Unintended Pregnancy, STD, HIV, Integrative Research

The mission of CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, Unintended Pregnancy, STD, HIV, Integrative Research (USHIR) team is to conduct integrative research into the complex intersections of pregnancy and unintended pregnancy with STD, HIV, and other conditions and to promote the health among women of reproductive age, their partners, and their infants. 

USHIR team research and activities are—

• Integrative across multiple dimensions, including health outcomes and settings, discipline, methodology, and subject matter.
• Programmatically relevant and demonstrates public health impact.
• Scientifically relevant and moves the public health field forward.

CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health USHIR team conducts epidemiologic, clinical, and behavioral studies in the following areas:

• Youth at Risk Studies (United States and International)

  This is a cluster of studies and intervention programs that considers the individual, social, environmental, and behavioral issues related to HIV/STD and unintended pregnancy risk among youth and young adult populations. The objectives of the studies include (1) understanding communication and negotiation of barrier contraceptive use; (2) understanding the interplay of individual, family, and community factors on risk behavior; and (3) adapting or developing, implementing, and evaluating multicomponent strategies for changing behavior. Upcoming interventions are planned that combine behavioral and clinical intervention strategies to address the dual protection (from pregnancy and disease) needs of young people, including within vulnerable populations.

• Maternal and Infant Health and Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Studies

  This is a cluster of studies that addresses the complex issues of HIV-related maternal morbidity, mortality, and postnatal HIV transmission during breastfeeding and weaning in resource-limited countries in Africa (e.g., Malawi). The overall objectives include assessing mortality and morbidity among HIV-infected women; evaluating interventions to reduce HIV transmission to infants exposed by breast milk; and assessing early weaning as a risk-reduction strategy for infants of HIV-infected mothers.

• Barrier Contraceptive Studies

  This research focuses on the evaluation of the effectiveness of barrier contraceptive methods, and interventions to promote their use, and protecting against HIV/STDs and pregnancy. These studies may employ biological markers of semen exposure (e.g., prostate-specific antigen (PSA)) as an objective measure of protection against infection and pregnancy.