Research

Five Horizons, along with Principal Investigators Drs. Lisa Hightow-Weidman and Henna Budhwani at the Florida State University (FSU) College of Nursing Institute of Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI), are collaborating on an NIH/NIMHD funded study titled “A Multidimensional Digital Approach to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among African American Young Adults in the South”. The study aims to adapt and test the efficacy of the Tough Talks-COVID (TT-C) digital health application to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake among African-American young adults in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. The TT-C intervention will enable African American Young Adults to make autonomous decisions about vaccine receipt using non-stigmatizing and tailored messaging.

Five Horizons along with Dr. Mirjam-Colette Kempf at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are collaborating on an Ending the HIV epidemic CFAR supplement funded by the NIH titled "Implementation of HIV testing and linkage to PrEP at an HBCU in Alabama". The overall aim of this project is to evaluate the implementation of an integrated HIV/STI screening and PrEP linkage program (i.e., HBCU STEP (STI Testing linkage PrEP) for students at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). 

Five Horizons, along with Principal Investigators Drs. Lisa Hightow-Weidman and Henna Budhwani at the Florida State University (FSU) College of Nursing Institute of Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI), are collaborating on a CDC sponsored study titled “Promoting PrEP Adherence for Men Who Have Sex with Men of Color: More Options, Less Barriers”. The study aims to adapt and test new evidence-based provider and patient education and support tools. The study will target young men who have sex with men ages 18 to 39 across 12 clinical sites in 7 states. In addition to addressing the fundamental gaps in understanding how those at greatest risk of HIV infection interact with PrEP, this investigation will support the design and testing of informed interventions to optimize PrEP so that it expands not just in terms of prescriptions written, but also in its impact on the HIV epidemic in the United States. 

Five Horizons, in collaboration with Dr. Josh Eyer, implements a project supported by ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Youth Grant Program. The project, Comprehensive Outreach, Linkage, and Retention for African Americans, funds a peer mentorship program, mental health services, and a trauma-informed care model for youth vulnerable to or living with HIV due to the disproportionate impact that HIV has on this demographic.