Nathan M Thielman

Biographic Data

ID6083125
NAMENathan M Thielman
GIVEN NAMESNathan M
FAMILY NAMEThielman
SIGNATURETHIELMAN N M
AFFILIATIONSDuke University
ORCID0000-0001-8152-2879
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS39
TOTAL CITATIONS21
AUTHOR COUNT39
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2005
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX2

  • Effect of an emergency department-based educational intervention on medication adherence and disease understanding after acute myocardial infarction in Tanzania

    Open AccessAbigail Pyne, Francis Sakita et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2026

    Introduction Patient adherence to evidence-based secondary preventative therapies is limited among Tanzanians with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We evaluated the effect of an emergency department (ED)-based quality improvement intervention on disease understanding and medication use among Tanzanians with AMI. Methods In this pre-post study, patients with AMI symptoms were enrolled in a Tanzanian ED from September 2022 to August 2024. In Sept…

  • The prevalence of HIV among patients with cardiovascular disease in a Tanzanian emergency department

    Eli Rowe Abernethy, Francis Sakita et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2025

    Objectives Persons living with HIV (PLWH) face double the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to others. We assessed HIV prevalence among patients presenting to a Tanzanian emergency department (ED) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or heart failure (HF).Methods In this prospective observational study (Nov 2020–Jan 2023), adults with chest pain or dyspnea were enrolled. Patients without known HIV underwent HIV 1/2 assay and confirm…

  • Predictors of prior HIV testing and acceptance of a community-based HIV test offer among male bar patrons in northern Tanzania

    Open AccessDeng B Madut, Preeti Manavalan et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024

    Community-based HIV testing offers an alternative approach to encourage HIV testing among men in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we evaluated a community-based HIV testing strategy targeting male bar patrons in northern Tanzania to assess factors predictive of prior HIV testing and factors predictive of accepting a real-time HIV test offer. Participants completed a detailed survey and were offered HIV testing upon survey completion. Poisson re…

  • Provider attitudes towards quality improvement for myocardial infarction care in northern Tanzania

    Open AccessLauren A Coaxum, Francis Sakita et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024

    Introduction Myocardial Infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death worldwide. In high income countries, quality improvement strategies have played an important role in increasing uptake of evidence-based MI care and improving MI outcomes. The incidence of MI in sub-Saharan Africa is rising, but uptake of evidence-based care in northern Tanzania is low. There are currently no published quality improvement interventions from the region. The object…

  • Six-month incidence of hypertension and diabetes among adults with HIV in Tanzania

    Open AccessFrancis Sakita, Francis M Sakita et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2023

    Data describing the incidence of hypertension and diabetes among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa remain sparse. In this study, adults with HIV were enrolled from a public clinic in Moshi, Tanzania (September 2020—March 2021). At enrollment, a survey was administered to collect information on comorbidities and medication use. Each participant’s blood pressure and point-of-care glucose were measured. Baseline hypertension was defined by blood…

  • Divergent preferences for enhanced HIV testing options among high-risk populations in northern Tanzania

    Joachim Ostermann, Bernard Njau et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2023

    To achieve the UNAIDS target of diagnosing 95% of all persons living with HIV, enhanced HIV testing services with greater attractional value need to be developed and implemented. We conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to quantify preferences for enhanced HIV testing features across two high-risk populations in the Kilimanjaro Region in northern Tanzania. We designed and fielded a survey with 12 choice tasks to systematically recruited fe…

  • Prevalence and predictors of uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, and obesity among adults with HIV in northern Tanzania

    Open AccessJulian T Hertz, Sainikitha Prattipati et al.ARTICLEGlobal Public Health2022

    HIV is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but there has been less study of cardiovascular comorbidities among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. In a cross-sectional observational study, Tanzanian adults presenting for outpatient HIV care completed a questionnaire and underwent weight, height, blood pressure, and blood glucose measurement. Hypertension was defined by blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg or self-reported hyperten…

  • Oxygen delivery systems for adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Open AccessNeelima Navuluri, Maria L Srour et al.ARTICLEJournal of Global Health2021

    BACKGROUND: Respiratory diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Oxygen is an essential medicine used to treat hypoxemia from respiratory diseases. However, the availability and utilization of oxygen delivery systems for adults in sub-Saharan Africa is not well-described. We aim to identify and describe existing data around oxygen availability and provision for adults in sub-Saharan Africa, determine knowledge or research…

  • Increasing the Uptake of HIV Testing among Men in Tanzania

    Open AccessDeng B Madut, Preeti Manavalan et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2021

  • The Burden of Hypertension and Diabetes in an Emergency Department in Northern Tanzania

    Julian T Hertz, Francis Sakita et al.ARTICLEEthnicity & Disease2019

    The burden of hypertension and diabetes in a Tanzanian ED is high, and the ED may serve as an opportune location for case identification and linkage-to-care interventions. Given the large proportion of Africans with undiagnosed hypertension and diabetes, an ED-based screening program would likely identify many new cases of these diseases. The high burden of hypertension- and diabetes-related hospitalizations highlights the urgent need for improve…

  • Stressful and traumatic life events as disruptors to antiretroviral therapy adherence

    Julie O’donnell, Julie K O’Donnell et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2017

    Stressful and traumatic life events (STLEs) are common among HIV-infected individuals and may affect health behaviors such as adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, with important implications for treatment outcomes. We examined the association between STLEs and ARV adherence among 289 US-based participants enrolled between 7/1/2010 and 9/1/2013 in a study of depression treatment for HIV-infected patients. Participants received monthly teleph…

  • Civic engagement among orphans and non-orphans in five low- and middle-income countries

    Open AccessChristine L Gray, Brian W Pence et al.ARTICLEGlobalization and Health2016

    BACKGROUND: Communities and nations seeking to foster social responsibility in their youth are interested in understanding factors that predict and promote youth involvement in public activities. Orphans and separated children (OSC) are a vulnerable population whose numbers are increasing, particularly in resource-poor settings. Understanding whether and how OSC are engaged in civic activities is important for community and world leaders who need…

  • Potentially traumatic experiences and sexual health among orphaned and separated adolescents in five low- and middle-income countries

    Open AccessChristine L Gray, Kathryn Whetten et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2016

    Orphans and separated children (OSC) are a vulnerable population whose numbers are increasing, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Over 153 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents, including 17 million orphaned by AIDS, and millions more have been separated from their parents. As younger orphans enter adolescence, their sexual health and HIV-related risk behaviors become key considerations for their overall health. Impor…

  • Neighborhood clustering of non-communicable diseases

    Open AccessJohn W Stanifer, Joseph R Egger et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2016

    The neighborhood clustering was substantial enough to contribute to a design effect for NCD outcomes including hypertension, CKD, obesity, and glucose impairment, and it may also highlight NCD risk factors that vary by setting. These results may help inform the design of future community-based studies or randomized controlled trials examining NCDs in the region particularly those that use cluster-sampling methods

  • One size does not fit all

    Joachim Ostermann, Bernard Njau et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2015

    In order to maximize the effectiveness of "Seek, Test, and Treat" strategies for curbing the HIV epidemic, new approaches are needed to increase the uptake of HIV testing services, particularly among high-risk groups. Low HIV testing rates among such groups suggest that current testing services may not align well with the testing preferences of these populations. Female bar workers and male mountain porters have been identified as two important h…

  • Improvements in depression and changes in quality of life among HIV-infected adults

    Angela M Bengtson, Brian W Pence et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2015

    Improving quality of life (QOL) for HIV-infected individuals is an important objective of HIV care, given the considerable physical and emotional burden associated with living with HIV. Although worse QOL has been associated with depression, no research has quantified the potential of improvement in depression to prospectively improve QOL among HIV-infected adults. We analyzed data from 115 HIV-infected adults with depression enrolled in a random…

  • HIV serostatus disclosure in the treatment cascade

    Joachim Ostermann, Brian W Pence et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2015

    HIV serostatus disclosure plays an important role in HIV transmission risk reduction and is positively associated with HIV medication adherence and treatment outcomes. However, to date, no study has quantified the role of disclosure across the HIV treatment cascade, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. We used data from a cohort of HIV-infected adults in Northern Tanzania to describe associations between disclosure and engagement and retention in …

  • Gender (in) differences in prevalence and incidence of traumatic experiences among orphaned and separated children living in five low- and middle-income countries

    Open AccessChristine L Gray, Brian W Pence et al.ARTICLECambridge Prisms Global Mental…2015

    Prevalence and annual incidence of PTEs were high among OSC in general, but gender-specific estimates were comparable. Although support services and prevention programs are essential for female OSC, programs for male OSC are equally important

  • Improvements in Depression and Changes in Fatigue

    Open AccessJulie Barroso, Angela M Bengtson et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2015

  • Low rates of child testing for HIV persist in a high-risk area of East Africa

    Kelsey O’donnell, Karen O’donnell et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2014

    Children in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are the least touched by recent successes in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS globally. Early treatment is essential for a child's longer and higher quality of life; however, by 2011, only a small proportion of HIV-seropositive children in LMIC countries were receiving treatment, in part because of persisting low rates of diagnosis. This study of the prevalence and characteristics of chil…

  • HIV testing preferences in Tanzania

    Open AccessBernard Njau, Joachim Ostermann et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2014

    Testing decisions appear to be influenced by an array of often inter-linked factors across multiple domains, including quality, confidentiality, and accessibility; perceptions of these factors varied greatly across participants and across available testing options. HCT interventions that jointly target barriers spanning the three domains have the potential to increase uptake of HIV testing and deserve further exploration

  • Changes in HIV risk behavior and seroincidence among clients presenting for repeat HIV counseling and testing in Moshi, Tanzania

    Suzanne P Fiorillo, Suzanne Fiorillo et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2012

    While HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has been considered an HIV preventive measure in Africa, data are limited describing behavior changes following HCT. This study evaluated behavior changes and estimated HIV seroincidence rate among returning HCT clients. Repeat and one-time testing clients receiving HCT services in Moshi, Tanzania were identified. Information about sociodemographic characteristics, HIV-related behaviors and testing reasons w…

  • Prevalence and predictors of giving birth in health facilities in Bugesera District, Rwanda

    Open AccessShahrzad Joharifard, Stephen Rulisa et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2012

    The strongest correlates of facility-based delivery in Bugesera District include previous delivery at a health facility, possession of health insurance, greater financial autonomy, more recent interactions with the health system, and proximity to a health center. Recent structural interventions in Rwanda, including the rapid scale-up of community-financed health insurance, likely contributed to the dramatic improvement in the health facility deli…

  • Child work and labour among orphaned and abandoned children in five low and middle income countries

    Open AccessThe Positive Outcomes for Orphans Research Team, Lynne C Messer et al.ARTICLEBMC International Health and…2011

    BACKGROUND: The care and protection of the estimated 143,000,000 orphaned and abandoned children (OAC) worldwide is of great importance to global policy makers and child service providers in low and middle income countries (LMICs), yet little is known about rates of child labour among OAC, what child and caregiver characteristics predict child engagement in work and labour, or when such work infers with schooling. This study examines rates and co…

  • Highly stressed

    Susan Reif, Michael Mugavero et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2011

    A history of traumatic and/or stressful experiences is prevalent among HIV-infected individuals and has been consistently associated with poorer health outcomes. However, little is known about incident stressful experiences and the factors that predict these experiences among HIV-infected individuals. Data from a longitudinal study of 611 HIV-infected individuals in the Southeastern USA were used to examine the frequency and types of incident str…