91传媒 researcher receives national grant for HIV study
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 new national research grant is supporting a Mississippi State faculty member鈥檚 investigation of HIV intervention efforts focused on African American women.
Kristina B. Hood will use the two-year award totaling more than $280,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services鈥 National Institutes of Health for her project titled 鈥淚ncreasing rural substance-using African American women鈥檚 access to evidenced-based HIV intervention.鈥
According to the assistant professor of psychology who came to the university in 2012, HIV/AIDS continues to be a major public health threat, particularly for rural areas with limited access to prevention resources.
鈥淐ondom use is an effective method of preventing HIV transmission, and a number of interventions have been developed to increase condom use among sexually active individuals,鈥 she said. 鈥淪uch interventions have been shown to increase condom use intentions and behaviors, but they have limited reach, thus using time and resources without notable large scale impacts on HIV efforts.鈥
Hood said findings from her study could help spotlight the use of social media 鈥渁s a wide reaching, cost-effective method to implement evidence-based, group-level HIV interventions for individuals with limited access to prevention services.鈥
As a result, she said 鈥渋ncreased scalability and reach of HIV programing could aid in preventing new HIV infections, particularly in populations of increased risk.鈥
Founded in 1887, the NIH is recognized as the world鈥檚 foremost medical research organization. In addition to conducting investigations in its own laboratories, the agency supports the efforts of non-governmental professionals like Hood working at universities, medical schools, hospitals and other research institutions throughout the country and abroad.
Along with HIV prevention and preventative health behaviors, Hood鈥檚 research interests include gender roles and beliefs, substance use and misuse, and the promotion of positive health outcomes among underserved populations.
91传媒鈥檚 psychology department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences.
In congratulating Hood for receiving the NIH honor, Dean R. Gregory Dunaway said the 鈥渧ery competitive and prestigious award will allow her to make a significant contribution in understanding the impact of HIV on African American women.鈥
Her achievement is the latest example of the psychology department鈥檚 鈥渆xcellent research reputation,鈥 he observed.
Hood is a psychology graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University. Along with social psychology master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees, she also holds criminal justice and sociology master鈥檚 degrees.
For more on the NIH, visit .
To learn more about 91传媒鈥檚 psychology department, see .
91传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R03DA039744. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.