Letter from our Director
Dear SIG community,
I want to give special thanks to all of the SIG staff, leadership, students, and pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers for making the accomplishments listed in this report possible.
Now, more than ever, the importance of community and collaboration are profoundly felt. I appreciate the role of both while continuing to expand our research to address some of the most grave injustices faced by so many.
SIG continues to address violence against women, HIV, stigma, reproductive health, substance use, as well as racial, gender, sexual, and health inequities and the implications on all from COVID-19.
In 2021, the staff and collaborators of SIG accomplished more than I thought possible. We launched new research studies to reduce stigma among youth with HIV, evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on diverse communities, influence policy on substance use, and much more. New findings from researchers at SIG was published in several peer-reviewed journals from JAMA to The Lancet.
Nabila El-Bassel, Director, SIG
About SIG
SIG includes a dedicated team of scientists, research staff, faculty, administrative support, students, research fellows, and scholars. Read more about our incredible team on our People page: Current SIG team and affiliates
The Social Intervention Group (SIG) was co-founded over 30 years ago by Dr. Nabila El-Bassel within the Columbia University School of Social Work. SIG has served as a global leader in intervention, prevention, behavioral, and implementation research on communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Several of SIG’s interventions have been identified by the CDC as best practices.
SIG’s evidence-based interventions have been identified as best practices by the Center for Disease Control, and have been disseminated and adapted nationally and globally.
SIG Operates Globally
SIG continues to provide training for faculty, visiting scholars, students, and post-doctoral fellows, and has an NIMH R25 HIV training program -- HISTP -- founded in 2007 to train underrepresented scholars from universities across the country on HIV implementation science.
SIG also manages a NIDA T32 training for pre- and post-doctoral scholars on implementation research for criminal justice-involved populations.
Mission and Vision
The Social Intervention Group (SIG) develops and implements evidence-based sustainable solutions to emerging health and social issues affecting diverse populations domestically and globally and is training the next generation of scientists from underrepresented affected communities to address these issues.
Our vision is to scale up sustainable effective solutions to emerging health and social issues in low resource underserved communities domestically and globally through state-of-art intervention and implementation science research and to train a cadre of underrepresented researchers from affected communities who can continue advancing our mission.
Research and Training Activities
Current research projects continued to gain momentum both within New York State and globally. SIG researchers continued to address violence against women, COVID, HIV, stigma, reproductive health, substance use, as well as racial, gender, sexual, and health inequities.
Research and training highlights
Expansion of impact to reduce violence against women The WINGS intervention to reduce violence against women, led by Dr. Louisa Gilbert, expanded through global partnerships and continued to provide services to women in need during the pandemic. SIG shared highlights of the work in India from the former WINGS India project coordinator, Dr. Harjyot Khosa.
New study to influence policy
Led by Dr. Nabila El-Bassel and Dr. Frances Levin, the CHOSEN team launched a new study, “COVID-19 Impact on Substance Use Policies,” aiming to loosen federal regulations for addiction services delivery during COVID-19 and generate data to inform post-emergency policy-making.
New crowdsourcing study to reduce HIV stigma among youth
JAS Spark will assess whether a digital crowdsourced intervention can reduce HIV stigma and promote HIV self-testing among adolescents and young adults. Dr. Alissa Davis leads the study with Gaukhar Mergenova in Kazakhstan.
Study diversifies outreach
Members of the HEALing Communities Study from Putnam County shared their efforts to diversify outreach in their communities with SIG.
New grants on impact of COVID among diverse communities
Three SIG-led projects were awarded funding by the Columbia University School of Social Work COVID-19 Action Initiative to address reproductive justice, the health of urban indigenous individuals, and gain/share knowledge from peer advocates in harm reduction.
New research study to address HIV + BMSM
SIG researcher Dr. Andrea Norcini Pala will investigate HIV and stigma among Black men who have sex with men in Intersectional Stigma, HIV, & ART (ISHA).
Impact of global study assessed
The Bridge Project finalized its study based at 24 needle exchange programs in Kazakhstan, where 70 care providers were trained to link individuals at each program site to HIV care.
Fourth campaign launched
The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) team launched its fourth campaign, Stay In MOUD Treatment, to highlight the life-saving power of staying on medication for opioid use disorder.
Social work expanded to additional countries
SIG and GHRCCA’s efforts to expand the field of social work continued in additional countries through the Building Social Service Workforce Competencies in Europe and Central Asia UNICEF project led by Dr. Timothy Hunt.
Outreach to prevent overdose
Several counties part of HEALing Communities Study as well as New York State commemorated International Overdose Awareness Day with events and activities both to educate the public on the crisis and give each community member actionable steps to address it.
Addressing inequities
Investigators from the HEALing Communities Study at SIG launched Black Justice, a subcommittee to address structural racism related to the overdose epidemic.
Expanding impact through partnerships
By creating new government partnerships, the HEALing Communities Study in Greene County, NY successfully proposed the establishment of an Opioid Court to reduce overdose deaths.
Training Fellow achievements
T32 Fellow Christina Aivadyan was awarded an F31, and T32 Fellows Drs. Kristi Stringer and Brandy Henry achieved tenure-track positions. SIG shared these achievements. Dr. Henry shared that “The training that I received under this program has positioned me to excel in my next role.” The T32 training program also welcomed two new Fellows.
Training Program achievements
HISTP scholars achieved recognition . Dr. Caroline Kingori was named Chair-Elect for the HIV/AIDS Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Dr. Aimalohi A. Ahonkhai shared her research on Nashville Public Television (NPT) and was featured in a primer on COVID-19 vaccine safety and racial and ethnic disparities. Donaldson Conserve launched the Black Male Professors Interview Series. Dr. Megan Threats presented “Toward health justice in informatics: a community-based, intersectional approach to HIV informatics intervention development.”
Dissemination of Research
SIG’s research was disseminated through the media, events, and was published in over 15 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Selected peer-reviewed publications
Jama Network Open: Effectiveness of a Culturally Tailored HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Intervention for Black Women in Community Supervision Programs. First author and Multiple PI Dr. Louisa Gilbert shared, “The success of E-WORTH was due in large part to the incredible research team who oversaw its design and implementation. The concept -- drawing on the resilience and community Black women share to create an intervention designed for and by Black women -- was key to reducing racial health disparities among these justice-involved women.” SIG also interviewed the two project directors.
AIDS Education and Prevention: Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men in New York City
Journal of the International AIDS Society: A cluster‐randomized controlled trial of a combination HIV risk reduction and microfinance intervention for female sex workers who use drugs in Kazakhstan. The study explored the impact of HIV prevention and microfinance on women engaged in sex work who also use drugs. SIG also interviewed the two project directors.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence: Addressing long overdue social and structural determinants of the opioid overdose crisis. This Special Issue on health disparities and the opioid epidemic features 18 papers from researchers across universities.
Social Work Research: Learning from “Racism, Not Race” for Intersectionality Research and the Research Enterprise. Dr. Elwin Wu's publication proposes that rather than focusing on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or disability identities and categories, intersectionality research should focus on "racism, patriarchy and misogyny, heterocentrism and homophobia, cis-centrism and transphobia, and ableism.”
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. COVID-19 related substance use services policy changes: Policymaker perspectives on policy development & implementation. The team from the Columbia Center for Healing of Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders--Intervention Development and Implementation (CHOSEN) and the related COVID-19 Impact Study has published a paper with a rare look at policy and dissemination plans during COVID-19.
The Lancet: Reducing COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons through public health-centered policies
Suicide Research: Inclusive State Legislation and Reduced Risk of Past-Year Suicide Attempts Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents in the United States. This new publication examines how suicide attempts among LGBQ adolescents may differ as a function of state legislation relevant to equality for sexual minorities.
Implementation Science: Cost analysis in implementation studies of evidence-based practices for mental health and substance use disorders: a systematic review
Global Journal of Health Science: The Financial Lives and Capabilities of Women Engaged in Sex Work: Can Paradoxical Autonomy Inform Intervention Strategies?
National Institute for Health Research: A global systematic review of interventions co-targeting HIV and psychosocial syndemics of gender-based violence, substance misuse, and psychological distress and promoting health-seeking behaviours among women who use drugs: evidence for policy and practice
Journal of Addiction Medicine: Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 on People Who Use Drugs During Lockdown and Social Distancing
Frontiers in Mental Health: Refugee Mental Health, Global Health Policy, and the Syrian Crisis
Reproductive Health: Reproductive justice in the time of COVID-19: a systematic review of the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health
Journal of Interpersonal Violence: Association Between Multiple Experiences of Violence and Drug Overdose Among Black Women in Community Supervision Programs in New York City
Selected press and media
SIG’s research was featured in over 30 news outlets in 2021. Below are several highlights.
Dr. El-Bassel’s timely Op-Ed, Three ways to make vaccine distribution more equitable, was published in the New York Daily News and shared and republished widely.
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel published an article in The Conversation: Why addressing racism against Black women in health care is key to ending the US HIV epidemic.
Dr. El-Bassel was quoted in several news outlets including:
- The Nation: What’s Keeping the Vaccine From Getting to Those Who Need it Most? “I’m thinking about people who use drugs, people in homeless shelters, in soup kitchens, in domestic violence shelters, or in community supervision programs…. If we want to get into these populations, we’ve got to think about nontraditional sites and strategies. We can’t just wait for them to come to us.”
- Infectious Disease Special Edition: HIV and Opioid Use: A Symbiotic Relationship. “The opioid and HIV syndemic share major structural drivers such as poverty, economic inequities, health disparities, a lack of integrations of services, and a market-driven health care system with poor access to health care insurance, and a lack of rules and regulations for pharmaceutical market placement. Each of these drivers limits access to drug treatment, HIV services and care, and continue to heighten the spread of the syndemic.”
- The News Station: Why is America Home to 30% of Imprisoned Women Across the Globe? “Incarceration interferes with housing, social services, food aid, travel, employment, education, and parenting; and the repeated cycles of violence, extortion, arrest, detention, and release are especially socially and economically destabilizing for women who use drugs.”
Dr. Elwin Wu shared his journey from the start of the AIDS pandemic to the present in an article for Columbia News, "Drama Series 'Pose' Exposes New Generations to the Early Days of the HIV/AIDS Crisis."
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel was interviewed by Dr. Rita Charon for a feature in the Irving Institute's "Narratives of Discovery." The series was also featured in The Lancet.
The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) appeared in over 20 media outlets including this article showcasing HCS Coalition member and nurse practitioner Laura Churchill’s work in her rural clinic to prevent people from dying of overdose and encourage treatment without stigma.
Events
SIG participated in over 15 events on topics including vaccine disparities, stigma, human rights, sexuality, HIV, substance use, racial and health disparities, and sex work.
Members of SIG also organized a multi-day Pharmacy Conference with colleagues involved in the HEALing Communities Study called “The Pharmacy Role in Addressing the Opioid Epidemic.”
The SIG-run training program HISTP hosted an event “For Us, by Us: A Conversation about Racism, Discrimination and Bias in Higher Education,” a public roundtable discussion for scholars in the program to address ways racism manifests in academia.
Team News and Accomplishments
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel received the Pillar of Excellence Award in Research, bestowed by the Addiction Policy Forum at their National Leadership Conference.
Dr. Louisa Gilbert was promoted to Full Professor.
ASPIRE researcher Mohamad Adam Brooks was accepted into the Minority Fellowship Program for Doctoral students by the Council on Social Work Education.
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel received the 2021 Faculty Mentoring Award, recognizing senior faculty who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to faculty mentoring through their work with tenure-track and mid-career faculty in developing their careers.
New students, staff, and Fellows
Several new staff began at SIG as well as students; several others earned promotions.
SIG celebrated the contribution of six graduates. Graduate Xinrui Lyu said: “The experience in SIG encourages me to be the change I wish to see in the world.”
Two researchers from SIG – ASPIRE and GHRCCA -- offered evidence-based advice on working with refugees and displaced persons as part of an article from the School of Social Work.
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