Alex Carballo-Diéguez

Biography

Alex Carballo-Diéguez, PhD, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). He is also senior Research Scientist at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, that he co-directed, at New York State Psychiatric Institute.  His research focuses on primary prevention of HIV transmission: Acceptability of and adherence to vaginal and rectal microbicide use among women and men, use of rapid HIV home tests to screen sexual partners, and determinants of sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men.

He is particularly interested in exploring the application of Information Technology tools to social and behavioral research. His studies are being conducted in the continental US, Puerto Rico, Thailand, South Africa, Perú and Argentina.

Current projects

HIV self- and partner-testing as democratization of medical technology to aid stigmatized populations

This project seeks to establish the basis for the promotion of HIV self- and partner testing through non-governmental organizations as a way to contribute to the democratization of a biomedical technology to prevent HIV transmission. The goal is to demonstrate that unrestricted access to HIV-self testing can simplify and popularize its use, bring power and self-determination to people, and bypass HIV-stigma. The project examines how availability of HIV self-testing can be an innovating way to provide humanitarian aid to stigmatized populations that presently fear accessing HIV prevention and care.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with INSERM, AIDES, and the ANRS public health “Action coordonnée.” Its aims are to explore ways to educate, motivate and strengthen the capacity of NGOs involved in HIV prevention to promote self-testing and partner testing. Furthermore, focusing on men who have sex with men and transgender people, the project also aims to sensitize them on the use of self- and partner-testing and to facilitate their access to testing before each potentially infectious sexual contact so as to help these populations to take informed decisions and minimize the risk of HIV transmission.

Recent articles (2018)

• Iribarren S, Ghazzawi A, Sheinfil AZ, Frasca T, Brown W 3rd, Lopez-Rios J, Rael CT, Balán IC, Crespo R, Dolezal C, Giguere R, Carballo-Diéguez A. Mixed-method evaluation of social media-based tools and traditional strategies to recruit high-risk and hard-to-reach populations into an HIV prevention intervention study. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(1):347-357. PMCID #5760436
• Giguere R, Rael CT, Sheinfil A, Balan IC, Brown III W, Ho T, Dolezal C, Leu CS, Liu A, Mayer KH, Lama JR, McGowan I, Carballo-Diéguez A, Cranston RD. Factors supporting and hindering adherence to rectal microbicide gel use with receptive anal intercourse in a phase 2 trial. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(2):388-401. PMCID #5818328
• Bauermeister JA, Giguere R, Leu CS, Dolezal C, Febo I, Cranston R, Mayer K, McGowan I, Carballo-Diéguez A. Patterns of a rectal microbicide placebo gel use in a preparatory stage for a Phase 1 trail among young men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(2):412-420.
• Balan IC, Giguere R, Brown III W, Carballo-Diéguez A, Horn S, Hendrix CW, Marzinke MA, Ayudhya RPKN, Patterson K, Piper JM, McGowan I, Lama JR, Cranston RD, MTN-017 Protocol Team: Brief participant-centered convergence interviews integrate self-reports, product returns, and pharmacokinetic results to improve adherence measurement in MTN-017. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(3):986-995.
• Giguere R, Brown III W, Balan IC, Dolezal C, Ho T, Sheinfil A, Ibitoye M, Carballo-Diéguez A, et al.: Are participants concerned abourt privacy and security when using SMS to report product adherence in a rectal microbicide trial? JAMIA. 2018;25(4):393-400.
• Carballo-Diéguez A, Lentz C, Giguere R, Fuchs EJ, Hendrix CW. Rectal douching associated with receptive anal intercourse: A literature review. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(4):1288-1294.
• Balan IC, Frasca T, Pando MA, Marone RO, Barreda V, Dolezal C, Carballo-Diéguez A, Avila MM. High substance use and HIV risk behavior among young Argentine men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior. 2018;22(4):1373-1382.
• Brown III W, Giguere R, Sheinfil A, Ibitoye M, Balan I, Ho T, Brown B, Quispe L, Sukwicha W, Lama JR, Carballo-Diéguez A, Cranston RD: Challenges and solutions implementing an SMS text message-based survey CASI and adherence reminders in an international biomedical HIV PrEP study (MTN-017). Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 2018 Apr;80:78-86.
• Levine E, Martinez O, Wu E, Arreola S, Carballo-Diéguez A, Muñoz-Laboy M, Rhodes S, Sandfort T, Hausmann-Stabile, Starks T: Child sexual abuse and adult mental health, sexual risk behaviors, and drinking patterns among Latino MSM. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. 2018 Apr;27(3):237-253.
• Martinez O, Fernandez I, Wu E, Sandfort TGM, Davey A, Prado G, Levine E, Bauermeister JA, Carballo-Diéguez A: A couple-based HIV prevention intervention to promote HIV protection among Latino male couples: Study protocol for a randomized clinical trial. Trials. 2018 Apr;19(1):218.