Building Resources to Assess Impaired Neurocognition in Children with HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (BRAIN Child in LMICs)
The following grant was awarded by, is supported by, is administered by or is in partnership with the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Funding Fogarty Program
HIV-associated Noncommunicable Diseases Research at LMIC Institutions
Project Information in NIH RePORTER
Building Resources to Assess Impaired Neurocognition in Children with HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (BRAIN Child in LMICs)
Principal Institution
New York State Psychiatric Institute
Principal Investigator(s) (PI)
Robbins, Reuben N.
Project Contact Information
Email:
rnr2110@cumc.columbia.edu
Year(s) Awarded
2021–2023
Country
Uganda
Project Description
Neurocognitive impairment has significant medical and behavioral consequences and is common among young children with perinatally-acquired HIV (PHIV), even among those with sustained viral suppression. However, in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Uganda, there are few available neurocognitive tests to measure neurocognition in children with PHIV 5-12 years of age that are: brief, available in Luganda, and designed to be used by all levels of clinical staff (e.g., nurses, community health workers). This lack of access severely impedes research and clinical capacity for pediatric HIV in Uganda and other LMICs.
Offering HIV researchers and health providers a self-contained, tablet-based neurocognitive testing tool that automates the neuropsychological testing needed can:
- help make neurocognitive assessment acceptable, scalable, and sustainable for research and clinic use with children 5-12 years of age
- facilitate our understating of neurocognitive functioning in children with PHIV
- help healthcare providers detect neurocognitive problems and refer children to treatment
- help healthcare providers more effectively communicate with children and their families about it and ways to minimize it
- lead to tailored health improvement, prevention interventions, better referrals, and improved individual and public health.
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