August Update

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

August was a month for women's equality -- for the continued fight for justice and peace, and equity across all genders and races here in the United States, and around the world!

On August 26, we celebrated Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibits the state and the federal governments from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. However, the sobering reality is that we have not achieved universal equality for women globally [Click here for my latest LinkedIn and RTI GGC blog post].

We hosted and co-sponsored three events this month related to women's equality and choice in different countries around the world. I look forward to sharing more with you on the great events, as well as new gender-related projects and publications below!

 



 

RTI Gender-related August Project Wins


















  • Wendee Wechsberg/Margaret Gichane and team on their win, Diversity Supplement to PrEPARE Pretoria Project, from PHS NIH NICHD

  • Molly Lynch and team on their win, New York State Dept of Health Breast Cancer Screening Media Campaign Evaluation, from Health Research, Inc.

  • Edward Burns and team on their win, Tanzania NIH R21 Stigma HIV Drug Use, from PHS NIH Fogarty International

  • Maria Dzula, and team on their win, ACR-Asia Add-on: COVID-19 Response Activity, from USAID Washington

  • Priya Kathpal and team on their win, ASIA LS IDIQ - Sustainable Asia Fisheries TO, from USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia

  • Callie Riggs and team on their win, NuMoM2b Heart Health Study II- Add on, from NIH NHLBI




  • Benjamin Laimon and team on their win, NuMoM2b Heart Health Study II - Administrative Supplement #1, from NIH NHLBI

  • Don Bailey and team on their win, Newborn Screening Modernization, from Orchard Therapeutics, EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, and Sarepta Therapeutics

  • Marina Simic and team on their win, WWT IQC/ DRC Mission A&A104/ May 11-22, 2020, from USAID DRC Mission

  • Marni Kan and team on their win, Evaluation of Men of Strength (MOST) Clubs: Supplement, from CDC National Center for Injury Prevention & Control (NCIPC)

  • Naomi Freedner and team on their win, 2021-2025 Ohio Pregnancy Assessment Survey (OPAS), from Ohio State University




RTI Gender-related August Publications
















Aman MG, Norris M, Kaat AJ, et al. Factor Structure of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist in Individuals with Fragile X Syndrome: Clarifications and Future GuidanceJ Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2020;10.1089/cap.2019.0177.

Baumgartner T, Bhamidipalli SS, Guise D, et al. Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Contributors to Breastfeeding Intention in First-Time MothersMatern Child Health J. 2020;24(8):1047-1056. doi:10.1007/s10995-020-02928-0

Evans A, Lynch M, Johnson M, Bonhomme N. Assessing the Newborn Screening Education Needs of Families Living in Medically Underserved Areas. J Genet Couns. 2020;29(4):658-667. doi:10.1002/jgc4.1252

García-Albéniz X, Hernán MA, Hsu J. Continuation of Annual Screening Mammography and Breast Cancer Mortality in Women Older Than 70 YearsAnn Intern Med. 2020;173(3):247. doi:10.7326/L20-0827

Gichane MW, Wechsberg WM, Ndirangu J, et al. Implementation Science Outcomes of a Gender-focused HIV and Alcohol Risk-reduction Intervention in Usual-care Settings in South Africa. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020;215:108206. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108206

Goyal RK, Cuyun Carter G, Nagar SP, et al. Treatment Patterns, Adverse Events, and Direct and Indirect Economic Burden in a Privately Insured Population of Patients with HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer in the United StatesExpert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2020. doi:10.1080/14737167.2020.1804871

Haviland MJ, Nillni YI, Fox MP, et al. Psychotropic Medication Use During Pregnancy and Gestational Age at Delivery. Ann Epidemiol. 2020;S1047-2797(20)30291-X. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.08.010

Jackson-Morris A, Nugent R. Tailored Support for National NCD Policy and Programme Implementation: An Over-looked PriorityBMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(8):e002598. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002598

Jin Y, Song S, Zhang L, et al. Disparities in Premature Cardiac Death Among US Counties From 1999-2017: Temporal Trends and Key DriversJ Am Heart Assoc. 2020;9(15):e016340. doi:10.1161/JAHA.120.016340

Katz AWK, Naidoo K, Reddy K, et al. The Power of the Shared Experience: MTN-020/ASPIRE Trial Participants' Descriptions of Peer Influence on Acceptability of and Adherence to the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring for HIV PreventionAIDS Behav. 2020;24(8):2387-2399. doi:10.1007/s10461-020-02799-0
Krall JR, Adibah N, Babin LM, et al. Estimating Exposure to Traffic-related PM2.5 for Women Commuters Using Vehicle and Personal MonitoringEnviron Res. 2020;187.doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109644

McClure EM, Kinney MV, Leisher SH, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Maternal and Child HealthLancet Glob Health. 2020;S2214.doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30326-0

McCree DH, Chesson H, Bradley ELP, Williams A, Gant Z, Geter A. Exploring Changes in Racial/Ethnic Disparities of HIV Diagnosis Rates Under the "Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America" InitiativePublic Health Rep. 2020;135(5):685-690. doi:10.1177/0033354920943526

Nyblade L, Srinivasan K, Raj T, et al. HIV Transmission Worry Predicts Discrimination Intentions Among Nursing Students and Ward Staff in IndiaAIDS Behav. 2020;10. doi:1007/s10461-020-03001-1.

Ramaswamy M, Hemberg J, Faust A, et al. Criminal Justice-Involved Women Navigate COVID-19: Notes From the FieldHealth Educ Behav. 2020;47(4):544-548. doi:10.1177/1090198120927304

Roman TS, Crowley SB, Roche MI, et al. Genomic Sequencing for Newborn Screening: Results of the NC NEXUS ProjectAm J Hum Genet. 2020;S0002-9297(20).doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.08.001

Stanley KE, Giordano J, Thorsten V, et al. Causal Genetic Variants in Stillbirth. N Engl J Med. 2020;10.1056/NEJMoa1908753. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1908753

Tripathy D, Blum JL, Rocque GB, et al. POLARIS: A Prospective, Multicenter, Noninterventional Study Assessing Palbociclib in Hormone Receptor-positive Advanced Breast CancerFuture Oncol. 2020. doi:10.2217/fon-2020-0573

Tsang SH, Basu P, Bender N, et al. Evaluation of Serological Assays to Monitor Antibody Responses to Single-dose HPV VaccinesVaccine. 2020;38(38):5997-6006. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.07.017

Tumin R, Johnson K, Spence D, Oza-Frank R. The Effectiveness of "Push-to-Web" as an Option for a Survey of New MothersMatern Child Health J. 2020;24(8):960-965. doi:10.1007/s10995-020-02936-0

Wise LA, Wang TR, Willis SK, Wesselink AK, Rothman KJ, Hatch EE. Effect of a Home Pregnancy Test Intervention on Cohort Retention and Pregnancy Detection: A Randomized TrialAm J Epidemiol. 2020;189(8):773-778. doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa027























We update our website regularly with all RTI Gender-related publications under resources. Please let us know if we missed any of yours.





August Events


 



Virtual Presentation
Safe Abortion Care & Women's Empowerment in Colombia, South America

Tuesday, August 18, 2020
12-1 pm EDT


Miria Vivas, MD, MPH, director of Orientame presented on her work around women's empowerment and access to safe abortion care in Colombia, South America. Dr. Vivas is the current Director of Orientame. This private, non-profit organization is dedicated to the promotion and protection of sexual and reproductive health, with emphasis on prevention and comprehensive management of unwanted pregnancy and its social consequences, as well as prompt and humane treatment of incomplete abortion and the voluntary interruption of pregnancy in the cases according to the law. Dr. Vivas is originally from Colombia but moved to the USA for several years and worked with the Women’s Global Health Imperative (WGHI) from 2006-2009 on the MIRA project at the University of California, San Francisco before WGHI joined RTI. This event was attended by 41 individuals.




RTI was pleased to welcome Chief Justice Cheri Beasley as our guest speaker for our 2020 Women’s Equality Day event. She is the 29th Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and the first Black woman to serve as Chief Justice of the state’s highest Court. The program featured a conversation with Dr. Duren Banks and Tim Gabel about RTI’s Applied Justice Research program in the context of women’s equality.

The event, which is sponsored by the Women’s Advancement, Leadership, and Success (WALS) ERG in collaboration with the RTI Global Gender Center, celebrated 100 years of U.S. women’s right to vote and promoted continued efforts to ensure women’s full and equal participation in the workplace and civic life.



RTI International was pleased to host five Latin American leaders in government and industry as guest speakers for our 2020 Women's Equality Day event. These women have held positions in government and industry and continue to work toward women’s equality in their countries. The event celebrated equality for women in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting continued efforts to ensure women’s full and equal participation in the workplace and civic life. It was sponsored by the Hispanic Employee Resource Group UNA Comunidad and the Women's Advancement, Leadership, and Success (WALS) ERG with support from the RTI Global Gender Center.

Calls to Action


Sanitary Pads and Eco-Friendly Disposal for Students in Gurgaon 

Since we know sanitary pads are an issue for girls in low resource communities, the RTI International India office is working with the Lotus Petal Foundation to help provide sanitary pads and eco-friendly disposal of used pads for students in Gurgaon, near Delhi in India.

Write to Prasanna Perumal of RTI International, India at pperumal@rti.org for additional information and to support the effort.

 

Upcoming Events


Dr. Meyer is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Yale AIDS Program. She is a practicing physician and maintains board certifications in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Addiction Medicine.  Her investigative agenda focuses on developing, testing and implementing HIV prevention & treatment interventions for women in: criminal legal systems, drug treatment centers, & domestic violence service settings. Her clinical work & research is motivated by her experience working as an HIV care provider at Connecticut’s only prison for women.

If you would like to receive additional event information as it becomes available please email bhoward@rti.org.










Gender Science News


Completing the Set: 'Coupon-Collection Behavior' Reduces Sex-Ratio Variation Among Families

Female Chromosomes Offer Resilience to Alzheimer's

Can't Be Away from Your Phone? Study Finds Link to Higher Levels of Obsession-Compulsion

Completing the Set: 'Coupon-Collection Behavior' Reduces Sex-Ratio Variation Among Families

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