perinatally-acquired HIV …