CSSR at AIDS Impact 2025: Advancing Research on HIV Frontline Providers and Adolescent Wellbeing

13 Jun 2025
Elona and Jay
13 Jun 2025

The Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) was proud to have several of its members present cutting-edge research at the recent AIDS Impact Conference, held in Morocco. The conference brought together global experts and practitioners to share research and insights around HIV and AIDS, and CSSR was well represented across multiple sessions.

Jane Kelly

Dr Jane Kelly also shared findings from a collaborative study with Dr Gittings, Agnes Ronan, and Luann Hatane, titled "‘There’s no school that trains attitude’: Training and capacity building needs of paediatric-adolescent HIV frontline providers in twelve high HIV-burden African countries." The presentation shed light on critical gaps in support and training for HIV service providers across Africa.

Dr Elona Toska presented her important work titled "Mortality among adolescent mothers affected by HIV and their children in South Africa: prevalence and predictors". Her presentation highlighted key findings on the challenges faced by young mothers living with HIV, drawing attention to crucial policy and intervention gaps.

Elona and Jay

Dr Toska was joined in the same session by Julius Ololade Baruwa, who presented "Association between Violence, Motherhood, and Psychological Well-Being Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women Living with HIV in Southern Africa." Their research underscored the intersectional vulnerabilities of young women and girls and contributed to a powerful discussion on adolescent health and wellbeing.

Also presenting at the conference was Professor Lucie Cluver, who co-leads the CSSR-Oxford Research Hub and serves on the AIDS Impact organising committee. Her involvement in both the academic and organisational aspects of the conference reflects the leadership role CSSR plays in global HIV research.

Lesley

Dr Lesley Gittings contributed extensively to the conference through several presentations, showcasing a diverse portfolio of research that spans healthcare provider wellbeing, health systems, and creative knowledge translation. Her presentations included:

  • "Art as action: Empowerment and HIV Stigma Reduction through an Interactive Multi-Media Knowledge Translation Exhibition at a Global AIDS Conference"

  • "Mental health and job satisfaction in a mixed methods study of paediatric-adolescent frontline HIV providers in 12 high-HIV burden African countries"

  • "We were in water season, now we are in fire season": Disaster-related priorities, experiences and response among HIV Community Health Workers in the Western Cape, South Africa" (Poster)

  • "Using the WHO building blocks to describe and appraise health systems in relation to paediatric-adolescent HIV service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa" (presented with Luann Hatane)

CSSR researchers not only contributed to robust academic discourse but also built meaningful networks and shared innovative tools and approaches that promise to influence both policy and practice in the field of adolescent and paediatric HIV care.