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
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.
Starks TJ, Skeen SJ, Jones SS, Gurung S, Millar BM, Ferraris C, Ventuneac A, Parsons JT, Sparks MA (2022).
Effectiveness of a combined motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral intervention to reduce substance use and improve HIV-related immune functioning
AIDS and Behavior, 26 (4), 1138-1152. doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03467-7. PMCID: PMC9040611.
Effectiveness of a combined motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral intervention to reduce substance use and improve HIV-related immune functioning
AIDS and Behavior, 26 (4), 1138-1152. doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03467-7. PMCID: PMC9040611.
Ventuneac A, Hecht G, Forcht E, Duah BA, Tarar S, Langenbach B, Gates J, Cain D, Rendina HJ, Aberg JA, Perlman DC (2021).
Chronic high risk prescription opioid use among persons with HIV
Frontiers in Sociology, 6, 104. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.645992. PMCID: PMC8176351.
Chronic high risk prescription opioid use among persons with HIV
Frontiers in Sociology, 6, 104. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.645992. PMCID: PMC8176351.
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