Allison Ruark
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 249775 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Allison Ruark |
| NOMBRES | Allison |
| APELLIDO | Ruark |
| FIRMA | RUARK A |
| AFILIACIONES | Wheaton College - Illinois |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5131-1568 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 20 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 4 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 20 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2009 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 1 |
Managing multimorbidity together
BACKGROUND: Cardiometabolic disorders are highly prevalent among people living with HIV, complicating the medication management of both conditions. Primary partners provide key sources of support for antiretroviral therapy; however, little research has considered their role in the context of comorbidities. PURPOSE: Using baseline data from the Healthy Hearts cohort study, we investigated associations between relationship dynamics and dual medicat…
Barriers to accessing care for cardiometabolic disorders in Malawi
Couples identified many barriers to CMD care access, which were perceived as greater challenges than HIV care. Partners provided critical forms of support in navigating these barriers. With the rise of CMD among PLWH, improving access to CMD care should be prioritized, using lessons learned from HIV and integrated care approaches. Partner involvement in CMD care may help mitigate most barriers to CMD care
Mlambe economic and relationship-strengthening intervention for alcohol use decreases violence and improves relationship quality in couples living with HIV in Malawi
I too have a responsibility for my partner's life
Supportive couple relationships buffer against the harms of HIV stigma on HIV treatment adherence
Increased anticipated stigma is most associated with lower ART non-adherence at lower levels of social support and sexual satisfaction. Conversely, supportive and fulfilling relationships may buffer the negative association between stigma and ART adherence. Couples' interventions that focus on improving communication and support systems within couples could reduce the negative impacts of anticipated stigma on couples living with HIV
Relationship Dynamics are Associated with Self-Reported Adherence but not an Objective Adherence Measure in Malawi
Development and Validation of the Couple Sexual Satisfaction Scale for HIV and Sexual Health Research
Assessment of an HIV-prevention intervention for couples in peri-urban Uganda
Reducing multiple and concurrent partnerships has been identified as a priority in generalised HIV epidemics, yet developing successful interventions to bring about such behaviour change has proven challenging. We offered a three-session intervention aimed to improve couple relationship quality and address HIV risk factors, particularly concurrent sexual partnerships (CSP), in a peri-urban community of Kampala, Uganda. Before launching the interv…
Re-conceptualising gender and power relations for sexual and reproductive health
(insider) perspectives of gender and power in intimate relationships. We conducted eight focus group discussions with 62 young adults in Malawi to explore conceptions of gender and power relations and areas of tension between different perspectives. We framed our enquiry according to the three social structures of the Theory of Gender and Power: the sexual division of labour, the sexual division of power, and social norms and affective attachment…
Navigating intimate sexual partnerships in an era of HIV
Couple relationship functioning impacts individual health and well-being, including HIV risk, but scant research has focused on emic understandings of relationship quality in African populations. We explored relationship quality and satisfaction in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) using data from 148 in-depth interviews (117 life-course interviews with 28 adults and 31 interviews with 29 marriage counselors and their clients) and 4 focus group discu…
The Unaddressed Needs of Alcohol-Using Couples on Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi
Couple Interdependence Impacts Alcohol Use and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi
Love matters
Health risks such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV infection often occur within intimate sexual relationships, yet the study of love and intimacy is largely absent from health research on African populations. This study explores how women and men in Rwanda and Swaziland understand and represent love in their intimate sexual partnerships. In Rwanda, 58 in-depth interviews with 15 couples, 12 interviews with activists, and 24 focus group …
Couple Relationship Functioning as a Source or Mitigator of HIV Risk
From first love to marriage and maturity
This paper uses a life-course approach to explore the sexual partnerships and HIV-related risk of men and women in Swaziland throughout their adolescence, 20s and 30s. Twenty-eight Swazi men and women between the ages of 20 and 39 discussed their life histories in 117 in-depth interviews, with an average follow-up of nine months. Many participants described painful childhood experiences, including a lack of positive role models for couple relatio…
Love, lust and the emotional context of multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships among young Swazi adults
Men and women in Swaziland who are engaged in multiple or concurrent sexual partnerships, or who have sexual partners with concurrent partners, face a very high risk of HIV infection. Ninety-four in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 Swazi men and women (14 of each sex) between the ages of 20 and 39 to explore participants' sexual partnership histories, including motivations for sexual relationships which carried high HIV risk. Concurrency w…
Demographic and health surveys indicate limited impact of condoms and HIV testing in four African countries
Condom promotion and HIV testing for the general population have been major components of HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa's high prevalence HIV epidemics, although little evidence documents their public health impact. Recent enhancements to the large, population-based demographic and health surveys (DHS) and AIDS information surveys (AIS) allow use of these data to assess the population-wide impact of these strategies. We analysed th…
The Need to Reemphasize Behavior Change for HIV Prevention in Uganda
Uganda has long been considered an AIDS success story, although in recent years declines in prevalence and incidence appear to have stalled or even reversed. During the early stages of Uganda's AIDS prevention program, health messages emphasized behavior change, especially fidelity. Ugandans were made to fear AIDS and feel personally at risk of dying from a new, poorly understood disease. In this research, six focus group discussions with 64 part…
Mobilising indigenous resources for anthropologically designed HIV-prevention and behaviour-change interventions in southern Africa
HIV prevention is often implemented as if African culture were either nonexistent or a series of obstacles to overcome in order to achieve an effective, gender-equitable, human rights-based set of interventions. Similarly, traditional or indigenous leaders, such as chiefs and members of royal families, have been largely excluded from HIV/AIDS responses in Africa. This qualitative study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with tra…
A Framework of Sexual Partnerships
The global diversity of HIV epidemics can be explained in part by types and patterns of sexual partnerships. We offer a typology of sexual partnerships that corresponds to varying levels of HIV‐transmission risk to help guide thinking about appropriate behavioral interventions, particularly in the epidemics of sub‐Saharan Africa. Declines in HIV prevalence have been associated with reductions in numbers of sex partners, whereas many other prevent…
Mobilising indigenous resources for anthropologically designed HIV-prevention and behaviour-change interventions in southern Africa
HIV prevention is often implemented as if African culture were either nonexistent or a series of obstacles to overcome in order to achieve an effective, gender-equitable, human rights-based set of interventions. Similarly, traditional or indigenous leaders, such as chiefs and members of royal families, have been largely excluded from HIV/AIDS responses in Africa. This qualitative study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with tra…
A Framework of Sexual Partnerships
The global diversity of HIV epidemics can be explained in part by types and patterns of sexual partnerships. We offer a typology of sexual partnerships that corresponds to varying levels of HIV‐transmission risk to help guide thinking about appropriate behavioral interventions, particularly in the epidemics of sub‐Saharan Africa. Declines in HIV prevalence have been associated with reductions in numbers of sex partners, whereas many other prevent…
Demographic and health surveys indicate limited impact of condoms and HIV testing in four African countries
Condom promotion and HIV testing for the general population have been major components of HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa's high prevalence HIV epidemics, although little evidence documents their public health impact. Recent enhancements to the large, population-based demographic and health surveys (DHS) and AIDS information surveys (AIS) allow use of these data to assess the population-wide impact of these strategies. We analysed th…
The Need to Reemphasize Behavior Change for HIV Prevention in Uganda
Uganda has long been considered an AIDS success story, although in recent years declines in prevalence and incidence appear to have stalled or even reversed. During the early stages of Uganda's AIDS prevention program, health messages emphasized behavior change, especially fidelity. Ugandans were made to fear AIDS and feel personally at risk of dying from a new, poorly understood disease. In this research, six focus group discussions with 64 part…
Love, lust and the emotional context of multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships among young Swazi adults
Men and women in Swaziland who are engaged in multiple or concurrent sexual partnerships, or who have sexual partners with concurrent partners, face a very high risk of HIV infection. Ninety-four in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 Swazi men and women (14 of each sex) between the ages of 20 and 39 to explore participants' sexual partnership histories, including motivations for sexual relationships which carried high HIV risk. Concurrency w…
From first love to marriage and maturity
This paper uses a life-course approach to explore the sexual partnerships and HIV-related risk of men and women in Swaziland throughout their adolescence, 20s and 30s. Twenty-eight Swazi men and women between the ages of 20 and 39 discussed their life histories in 117 in-depth interviews, with an average follow-up of nine months. Many participants described painful childhood experiences, including a lack of positive role models for couple relatio…
Love matters
Health risks such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV infection often occur within intimate sexual relationships, yet the study of love and intimacy is largely absent from health research on African populations. This study explores how women and men in Rwanda and Swaziland understand and represent love in their intimate sexual partnerships. In Rwanda, 58 in-depth interviews with 15 couples, 12 interviews with activists, and 24 focus group …
Couple Relationship Functioning as a Source or Mitigator of HIV Risk
Couple Interdependence Impacts Alcohol Use and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi
Navigating intimate sexual partnerships in an era of HIV
Couple relationship functioning impacts individual health and well-being, including HIV risk, but scant research has focused on emic understandings of relationship quality in African populations. We explored relationship quality and satisfaction in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) using data from 148 in-depth interviews (117 life-course interviews with 28 adults and 31 interviews with 29 marriage counselors and their clients) and 4 focus group discu…
The Unaddressed Needs of Alcohol-Using Couples on Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi
Assessment of an HIV-prevention intervention for couples in peri-urban Uganda
Reducing multiple and concurrent partnerships has been identified as a priority in generalised HIV epidemics, yet developing successful interventions to bring about such behaviour change has proven challenging. We offered a three-session intervention aimed to improve couple relationship quality and address HIV risk factors, particularly concurrent sexual partnerships (CSP), in a peri-urban community of Kampala, Uganda. Before launching the interv…
Re-conceptualising gender and power relations for sexual and reproductive health
(insider) perspectives of gender and power in intimate relationships. We conducted eight focus group discussions with 62 young adults in Malawi to explore conceptions of gender and power relations and areas of tension between different perspectives. We framed our enquiry according to the three social structures of the Theory of Gender and Power: the sexual division of labour, the sexual division of power, and social norms and affective attachment…
Development and Validation of the Couple Sexual Satisfaction Scale for HIV and Sexual Health Research
Relationship Dynamics are Associated with Self-Reported Adherence but not an Objective Adherence Measure in Malawi
Supportive couple relationships buffer against the harms of HIV stigma on HIV treatment adherence
Increased anticipated stigma is most associated with lower ART non-adherence at lower levels of social support and sexual satisfaction. Conversely, supportive and fulfilling relationships may buffer the negative association between stigma and ART adherence. Couples' interventions that focus on improving communication and support systems within couples could reduce the negative impacts of anticipated stigma on couples living with HIV
Barriers to accessing care for cardiometabolic disorders in Malawi
Couples identified many barriers to CMD care access, which were perceived as greater challenges than HIV care. Partners provided critical forms of support in navigating these barriers. With the rise of CMD among PLWH, improving access to CMD care should be prioritized, using lessons learned from HIV and integrated care approaches. Partner involvement in CMD care may help mitigate most barriers to CMD care
Mlambe economic and relationship-strengthening intervention for alcohol use decreases violence and improves relationship quality in couples living with HIV in Malawi
I too have a responsibility for my partner's life
Managing multimorbidity together
BACKGROUND: Cardiometabolic disorders are highly prevalent among people living with HIV, complicating the medication management of both conditions. Primary partners provide key sources of support for antiretroviral therapy; however, little research has considered their role in the context of comorbidities. PURPOSE: Using baseline data from the Healthy Hearts cohort study, we investigated associations between relationship dynamics and dual medicat…
HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (18 obras) · Medicine (18 obras) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (17 obras) · Psychology (14 obras) · Family medicine (12 obras) · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV (10 obras) · Sociology (10 obras) · Psychiatry (9 obras) · Public health (9 obras) · Environmental health (8 obras)