The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing has increased its support for the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research (JHU-CFAR) to $100,000 per year in institutional funds. The money will support pilot awards to junior faculty and those new to HIV/AIDS research projects.
JHU-CFAR brings together HIV/AIDS researchers from across the university and uses collaboration and transdisciplinary innovations to address HIV within Baltimore and beyond. The center provides training, financial support, and helps investigators strengthen their outreach.“HIV and AIDS still remain an epidemic for our nation and world, and our investment speaks to nursing’s indispensable role in prevention and treatment.”
— Dean Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN“The goals of the CFAR and its work in high-risk communities are highly congruent with our school,” says Dean Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN. “HIV and AIDS still remain an epidemic for our nation and world, and our investment speaks to nursing’s indispensable role in prevention and treatment.”
The additional support comes at a time in HIV/AIDS care when health care organizations are being called to increase their investment in nursing’s role inachieving the UNAIDS goal of 90 percent of people diagnosed, 90 percent in treatment, and 90 percent maintaining viral suppression by the year 2020. A specific call to action was launched at the 2016 International AIDS Conference and was spearheaded by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, of which JHSON’s Jason Farley, PhD, MPH, ANP-BC, FAAN, is president. As a global practitioner, Farley’s research focuses on prevention and management of HIV, particularly among persons with HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis co-infection.
Both Farley and faculty member Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, have played significant roles in JHU-CFAR leadership and in creating the organization’s Developmental and Clinical Core goals. Other faculty from JHSON including Hae-Ra Han, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Jennifer Stewart, PhD, RN, have received funding from JHU-CFAR to study cervical cancer prevention among women with HIV/AIDS, church-based HIV testing, the link between violence and HIV, and more.
As HIV care has continued to move from specialized clinics to primary care settings, JHSON has offered new curriculum that includes yearlong field placements treating patients with HIV and sensitivity training to help students identify and overcome any preconceptions or biases.