Ana Ventuneac, PhD
START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc. - Vice President, Research & Evaluation
Email: aventuneac@startny.org
Education
PhD, Social Psychology, Graduate Center, City University of New York Research Interests
HIV prevention, HIV treatment, Sexual health, Substance use, mHealth, ART adherence, HIV testing, LGBTQ health BIO
Ana Ventuneac is the Vice President for Research and Evaluation at the START Treatment & Recovery Centers. She has conducted complex mixed methods and longitudinal studies primarily randomized controlled trials and comparative effectiveness research to test behavioral interventions in reducing HIV-transmission risks and in improving HIV-related outcomes among persons from diverse backgrounds and from underserved communities. Dr. Ventuneac served as Co-Investigator on the Adolescent Trials Network to lead efforts on implementation science research of HIV interventions developed for youth. She was also the Principal Investigator of a NIDA-funded health services research grant to work with a team of experts at Mount Sinai to integrate substance use services to detect and treat patients receiving HIV care at the Institute for Advanced Medicine. This study utilized a stepped wedge trial design to test whether screening and treatment linkage for substance use has a greater impact in identifying patients in need of substance use treatment compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Projects
Principal Investigator, Structural Intervention to Improve Substance Abuse Diagnosis and Treatment Practices in HIV Clinic Settings. Completed
Publications
Recent
Renn T, Griffin B, Kumaravelu V, Ventuneac A, Santacatterina M, Bunting AM (2024).
Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial to adapt a posttraumatic stress disorder intervention of patients with opioid-stimulant polysubstance use receiving methadone maintenance treatment
BMC Psychiatry, 24, 879. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06348-0. PMCID: PMC11616292.
Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial to adapt a posttraumatic stress disorder intervention of patients with opioid-stimulant polysubstance use receiving methadone maintenance treatment
BMC Psychiatry, 24, 879. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-06348-0. PMCID: PMC11616292.
Dickerson SS, George SJ, Ventuneac A, Dharia A, Talal AH (2024).
Care integration for hepatitis C virus treatment through facilitated telemedicine within opioid treatment programs: Qualitative study
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e53049. doi: 10.2196/53049. PMCID: PMC11208831.
Care integration for hepatitis C virus treatment through facilitated telemedicine within opioid treatment programs: Qualitative study
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e53049. doi: 10.2196/53049. PMCID: PMC11208831.
Ventuneac A, Dickerson SS, Dharia A, George SJ, Talal AH (2023).
Scaling and sustaining facilitated telemedicine to expand treatment access among underserved populations: A qualitative study
Telemedicine and e-Health, 29 (12), 1862-1869. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2022.0534.
Scaling and sustaining facilitated telemedicine to expand treatment access among underserved populations: A qualitative study
Telemedicine and e-Health, 29 (12), 1862-1869. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2022.0534.
Talal AH, George SJ, Talal LA, Dharia A, Ventuneac A, Baciewicz G, Perumalswami PV, Dickerson SS (2023).
Engaging people who use drugs in clinical research: Integrating facilitated telemedicine for HCV into substance use treatment
Research Involvement and Engagement, (1), 63. doi: 10.1186/s40900-023-00474-x. PMCID: PMC10399008.
Engaging people who use drugs in clinical research: Integrating facilitated telemedicine for HCV into substance use treatment
Research Involvement and Engagement, (1), 63. doi: 10.1186/s40900-023-00474-x. PMCID: PMC10399008.
Starks TJ, Skeen SJ, Jones SS, Millar BM, Gurung S, Ferraris C, Ventuneac A, Parsons JT, Sparks MA (2022).
The importance of domain-specific self-efficacy assessment for substance use and HIV care continuum outcomes among adults in an urban HIV clinic network
AIDS Care, 34 (5), 670-678. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2021.1904501. PMCID: PMC8455718.
The importance of domain-specific self-efficacy assessment for substance use and HIV care continuum outcomes among adults in an urban HIV clinic network
AIDS Care, 34 (5), 670-678. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2021.1904501. PMCID: PMC8455718.
Notable
An item response theory analysis of the sexual compulsivity scale and its correspondence with the hypersexual disorder screening inventory among a sample of highly sexually active gay and bisexual men
Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12 (2), 481-493. doi: 10.1111/jsm.12783. PMCID: PMC4310754.
Dr. Ventuneac's MyBibliography Profile