Focus
on: Penn Nursing HIV-AIDS Researcher
New HIV/AIDS Study and Intervention in Jamaica
 9/1/2004. In
August, 2004, a team from the Center of Health
Disparities Research (Dr. Katherine Hutchinson, Dr.
Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ms. Gretchen Warley
and Dr. John Jemmott from Annenberg Center for Health
Communication) traveled to Kingston, Jamaica. They
met with the Dean at the UWI Medical School, representatives
from the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Education,
faculty from the Department of Advanced Nursing Education
at UWI (DANE), and DANE faculty to discuss the problem
of
HIV/AIDS in Jamaica and the possibility of undertaking a study and developing
a parent-child intervention approach that would be culturally appropriate
for implementation in Jamaica.
After obtaining "buy-in" and support from UWI, UWI-DANE, the Ministry
of Education and the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hutchinson returned to Kingston,
Jamaica in November, 2004 with a team from the Center for Health Disparities
(Ms. Gretchen Warly, Ms. Monique Howard, and Ms. Elyssa Vasas [doctoral
student in the SON]). During the visit, the team provided one day of
elicitation research training for UWI DANE faculty. Following the training,
the 2 research teams collaboratively conducted 10 focus groups with adolescents,
parents, and teachers from throughout Kingston and collected focus group
data. The goals for the elicitation research study were to a) enhance
our understanding of Jamaican adolescents' attitudes, beliefs and behaviors
related to HIV/AIDS; b) identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation
of and participation in a parent-child HIV risk reduction program in
Jamaica; c) identify the salient attitudes, beliefs and parenting practices
of Jamaican adolescents' parents (particularly mothers) as they relate
to adolescent sexual risk behaviors and parents' efforts to reduce their
children's sexual risk behaviors; d) identify factors that promote or
inhibit the likelihood of Jamaican mothers participating in a parent-child
HIV prevent project.
Named
Assistant Provost for Minority and Gender Equity Issues
11/16/2004. Dr.
Loretta Sweet Jemmott was named the University
of Pennsylvania's Assistant Provost for Minority
and Gender Equity Issues. Dr. Sweet Jermmott's background
make her the superb candidate for this position.
Her own research has focused on numerous health issues
effecting women and minorities. She is one of the
nation's foremost psychiatric mental health nurse
behavioral scientists in the field of HIV risk reduction.
Red
Ribbon Award
11/23/2004. Dr.
Loretta Sweet Jemmott is the recipient
of the Red Ribbon Award from the Community Advisory
Board of the Penn Center for AIDS Research. This
is the Board's highest recognition for policy makers
and researchers who have made significant contributions
to the fight against AIDS and to the health of
citizens in our community. The Award is being presented
for the first time this year and Loretta's co-winners
are Governor Edward Rendell and US
Representative Chaka Fattah.
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