ResearchProjects

By 2030, 78 percent of persons living with HIV will be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. This study tested the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a virtual environment (VE) to address prevention of HIV-related CVD comorbidities through behavioral and psychosocial outcomes.

Abstract on NIH RePORTER

Ramos SR, Boerger L, Restar AJ, Phadke M, Jeon S, Johnson C, Melkus G, Kershaw T, Reynolds H, Vorderstrasse A (2026).
A web-based virtual environment behavioral intervention as cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease prevention education in persons with HIV: Evaluation of the LEARN randomized controlled trial
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 28, e91145. doi: 10.2196/91145. PMCID: PMC13316017.

Kang B, Chin L, Camacho-Rivera M, Garza M, de Jesus Espinosa T, Cong X, Fraser M, Boutjdir M, Ramos SR (2025).
Intervention mapping for systematic development of a community-engaged CVD prevention intervention in ethnic and racial sexual minority men with HIV
Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1529152. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1529152. PMCID: PMC11904837.

Ramos SR, Reynolds H, Johnson C, Melkus G, Kershaw T, Thayer J, Vorderstrasse A (2024).
Perceptions on HIV-related comorbidities and usability of a virtual environment as CVD prevention education in sexual minority men with HIV: Formative phases of a pilot RCT
Journal of Medical Internet Research. doi: 10.2196/57351. PMCID: PMC11377913.

Ramos SR, Fraser M, Araya F, Kim HY, Parrilla JAS, Sy KM, Nagpal RT, Camacho-Rivera M, Boutjdir M (2022).
Community-engaged intervention mapping for CVD-prevention in Black and Latinx sexual minority men with HIV in New York City: Protocol for a web-based mixed method study
JMIR Research Protocols, 11 (10), e41602. doi: 10.2196/41602. PMCID: PMC9597416.

Ramos SR, Johnson C, Melkus G, Kershaw T, Gwadz M, Reynolds H, Vorderstrasse A (2022).
Cardiovascular disease prevention education using a virtual environment in sexual-minority men of color with HIV: Protocol for a sequential, mixed method, waitlist randomized controlled trial
JMIR Research Protocols, 11 (5), e38348. doi: 10.2196/38348. PMCID: PMC9157319.

Ramos SR, O'Hare OM, Hernandez Colon A, Jacobs SK, Campbell B, Kershaw T, Vorderstrasse A, Reynolds HR (2021).
Purely behavioral: A scoping review of nonpharmacological behavioral and lifestyle interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease in persons living with HIV
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 32 (5), 536-547. doi: 10.1097/jnc.0000000000000230. PMCID: PMC8289919.