Georgios K Nikolopoulos
Biographic Data
| ID | 6071968 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Georgios K Nikolopoulos |
| GIVEN NAMES | Georgios K |
| FAMILY NAME | Nikolopoulos |
| SIGNATURE | NIKOLOPOULOS G K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cyprus |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3307-0246 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Evaluation of the Relationship Between Network Centrality and Individual Sociodemographics and Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs
PURPOSE: Understanding the types of individuals and their position in the network may improve interventions for people who inject drugs (PWID). METHODS: From the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP), which enrolled PWID and their contacts in Athens, Greece, from 2013 to 2015, we extracted the largest connected component of the network (i.e., the largest group of connected individuals) and identified members who were in the top quart…
Evaluation of spill-over effects of antiretroviral treatment on sharing injecting equipment in a sociometric network of people who inject drugs
The evidence on risk compensation due to antiretroviral treatment (ART) use for people, who inject drugs (PWID), is limited. Moreover, interventions, including ART administration, frequently have spill-over effects, i.e., individuals who were not exposed themselves possibly benefit from their connections to those who were exposed. This work aimed to evaluate the causal effects in the presence of spill-over of ART uptake on sharing injecting equip…
Dialectical Processes of Health Framework as an Alternative to Social Determinants of Health Framework
The social determinants of health (SDOH) framework has proven useful for research and practice in addressing the social causes of many health outcomes. However, its limitations may restrict its value as the world undergoes rapid ecological and social change. We argue that SDOH does not adequately incorporate rapidly changing or “far upstream” social processes (particularly social movements), the dialectics of social conflict and creative social i…
Modeling the HIV epidemic in MSM in Cyprus: Reaching only the 95-95-95 cascade of care targets fails to reduce HIV incidence by 90% in 2030
National responses should be improved and accelerated to meet the target of ending the Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic by 2030. In the Republic of Cyprus, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), accounting approximately for half of all annual HIV diagnoses. This study assesses the evolution of HIV incidence in MSM in Cyprus until 2030 using a model calibrated to Cyp…
Pilot Testing Two Versions of a Social Network Intervention to Increase HIV Testing and Case-finding among Men in South Africa’s Generalized HIV Epidemic
Locating undiagnosed HIV infections is important for limiting transmission. However, there is limited evidence about how best to do so. In South Africa, men have been particularly challenging to reach for HIV testing due, in part, to stigma. We pilot-tested two versions of a network-based case-finding and care-linkage intervention. The first, TRIP, asked "seeds" (original participants) to recruit their sexual and/or injection partners. The second…
The Distinction Between Chemsex and Sexualized Drug Use Among Men Who have Sex with Men
Emerging Zoonotic Infections, Social Processes and Their Measurement and Enhanced Surveillance to Improve Zoonotic Epidemic Responses: A “Big Events” Perspective
Zoonotic epidemics and pandemics have become frequent. From HIV/AIDS through COVID-19, they demonstrate that pandemics are social processes as well as health occurrences. The roots of these pandemics lie in changes in the socioeconomic interface between humanity and non-human host species that facilitate interspecies transmission. The degree to which zoonoses spread has been increased by the greater speed and extent of modern transportation and t…
Gaps in Knowledge About Sars-CoV-2 & Covid-19 Among University Students Are Associated With Negative Attitudes Toward People With Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cyprus
University students represent a highly active group in terms of their social activity in the community and in the propagation of information on social media. We aimed to map the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of University students in Cyprus about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to guide targeted future measures and information campaigns. We used a cross-sectional online …
Sociometric Risk Network Structure, HIV Prevalence, and Drug Injection-Related Norms among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece
Background: Structural properties of sociometric networks have been associated with behaviors related to HIV transmission. Very few studies, however, have explored the correlation between sociometric network factors and drug injection-related norms. Methods: This exploratory work: (i) describes basic structural qualities of a sociometric risk network of participants in the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) in Athens, Greece, in t…
Big Events theory and measures may help explain emerging long-term effects of current crises
Big Events are periods during which abnormal large-scale events like war, economic collapse, revolts, or pandemics disrupt daily life and expectations about the future. They can lead to rapid change in health-related norms, beliefs, social networks and behavioural practices. The world is undergoing such Big Events through the interaction of COVID-19, a large economic downturn, massive social unrest in many countries, and ever-worsening effects of…
Drug Injection-Related and Sexual Behavior Changes in Drug Injecting Networks after the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP): A Social Network-Based Study in Athens, Greece
The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) was a network-based, enhanced contact tracing approach, targeting recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece (2013-2015). This analysis examines behavioral changes of participants in TRIP and their determinants between baseline and follow-up visits to the program. All participants of TRIP were tested for HIV and interviewed using a questionnaire with items on drug …
Thermal Conditions and Hospital Admissions: Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Cyprus (2009–2018)
The state of the thermal environment can affect human health and well-being. Heat stress is associated with a wide range of health outcomes increasing morbidity and mortality and is recognized as an important health risk posed by climate change. This study aims at examining the effect of thermal conditions on the daily number of hospital admissions in Cyprus. Data from eight public hospitals located in five districts of Cyprus were analyzed from …
Effect of public health interventions during the first epidemic wave of Covid-19 in Cyprus: A modelling study
The decision of the Cypriot authorities to launch early NPIs limited the burden of the first wave of COVID-19. The findings of these analyses could help address the next waves of COVID-19 in Cyprus and other similar settings
The cost of a late-detected outbreak among people who inject drugs. A modeling study
The Opioid/Overdose Crisis as a Dialectics of Pain, Despair, and One-Sided Struggle
The opioid/overdose crisis in the United States and Canada has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and has become a major field for research and interventions. It has embroiled pharmaceutical companies in lawsuits and possible bankruptcy filings. Effective interventions and policies toward this and future drug-related outbreaks may be improved by understanding the sociostructural roots of this outbreak. Much of the literature on roots of the o…
High-risk behaviors and their association with awareness of HIV status among participants of a large-scale prevention intervention in Athens, Greece
The prevalence of risky behaviors related to drug injection decreased in the context of Aristotle. Knowledge of HIV infection was associated with safer drug injection-related behaviors among PWID. This highlights the need for comprehensive interventions that scale-up HIV testing and help PWID become aware of their HIV status
Identifying, linking, and treating people who inject drugs and were recently infected with HIV in the context of a network-based intervention
Identifying and linking people to care soon after HIV infection could limit viral transmission and protect their health. This work aims at describing the continuum of care among recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) and participated in an intervention in the context of an HIV outbreak in Athens, Greece. The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) conducted risk network-based contact tracing and screened people for recent…
New Measures for Research on Men Who Have Sex with Men and for At-Risk Heterosexuals: Tools to Study Links Between Structural Interventions or Large-Scale Social Change and HIV Risk Behaviors, Service…
Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Awareness and Use Within High HIV Transmission Networks
Experiences of Stigma and Support Reported by Participants in a Network Intervention to Reduce HIV Transmission in Athens, Greece; Odessa, Ukraine; and Chicago, Illinois
A Network Intervention to Locate Newly HIV Infected Persons Within MSM Networks in Chicago
Interpersonal Attacks on the Dignity of Members of HIV Key Populations: A Descriptive and Exploratory Study
Developing Measures of Pathways that May Link Macro Social/Structural Changes with HIV Epidemiology
Homelessness and Other Risk Factors for HIV Infection in the Current Outbreak Among Injection Drug Users in Athens, Greece
Objectives. We examined HIV prevalence and risk factors among injection drug users (IDUs) in Athens, Greece, during an HIV outbreak. Methods. We used respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to recruit 1404 IDUs to the Aristotle intervention in August to October 2012. We interviewed participants and tested for HIV. We performed bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results. Estimated HIV prevalence was 19.8% (RDS-weighted prevalence = 14.8%). Odds of infe…
Socially-Integrated Transdisciplinary HIV Prevention
Socially-Integrated Transdisciplinary HIV Prevention
Homelessness and Other Risk Factors for HIV Infection in the Current Outbreak Among Injection Drug Users in Athens, Greece
Objectives. We examined HIV prevalence and risk factors among injection drug users (IDUs) in Athens, Greece, during an HIV outbreak. Methods. We used respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to recruit 1404 IDUs to the Aristotle intervention in August to October 2012. We interviewed participants and tested for HIV. We performed bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results. Estimated HIV prevalence was 19.8% (RDS-weighted prevalence = 14.8%). Odds of infe…
Interpersonal Attacks on the Dignity of Members of HIV Key Populations: A Descriptive and Exploratory Study
Developing Measures of Pathways that May Link Macro Social/Structural Changes with HIV Epidemiology
A Network Intervention to Locate Newly HIV Infected Persons Within MSM Networks in Chicago
Identifying, linking, and treating people who inject drugs and were recently infected with HIV in the context of a network-based intervention
Identifying and linking people to care soon after HIV infection could limit viral transmission and protect their health. This work aims at describing the continuum of care among recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) and participated in an intervention in the context of an HIV outbreak in Athens, Greece. The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) conducted risk network-based contact tracing and screened people for recent…
New Measures for Research on Men Who Have Sex with Men and for At-Risk Heterosexuals: Tools to Study Links Between Structural Interventions or Large-Scale Social Change and HIV Risk Behaviors, Service…
Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Awareness and Use Within High HIV Transmission Networks
Experiences of Stigma and Support Reported by Participants in a Network Intervention to Reduce HIV Transmission in Athens, Greece; Odessa, Ukraine; and Chicago, Illinois
The Opioid/Overdose Crisis as a Dialectics of Pain, Despair, and One-Sided Struggle
The opioid/overdose crisis in the United States and Canada has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and has become a major field for research and interventions. It has embroiled pharmaceutical companies in lawsuits and possible bankruptcy filings. Effective interventions and policies toward this and future drug-related outbreaks may be improved by understanding the sociostructural roots of this outbreak. Much of the literature on roots of the o…
High-risk behaviors and their association with awareness of HIV status among participants of a large-scale prevention intervention in Athens, Greece
The prevalence of risky behaviors related to drug injection decreased in the context of Aristotle. Knowledge of HIV infection was associated with safer drug injection-related behaviors among PWID. This highlights the need for comprehensive interventions that scale-up HIV testing and help PWID become aware of their HIV status
Gaps in Knowledge About Sars-CoV-2 & Covid-19 Among University Students Are Associated With Negative Attitudes Toward People With Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cyprus
University students represent a highly active group in terms of their social activity in the community and in the propagation of information on social media. We aimed to map the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of University students in Cyprus about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to guide targeted future measures and information campaigns. We used a cross-sectional online …
Sociometric Risk Network Structure, HIV Prevalence, and Drug Injection-Related Norms among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece
Background: Structural properties of sociometric networks have been associated with behaviors related to HIV transmission. Very few studies, however, have explored the correlation between sociometric network factors and drug injection-related norms. Methods: This exploratory work: (i) describes basic structural qualities of a sociometric risk network of participants in the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) in Athens, Greece, in t…
Big Events theory and measures may help explain emerging long-term effects of current crises
Big Events are periods during which abnormal large-scale events like war, economic collapse, revolts, or pandemics disrupt daily life and expectations about the future. They can lead to rapid change in health-related norms, beliefs, social networks and behavioural practices. The world is undergoing such Big Events through the interaction of COVID-19, a large economic downturn, massive social unrest in many countries, and ever-worsening effects of…
Drug Injection-Related and Sexual Behavior Changes in Drug Injecting Networks after the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP): A Social Network-Based Study in Athens, Greece
The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) was a network-based, enhanced contact tracing approach, targeting recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece (2013-2015). This analysis examines behavioral changes of participants in TRIP and their determinants between baseline and follow-up visits to the program. All participants of TRIP were tested for HIV and interviewed using a questionnaire with items on drug …
Thermal Conditions and Hospital Admissions: Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Cyprus (2009–2018)
The state of the thermal environment can affect human health and well-being. Heat stress is associated with a wide range of health outcomes increasing morbidity and mortality and is recognized as an important health risk posed by climate change. This study aims at examining the effect of thermal conditions on the daily number of hospital admissions in Cyprus. Data from eight public hospitals located in five districts of Cyprus were analyzed from …
Effect of public health interventions during the first epidemic wave of Covid-19 in Cyprus: A modelling study
The decision of the Cypriot authorities to launch early NPIs limited the burden of the first wave of COVID-19. The findings of these analyses could help address the next waves of COVID-19 in Cyprus and other similar settings
The cost of a late-detected outbreak among people who inject drugs. A modeling study
Emerging Zoonotic Infections, Social Processes and Their Measurement and Enhanced Surveillance to Improve Zoonotic Epidemic Responses: A “Big Events” Perspective
Zoonotic epidemics and pandemics have become frequent. From HIV/AIDS through COVID-19, they demonstrate that pandemics are social processes as well as health occurrences. The roots of these pandemics lie in changes in the socioeconomic interface between humanity and non-human host species that facilitate interspecies transmission. The degree to which zoonoses spread has been increased by the greater speed and extent of modern transportation and t…
Pilot Testing Two Versions of a Social Network Intervention to Increase HIV Testing and Case-finding among Men in South Africa’s Generalized HIV Epidemic
Locating undiagnosed HIV infections is important for limiting transmission. However, there is limited evidence about how best to do so. In South Africa, men have been particularly challenging to reach for HIV testing due, in part, to stigma. We pilot-tested two versions of a network-based case-finding and care-linkage intervention. The first, TRIP, asked "seeds" (original participants) to recruit their sexual and/or injection partners. The second…
The Distinction Between Chemsex and Sexualized Drug Use Among Men Who have Sex with Men
Modeling the HIV epidemic in MSM in Cyprus: Reaching only the 95-95-95 cascade of care targets fails to reduce HIV incidence by 90% in 2030
National responses should be improved and accelerated to meet the target of ending the Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic by 2030. In the Republic of Cyprus, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), accounting approximately for half of all annual HIV diagnoses. This study assesses the evolution of HIV incidence in MSM in Cyprus until 2030 using a model calibrated to Cyp…
Evaluation of spill-over effects of antiretroviral treatment on sharing injecting equipment in a sociometric network of people who inject drugs
The evidence on risk compensation due to antiretroviral treatment (ART) use for people, who inject drugs (PWID), is limited. Moreover, interventions, including ART administration, frequently have spill-over effects, i.e., individuals who were not exposed themselves possibly benefit from their connections to those who were exposed. This work aimed to evaluate the causal effects in the presence of spill-over of ART uptake on sharing injecting equip…
Dialectical Processes of Health Framework as an Alternative to Social Determinants of Health Framework
The social determinants of health (SDOH) framework has proven useful for research and practice in addressing the social causes of many health outcomes. However, its limitations may restrict its value as the world undergoes rapid ecological and social change. We argue that SDOH does not adequately incorporate rapidly changing or “far upstream” social processes (particularly social movements), the dialectics of social conflict and creative social i…
Evaluation of the Relationship Between Network Centrality and Individual Sociodemographics and Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs
PURPOSE: Understanding the types of individuals and their position in the network may improve interventions for people who inject drugs (PWID). METHODS: From the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP), which enrolled PWID and their contacts in Athens, Greece, from 2013 to 2015, we extracted the largest connected component of the network (i.e., the largest group of connected individuals) and identified members who were in the top quart…
Medicine (23 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (17 works) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (17 works) · Environmental health (14 works) · Public health (14 works) · Family medicine (12 works) · Psychiatry (12 works) · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV (11 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Demography (10 works)