NIH is requesting information on the utility and usability of sample language and accompanying considerations developed for use in informed consent documents for digital health technologies utilized in research. See the full RFI here.

CSDE Affiliate Dr. Anjum Hajat (Epidemiology) recently released research with co-authors in the Annual Review of Public Health, titled “Ramifications of Precarious Employment for Health and Health Inequity: Emerging Trends from the Americas“. Precarious employment (PE), which encompasses the power relations between workers and employers, is a well-established social determinant of health that has strong ramifications for health and health inequity. In this review, the authors discuss advances in the measurement of this multidimensional construct and provide recommendations for overcoming continued measurement challenges.

They then evaluate recent evidence of the negative health impacts of PE, with a focus on the burgeoning studies from North America and South America. They also establish the role of PE in maintaining and perpetuating health inequities and review potential policy solutions to help alleviate its health burden. Last, they discuss future research directions with a call for a better understanding of the heterogeneity within PE and for research that focuses both on upstream drivers that shape PE and its impacts on health, as well as on the mechanisms by which PE causes poor health.

CSDE Affiliate Dr. Grace John-Stewart (Global Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, and Pediatrics) published research with co-authors in JAIDS, “Cofactors of partner HIV self-testing and Oral PrEP acceptance among pregnant women at high risk of HIV in Kenya“. The study was led by Dr. Nancy Ngumbau from Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya. Oral PrEP and male partner HIV self-testing (HIVST) is being scaled up within antenatal clinics (ANC). Few data are available on how co-distribution influences acceptance of both interventions. The authors utilized data from the PrIMA (NCT03070600) trial in Kenya. Their study found that among women accepting HIVST, partner HIV testing increased from 20% to 82% and awareness of partner HIV status increased from 4.7% to 82.0% between pregnancy and 9-months postpartum. The authors conclude that understanding factors associated with accepting HIVST and PrEP can valuably inform HIV prevention programs for pregnant women.

The Open Scholarship Commons Community Fellows Workshop Series is a paid fellowship opportunity for  graduate students underrepresented in the field of open scholarship. The goal of this Fellowship is to lift up students as experts in this field and create opportunities for peer to peer learning by offering student-led workshops. Equity is a core value of the UW Libraries Open Scholarship Commons, and this Fellowship, funded by the UW Diversity Council, aims to support the expertise and leadership of underrepresented students in the field of open scholarship.

Applicants should have a concrete idea for an open scholarship workshop, but will receive support on refining their idea and developing their workshop from mentors at UW Libraries’ Open Scholarship Commons and the eScience Institute. Fellows will be compensated at an hourly rate of $35/hour for up to 20 hours (for a maximum compensation of $700). Twenty hours is also meant to give a realistic sense of how much time Fellows will be expected to invest in this project. Fellows will be accepted Fall quarter, workshops will be developed during Winter quarter, and workshops will be held for the public (virtual, in-person, or hybrid) in Spring quarter. These final workshops will be recorded and made available on the Open Scholarship Commons website.

This Fellowship program is funded by a UW Diversity Council Diversity Seed Grant and co-administered by the Libraries Open Scholarship Commons and the eScience Institute. This fellowship is structured as a student employee position and requires that you provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States, and that you meet student employee enrollment criteria winter and spring quarter. International students on an F-1 or J-1 visa are encouraged to apply.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Environmental Justice Working Group invites feedback on the approaches NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices can take to support research and capacity building efforts to advance environmental justice in the U.S. and globally. Additionally, Request for Information (RFI) responses will enable the NIH Environmental Justice Working Group to be responsive to Executive Order 14096 on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, and to synergize NIH efforts with other Federal Agencies in a whole-of-government approach to advance environmental justice.