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Susan Reif

Research Scholar
Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research
Duke Box 90392, Durham, NC 27708-0392
2812 Erwin Rd SUITE403, Duke Box 90392, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications


The Relationship of HIV-related Stigma and Health Care Outcomes in the US Deep South.

Journal Article AIDS and behavior · October 2019 HIV-related stigma is prevalent in the US Deep South; however, information regarding the types of stigma and their effects on HIV-related outcomes is limited. This study examined the prevalence of different forms of stigma and the association of stigma wit ... Full text Cite

State of HIV in the US Deep South

Journal Article Journal of Community Health · February 28, 2017 The Southern United States has been disproportionately affected by HIV diagnoses and mortality. To inform efforts to effectively address HIV in the South, this manuscript synthesizes recent data on HIV epidemiology, care financing, and current research lit ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

A Review of Recent Literature on Trauma Among Individuals Living with HIV.

Journal Article Current HIV/AIDS reports · December 2015 Persons living with HIV (PLWH) report disproportionately high levels of exposure to traumatic events in childhood and adulthood. Traumatic experiences are associated with negative health and behavioral outcomes. Current research in this area seeks to furth ... Full text Cite

HIV Diagnoses, Prevalence and Outcomes in Nine Southern States.

Journal Article Journal of community health · August 2015 A group of nine states in the Southern United States, hereafter referred to as the targeted states, has experienced particularly high HIV diagnosis and case fatality rates. To provide additional information about the HIV burden in this region, we used CDC ... Full text Cite

HIV/AIDS in the Southern USA: A disproportionate epidemic

Journal Article AIDS Care Psychological and Socio Medical Aspects of AIDS HIV · March 4, 2014 This research synthesis examined HIV/AIDS surveillance and health care financing data and reviewed relevant research literature to describe HIV epidemiology, outcomes, funding, and contributing factors to the HIV epidemic in the Southern USA with particula ... Full text Cite

Substance Use Outcomes of an Integrated HIV-Substance Use Treatment Model Implemented by Social Workers and HIV Medical Providers

Journal Article Health and Social Work · February 24, 2014 Substance use is highly prevalent among people living with HIV (PLWH) and associated with poor health outcomes. Although understudied, integrating substance use and medical care for PLWH may decrease substance use. Using a quasi-experimental design, the au ... Full text Cite

Results of a pilot test of a brief computer-assisted tailored HIV prevention intervention for use with a range of demographic and risk groups.

Journal Article AIDS and behavior · November 2013 There is a need for brief HIV prevention interventions that can be disseminated and implemented widely. This article reports the results of a small randomized field experiment that compared the relative effects of a brief two-session counselor-delivered co ... Full text Cite

In-home mental health treatment for individuals with HIV.

Journal Article AIDS Patient Care STDS · November 2012 Mental health problems are highly prevalent among individuals with HIV and are consistently associated with negative health outcomes. However, mental illness often remains untreated due to significant psychosocial and physical barriers to treatment partici ... Full text Link to item Cite

Childhood trauma and health outcomes in HIV-infected patients: an exploration of causal pathways.

Journal Article J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr · April 1, 2012 OBJECTIVE: Traumatic life histories are highly prevalent in people living with HIV/AIDS and predict sexual risk behaviors, medication adherence, and all-cause mortality. Yet the causal pathways explaining these relationships remain poorly understood. We so ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationship between trauma and high-risk behavior among HIV-positive men who do not have sex with men (MDSM).

Journal Article AIDS care · January 2012 The incidence of heterosexual HIV transmission continues to increase in the USA. However, little is known about factors that influence high-risk behavior among men who do not have sex with men (MDSM). This study examines the association of childhood sexual ... Full text Cite

Highly stressed: stressful and traumatic experiences among individuals with HIV/AIDS in the Deep South.

Journal Article AIDS Care · February 2011 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 the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Incident stressful and traumatic life events and human immunodeficiency virus sexual transmission risk behaviors in a longitudinal, multisite cohort study.

Journal Article Psychosom Med · September 2010 OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between incident stressful life events (e.g., sexual and physical assault; housing instability; and major financial, employment, and legal difficulties) and unprotected anal or vaginal sexual intercourse (unprotected se ... Full text Link to item Cite

Hepatitis C transmission, prevention, and treatment knowledge among patients with HIV.

Journal Article South Med J · July 2010 OBJECTIVE: Liver disease associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious cause of mortality among people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (PLWHA). Little is known about the HCV knowledge of PLWHA. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Overload: impact of incident stressful events on antiretroviral medication adherence and virologic failure in a longitudinal, multisite human immunodeficiency virus cohort study.

Journal Article Psychosom Med · November 2009 OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of incident stressful experiences on antiretroviral medication adherence and treatment outcomes. Past trauma history predicts poorer medication adherence and health outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trauma, mental health, distrust, and stigma among HIV-positive persons: implications for effective care.

Journal Article Psychosomatic medicine · June 2008 Individuals living with HIV often have complicated histories, including negative experiences such as traumatic events, mental illness, and stigma. As the medical community in the United States adapts to managing HIV as a chronic disease, understanding fact ... Full text Cite

An integrated, multidimensional treatment model for individuals living with HIV, mental illness, and substance abuse.

Journal Article Health Soc Work · November 2007 The challenge of providing effective treatment services for the growing population of HIV-positive individuals who are also dually diagnosed with substance use and mental disorders has only recently been recognized as an important public health concern aff ... Full text Link to item Cite

Minorities, the poor, and survivors of abuse: HIV-infected patients in the US deep South.

Journal Article South Med J · November 2007 BACKGROUND: The HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. South is undergoing a marked shift toward a greater proportion of new HIV/AIDS cases in women, African-Americans, and through heterosexual transmission. METHODS: Using consecutive sampling, 611 participants wer ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of race and gender with use of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected individuals in the Southeastern United States.

Journal Article South Med J · August 2007 BACKGROUND: Women and minorities continue to account for a higher proportion of AIDS incidence and mortality than their male and white counterparts. This study examined whether race and gender were associated with antiretroviral use among HIV-infected indi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Reif et al. respond [2]

Journal Article American Journal of Public Health · March 1, 2007 Full text Cite

HIV Infection and AIDS in the Deep South.

Journal Article American journal of public health · June 2006 We examine epidemiological and demographic data documenting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Deep South region of the United States. These data document substantial increases in AIDS cases in the Deep South from 2000 to 2003. In contrast, other US regions are ... Full text Cite

Association of unmet needs for support services with medication use and adherence among HIV-infected individuals in the southeastern United States.

Journal Article AIDS care · May 2006 Unmet needs for services, such as housing and psychiatric treatment, are relatively common among HIV-infected individuals; however, the effects of different types of unmet needs on health-care outcomes are not well understood. This study describes unmet ps ... Full text Cite

Characteristics of HIV-infected adults in the Deep South and their utilization of mental health services: A rural vs. urban comparison.

Journal Article AIDS care · January 2006 Insufficient utilization of mental health services has been described among HIV-infected individuals in urban areas; however, little is known about utilization of mental health services among rural-living HIV-infected individuals. This article examines use ... Full text Cite

Does distance affect utilization of substance abuse and mental health services in the presence of transportation services?

Journal Article AIDS care · January 2006 Long travel times have been identified as a significant barrier to accessing mental health and other critical services. This study examines whether distance to treatment was a barrier to receiving outpatient mental health and substance abuse care for HIV-p ... Full text Cite

Improving health outcomes among individuals with HIV, mental illness, and substance use disorders in the Southeast.

Journal Article AIDS Care · 2006 Providing behavioral treatment for mental health and substance use disorders among HIV-infected individuals is critical because these disorders have been associated with negative outcomes such as poorer medication adherence. This study examines the effecti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS care in North Carolina: rural and urban differences.

Journal Article AIDS care · July 2005 Many HIV-positive individuals face multiple barriers to care and therefore frequently experience unmet medical and support services needs. Rural areas often lack the infrastructure to support the delivery of comprehensive HIV services; however, few studies ... Full text Cite

A brief mental health and substance abuse screener for persons with HIV.

Journal Article AIDS Patient Care STDS · February 2005 Mental illness and substance abuse are common among HIV-infected individuals and are associated with negative outcomes, including poor medication adherence. Therefore, quick and effective methods for detecting these co-occurring disorders are necessary for ... Full text Link to item Cite

Substance abuse and symptoms of mental illness among HIV-positive persons in the Southeast.

Journal Article South Med J · January 2005 OBJECTIVES: Mental illness and substance abuse have been consistently associated with poor HIV-medication adherence and other negative health outcomes. METHODS: A brief mental health and substance use screening instrument was administered to 1,362 HIV-infe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Influence of time stress and other variables on counseling by pharmacists about antiretroviral medications.

Journal Article American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists · June 2004 PurposeThe medication counseling practices of pharmacists caring for patients with HIV infection and the factors influencing their counseling behaviors regarding antiretroviral medications were examined.MethodsA questionnaire was mailed i ... Full text Cite

Gender differences in knowledge and perceptions of HIV resources among individuals living with HIV in the Southeast.

Journal Article Southern medical journal · April 2004 ObjectivesAncillary services have been associated with beneficial health utilization outcomes among individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including greater retention in medical care and greater likelihood of antiretrovi ... Full text Cite

Adherence counseling practices of generalist and specialist physicians caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in North Carolina.

Journal Article Journal of general internal medicine · January 2004 ContextNational guidelines recommend that practitioners assess and reinforce patient adherence when prescribing antiretroviral (ART) medications, but the extent to which physicians do this routinely is unknown.ObjectiveTo assess the adher ... Full text Cite

Medication adherence practices of HIV/AIDS case managers: a statewide survey in North Carolina.

Journal Article AIDS patient care and STDs · September 2003 The primary objective of this study was to examine the adherence-related practices and attitudes of HIV/AIDS case managers in North Carolina. All North Carolina HIV/AIDS case managers (n = 111) employed by agencies that were state certified to provide HIV ... Full text Cite