About SIG
SIG is comprised of 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.
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.
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.
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.
Training Programs
SIG continues to provide training for faculty, visiting scholars, students, and post-doctoral fellows. SIG manages two training programs: HISTP and T32.
HISTP is an NIMH R25 HIV training program founded in 2007 to train underrepresented scholars from universities across the country on HIV implementation science.
T32 is a NIDA training program for pre- and post-doctoral scholars on implementation research for criminal justice-involved populations.
Research Highlights
In 2022, SIG researchers continued to address violence against women, COVID, HIV, stigma, reproductive health, substance use, as well as racial, gender, sexual, and health inequities. Below are a few highlights.
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The HEALing Communites Study finalized its first wave and launched in eight new counties
HCS continues to foster new collaborations as part of its second wave in the eight new counties, Broome, Chautauqua, Cortland, Genesee, Monroe, Orange, Sullivan, and Yates.
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WINGS is an evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment service tool, designed to identify intimate partner and gender-based violence among women who use drugs. It was developed by Dr. Louisa Gilbert and her team at SIG in 2008, and has been adapted and implemented around the world, including in New York City, Kyrgyzstan, India, and Ukraine.
WINGS continues and expands its efforts to address violence against women
WINGS serves women during war: T32 Fellow Tara McCrimmon wrote about the incredible efforts to serve women during wartime. The Ukrainian iteration of WINGS serves women who use drugs, self-identified women sex workers, women living with HIV, and internally displaced women.
WINGS expands to New York City: A New York based version of the WINGS intervention, led by Drs. Aninita Dasgupta and Louisa Gilbert launched in collaboration with the Fortune Society to serve women involved in the criminal legal system. This intervention is the first PrEP mHealth tool that synergistically addresses IPV, and alcohol-related barriers to PrEP initiation and adherence with novel peer navigation and telemedicine components.
Training through the UNICEF projects helped expand the field of social work 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. Since launch, Building Social Service Workforce Competencies in Europe and Central Asia has expanded to a total of eight countries.
Training Program Highlights
HISTP
Since 2007, the HIV Intervention Science Training Program for Underrepresented New Investigators (HISTP) has strengthened universities, diversified HIV research, and elevated scholars of color across the country. HISTP has several creative ways to germinate tech ideas -- hackathons, pitch sessions, gamification, design challenges -- and works with scholars to achieve their research goals using innovative new strategies.
HISTP presented two institutes. The 2022 HISTP Winter Institute shared the latest implementation science and research, featuring presentations by renowned researchers and in-depth mock grant proposal review sessions. At the Summer Institute, presenters and scholars addressed inequities in HIV through technology, implementation science, community-engaged research, and big data science.
HISTP scholars received awards and recognition in 2022.
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T32 Training Program on HIV & Substance Use in the Criminal Legal System
T32 provides training the next generation of pre- and post-doctoral scholars in the prevention, treatment, and care of HIV and drug use among individuals in the criminal legal system with a strong emphasis on individuals involved in alternatives to incarceration and community supervision.
Two T32 Fellows received grants in 2022.
Other scholar awards
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Dissemination of Research
SIG’s research was disseminated through the media, events, and was published in over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Selected peer-reviewed publications
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Research on Social Work Practice, Special Issue: Fourteen publications from over 30 SIG-affiliated scientists shared the latest HIV, intimate partner violence (IPV), gender-based violence (GBV), substance use, and addiction research as part of a Special Issue. Read the introduction for the Special Issue and find links to all the publications.
This special issue included a diverse group of over 25 multidisciplinary SIG researchers and affiliates. From the introduction:
"The special issue commemorates SIG’s 30-year role within CSSW in carrying out a core mission of the Social Work profession to 'enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people and empower people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.' Through SIG’s guiding principles of 'Global Science, Global Health, Global Equity,' SIG produces the intervention and implementation research to accomplish that mission and advance evidence-based solutions to social and public health problems in the U.S. and globally."
SIG published in The Lancet HIV: Intertwined Epidemics: Progress, gaps, and opportunities to address intimate partner violence and HIV among key populations of women.
JAMA Online: Effectiveness of an Intervention to Improve HIV Service Delivery for People Who Inject Drugs in Kazakhstan. The first author wrote a synopsis for Columbia News.
Dr. Dawn Goddard-Eckrich published two papers: One in Women’s Health Reports: Evidence of Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Black Women Under Community Supervision in New York City: A Plea for Culturally Tailored Intimate Partner Violence Interventions. Another in AIDS and Behavior: Moderation Analysis of a couple-based HIV/STI Intervention Among Heterosexual Couples in the Criminal Legal System Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Culturally-tailored intimate partner violence (IPV) evidence based interventions are needed for Black women.
--1st author Dr. Dawn Goddard-Eckrich
Mohamad Adam Brooks authored a publication in BMC entitled Mental health of clinic-attending Syrian refugee women in Jordan: associations between social ecological risks factors and mental health symptoms.
Ajita Singh authored a publication in the Journal of Global Health Reports: Financial dependence and intimate partner violence (IPV) among married Syrian refugee women living in non-camp settings in Jordan. Mohamad Adam Brooks published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health: Secondary Traumatic Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Symptoms Among Service Providers Working with Syrian Refugees in Istanbul, Turkey.
Selected press and media
SIG’s research was featured in over 17 external news media sources in 2022 covering substance use and overdose, Monkeypox, HIV, and reproductive health and justice.
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As a follow-up piece to their podcast appearance, SIG co-director and CSSW professor Dr. Elwin Wu and CSSW student Kelsey Reader wrote an article entitled “Teaching to Oppress: A Call to Liberate the “Profession.”
Columbia News published an article by Dr. Nabila El-Bassel for World AIDS Day called “What a Study in Kazakhstan Teaches Us About HIV and AIDS.”
SIG researcher Dr. Alissa Davis was featured in an article in the Infectious Disease Advisor entitled: “Monkeypox Outbreak Can Still Be Contained, Says Columbia Epidemiologist.”
Columbia News published an article by Dr. Anindita Dasgupta, an associate research scientist at the Social Intervention Group in their “In Brief” section entitled “What Overturning Roe v. Wade Would Mean.”
The Columbia School of Social Work published an article by Dr. Anindita Dasgupta, “Roe v Wade has been overturned: Here Are Five Actions to Take.”
The Observer Today published an article about the HEALing Communities Study entitled “Reps from The National Institute on Drug Abuse, Columbia visit county.”
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The Columbia News published an article highlighting the findings from the publication in The Lancet HIV: A New Paper Calls for More HIV Research in Marginalized Communities.
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Dr. Timothy Hunt, associate director at SIG, presented his reflections to the Opioid Settlement Advisory Board for the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) to inform Opioid settlement fund planning for New York State.
Events
SIG participated in over 12 events on topics including vaccine disparities, stigma, human rights, sexuality, HIV, substance use, racial and health disparities, and sex work.
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This year, both SIG and the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia (GHRCCA) presented research at the AIDS 2022 conference. In fact, 13 research projects were presented in total. T32 Fellow Tara McCrimmon reflected on her experience.
For many World AIDS Day is a day of mourning. Of course, AIDS is also very personal. In this spirit, SIG's co-Director, professor Elwin Wu had an idea: Let's invite our colleagues to share their own unique story/reflection about AIDS and World AIDS Day through a simple ask, "What's your number?"
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The authors of the Lancet HIV paper presented a panel discussion: “How Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Research Neglect Women Who Use Drugs, Sex Workers, Transgender Women, and Girls.”
Team News and Accomplishments
The SIG team received recognition and contributed to several efforts throughout the year, including Black History Month.
In a three-part series for Black History Month, the staff at SIG shared the contributions of Black researchers, scientists, and health care workers both historically and contemporarily (“making history”) and acknowledged ongoing issues in research.
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“In the last year I have learned an incredible amount about creating interventions, data analysis, research design and paper writing. I have also had the honor of working with so many amazing researchers that I have been able to form lasting relationships with,” shared graduate Olivia Cordingly.
SIG welcomed three new T32 Fellows and several students then another two new staff and three new students who will work in a variety of research areas at SIG including HIV, IPV, substance use, stigma, health equity, and more.
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"I am forever grateful for the excellent mentorship and the rigorous, interdisciplinary training I received as a Predoctoral Fellow in the T32 Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System and as a recipient of Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31) from the National Institute of Mental Health." --Dr. Aivadyan
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Jessica Neufeld, Data Program Manager for the HEALing Communities Study (HCS), shared her experience as the dataprogram manager for SIG. She was inspired by the opportunity that offered a unique “blend of social work and research.”
CSSW student Ajita Singh of SIG and ASPIRE published a policy brief with colleagues at the Earth Institute (Center for Sustainable Development) entitled "Protecting Mental Health and Well-Being Against Increasing Vulnerabilities and Inequalities" in the Global Happiness and Well-Being Policy Report starting on page 89.
In Memoriam
“Kathy’s impact, legacy, and vision for a better world is indelible. The staff at SIG and the faculty that she trained will always be grateful for her investment, values and vision to produce a better world for our communities both in the US and globally.”
--SIG leadership and staff
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