Renee Heffron

Datos Biográficos

ID	6764294
NOMBRE	Renee Heffron
NOMBRES	Renee
APELLIDO	Heffron
FIRMA	HEFFRON R
AFILIACIONES	University of Washington
ORCID	0000-0001-6039-0352
VERIFICADO	Sí
TOTAL DE OBRAS	41
TOTAL DE CITAS	0
TOTAL COMO AUTOR	41
TOTAL COMO EDITOR	0
PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN	2013
AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN	2026
ÍNDICE H	0

Development of a Self-administered Sexual Behavior Assessment Tool to Facilitate Self-reflection by Young Women in South Africa About HIV/STI Risk
Open AccessKrishnaveni Reddy, Jiaying Hao et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2026
Self-assessment of sexual behavior may empower adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to reflect on HIV/STI risk and adopt prevention strategies. We developed a web-based sexual behavior self-assessment tool providing real-time feedback based on a numeric score and examined associations of scores with STI detection and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation among AGYW in South Africa. The tool was implemented as part of PALESA, a pilot r…
Acceptability and Feasibility of Home-Based Human Papillomavirus Self-Testing as Primary Screening for Cervical Cancer Detection in the State of Alabama
Open AccessVan Thi Ha Nghiem, Shelita Smith et al.ARTICLEJournal of Community Health2026
Alabama has the highest cervical cancer mortality and sixth highest incidence rates nationwide. We assessed the acceptability and feasibility of at-home HPV self-testing for cervical cancer screening in Alabama. Eligible women (ages 30–64y, no Pap last 3.5y, not being pregnant, no hysterectomy history, and satisfying either rural residency or being African American) were recruited by community health workers (CHW), foodbanks, churches, and truste…
Expanding the reach of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among Kenyan adolescent girls and young women
Edinah Casmir, Njeri Wairimu et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2025
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) seeking post-abortal care (PAC) remain at risk of unintended pregnancies and HIV due to infrequent condom use. Integrating HIV prevention services, such as PrEP, into PAC services offers an opportunity to enhance reach, uptake, and efficiency, particularly in high-burden settings like Kenya. However, data on acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability of PAC clinics as entry points for PrEP is limited. A…
Acceptability of secondary distribution of HIV self-testing kits in central Kenya
Catherine Kiptinness, Marianne W Mureithi et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2025
The secondary distribution of HIV self-testing (HIVST) kits has the potential to improve access and uptake of HIV testing. This study assessed the acceptability of secondary distribution of HIVST by people living with HIV (PLHIV) to their sexual partners in Central Kenya and explored the broader perspectives on this strategy. Conducted between November 2019 and April 2023, the study was nested within an interventional study that implemented two a…
High Preference for Injectable Pre-exposure Prophylaxis among Young Women in Kenya
Open AccessKidist Zewdie, John Kinuthia et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025
Impact of Covid-19 Public Health Measures on Antiretroviral Therapy Use Among Ugandans Living with HIV in Sero-Different Couples
Open AccessTimothy R Muwonge, Erika Feutz et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2025
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) use and HIV suppression among people living with HIV (PLHIV) are critical for HIV control and prevention. Extreme restrictions on movement early during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda may have impeded the ability to initiate and sustain access to and use of ART. From our stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial of an integrated PrEP and ART intervention for HIV-serodifferent couples at 12 ART clinics in Uganda, we ident…
How PrEP delivery was integrated into public ART clinics in central Uganda
Open AccessMonique A Wyatt, Emily E Pisarski et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024
Tailored delivery strategies are important for optimizing the benefit and overall reach of PrEP in sub-Saharan Africa. An integrated approach of delivering time-limited PrEP in combination with ART to serodifferent couples encourages PrEP use in the HIV-negative partner as a bridge to sustained ART use. Although PrEP has been delivered in ART clinics for many years, the processes involved in integrating PrEP into ART services are not well underst…
Implementation of gender-based violence screening guidelines in public HIV treatment programs
Open AccessDorothy Thomas, Alisaati Nalumansi et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2024
Background HIV and gender-based violence (GBV) intersect to threaten population health. The Uganda Ministry of Health recommends routine GBV screening alongside HIV care but evidence detailing its implementation in HIV care settings is limited. We evaluated screening practices in public HIV clinics to generate evidence supporting GBV screening optimization. Methods To evaluate GBV screening implementation in antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics, …
Efficacy of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring Accounting for Imperfect Adherence
Open AccessMarla Husnik, Renee Heffron et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024
Behavioral Modeling and its Association with PrEP and ART Use in Ugandan HIV-Serodifferent Couples
Open AccessLiying Wang, Timothy R Muwonge et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024
Integrating Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery into Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) programs bridges the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention gap for HIV-serodifferent couples prior to the partner living with HIV achieving viral suppression. Behavioral modeling is one mechanism that could explain health-related behavior among couples, including those using antiretroviral medications, but few tools exist to measure the extent to which …
The Effect of Stigma on Family Planning and HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Decisions of Young Women Accessing Post-Abortion Care in Kenya
Open AccessYasaman Zia, Lydia Etyang et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2024
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Eastern and Southern Africa face parallel epidemics of unintended pregnancy and HIV. Their sexual health decisions are often dominated by intersecting stigmas. In an implementation science project integrating delivery of daily, oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention into 14 post-abortion care (PAC) clinics in Kenya, we enrolled a subset of PrEP initiating AGYW (aged 15 to 30 years) into …
Depression and PrEP uptake, interruption, and adherence among young women in Uganda
Open AccessYasaman Zia, Lydia Nambala et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2023
Depression is a common cause of morbidity globally and can impact adherence to medications, posing challenges to medication-based HIV prevention. The objectives of this work are to describe the frequency of depression symptoms in a cohort of 499 young women in Kampala, Uganda and to determine the association of depression symptoms with use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Mild or greater depression, assessed by the patient health questionn…
Post-trial access to and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis in Durban, South Africa
Open AccessIvana Beesham, Cecilia Milford et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023
We identified several barriers to post-trial PrEP access. Strategies to enhance PrEP access such as a reduction in waiting queues, convenient facility operating hours, and making PrEP more widely available and accessible are needed. It is also worth noting that oral PrEP access has expanded in South Africa from 2018 till now and this could improve access to PrEP for participants exiting trials who desire to continue PrEP
Feasibility and acceptability of peer-delivered HIV self-testing and PrEP for young women in Kampala, Uganda
Open AccessRita Nakalega, Nelson Mukiza et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2023
Peer delivery of HIVST and oral PrEP was feasible and acceptable to this sample of young women with suboptimal PrEP adherence in Uganda. Future larger controlled studies should evaluate its effectiveness among African AGWY
How Central Ugandan HIV Clinics Adapted During Covid-19 Lockdown Restrictions to Promote Continuous Access to Care
Open AccessN C Ware, Monique A Wyatt et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2023
Health Care Worker Perspectives of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Service Delivery in Central Uganda
Open AccessTimothy R Muwonge, Rogers Nsubuga et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2022
Background: Scale-up of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services in Uganda is ongoing. However, health care workers (HCWs) may not be aware of PrEP nor what offering this service entails. We explored the impact of standardized HCW training on the knowledge and perspectives of PrEP service delivery in Uganda. Methods: We recruited HCWs from facilities that offered HIV-related services in Central Uganda. Using the Uganda Ministry of Health curr…
ART initiation among women newly diagnosed with HIV in a contraceptive trial in sub-Saharan Africa
Open AccessIvana Beesham, Rodal Issema et al.ARTICLEAIDS Care2022
Current guidelines recommend starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) as soon as possible after HIV diagnosis to reduce morbidity, mortality and onward HIV transmission. We examined factors influencing ART initiation by women who seroconverted during the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) Trial. ECHO, conducted between 2015 and 2018, enrolled HIV-negative, sexually active women, aged 16-35 years, from four African countries. …
Post-randomization Differences in Condomless Vaginal Sex Among Women Randomized to Intramuscular Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Injections, a Copper Intrauterine Device or a Levonorgestrel Implant …
Open AccessJennifer Deese, Pai Lien Chen et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2022
The Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) trial found no substantial difference in HIV acquisition risk between women randomised to injectable intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), copper intrauterine device (Cu-IUD) or the levonorgestrel (LNG) implant. We evaluated post-randomization sexual behavior using an objective marker of condomless vaginal sex in a subset of participants. We conducted a sub-study …
A novel “HIV salience and Perception” scale is associated with PrEP dispensing and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in Kampala, Uganda
Open AccessJennifer Velloza, Andrew Mujugira et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2022
“Being a Person of Color in This Institution Is Exhausting”
Open AccessCésar Lizardi Ramos, Marie-Claire Gwayi-Chore et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2021
Learning climate greatly affects student achievement. This qualitative study aimed to understand community definitions of climate; share lived experiences of students, faculty, and staff; and define priority areas of improvement in the University of Washington School of Public Health (UWSPH). Between March-May 2019, 17 focus group discussions were conducted–stratified by role and self-identified race/ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation–among…
Perceived Social Influences on Women's Decisions to use Medications not Studied in Pregnancy. A Qualitative Ethical Analysis of Preexposure Prophylaxis Implementation Research in Kenya
Open AccessKenneth Ngure, Susan Brown Trinidad et al.ARTICLEJournal of Empirical Research on…2021Referencias: 3
Implementation research ethics can be particularly challenging when pregnant women have been excluded from earlier clinical stages of research given greater uncertainty about safety and efficacy in pregnancy. The evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) during pregnancy offered an opportunity to understand important ethical considerations and social influences shaping women's decisions to participate in the …
The influence of HIV‐related stigma on PrEP disclosure and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in HPTN 082
Open AccessJennifer Velloza, Nomhle Khoza et al.ARTICLEJournal of the International AIDS…2020
Adherence to recommendations for ART and targeted PrEP use among HIV serodiscordant couples in East Africa
Open Accesson behalf of the Partners Demonstration Project Team, Nicholas Musinguzi et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2020
Half of participants completed the PrEP as a bridge to ART strategy and the majority stopped PrEP as recommended. These findings suggest that targeting PrEP to periods of risk is a promising approach; however, tailoring counseling around aligning PrEP use and HIV risk will be important for optimal strategy implementation
Exploring the Use of Oral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Among Women from Durban, South Africa as Part of the HIV Prevention Package in a Clinical Trial
Open AccessIvana Beesham, Renee Heffron et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2020
HIV endpoint-driven clinical trials in Africa enroll women who are at heightened risk of acquiring HIV. In 2017, the South African Medical Research Council recommended the provision of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV prevention trials, at which time the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes trial was ongoing and began to provide PrEP on-site at some trial sites. We interviewed 132 women who initiated PrEP on-site at the …
The Effect of Depression on Adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among High-Risk South African Women in HPTN 067/Adapt
Open AccessHPTN 067/ADAPT Study Team, Jennifer Velloza et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2020