1058-India-The I'mPossible Program: A peer‐led mentoring fellowship intervention to enhance treatment outcomes and resilience among adolescents and youth living with HIV in India

Over 15 million children lost one or both parents to HIV in 2020 in the world, according to UNICEF.  A substantial number, over 10% of the world’s HIV-related orphans live in India. India is also home to the largest number of adolescents living with HIV, after excluding Sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond these staggering numbers, a harsh reality emerges. For children born with HIV, lifelong isolation, trauma and bereavement, societal stigmatization, and lack of educational opportunities result in failure to achieve true potential. These adversities profoundly impact these youth hindering their successful reintegration into society. To address these challenges, we conceptualized an intervention building on the evidence that peers can positively influence youth into effecting behavior change, together with knowledge that education is a tool to break barriers and build bridges.  
The I’mPossible Fellowship program in India is a peer-led education and training model that provides comprehensive support to address HIV-infected and affected children and youth’s education, health, skills development, self-efficacy and psychosocial needs. The aims of the fellowship are to engage HIV-positive children and youth to build upon their own education and professional development skills, and to build resilience among their HIV-positive community by mentoring their younger peers to address their individual concerns in the core areas of health, education and livelihoods. The program reaches out to over 1500 young people living with or affected by HIV. Interventions include extracurricular activities such as music, dance and sports, as well as the conduct of camps and learning sessions that engage youth on the 4 SDGs of Health (SDG 3), Education (SDG 4), Livelihoods (SDG 8) and Gender equality (SDG 5) that are critical for holistic living. In the current project, we aim to evaluate the impact of this fellowship program. 

Through this position, the student will develop and strengthen knowledge and skills in numerous areas of global health research with a focus on HIV and related social factors. The student will also develop skills and knowledge regarding the operations of a study in an LMIC with a strong focus on community-based participatory research. 
This is a 2-month, full-time position that is preferably in-country (India) with the possibility of an extension. The student will report to Dr. Anita Shet and to Siddha Sannigrahi, Research Associate, and will work closely with the JHU team as well as our partners in India, RISHI Foundation and Snehagram.
Depending on the interests of the student, the aims of the student project may focus on the following areas: 
1.        Interact with the local partners at Snehagram and related sites to understand how the peer mentorship program (I’mPossible Fellowship) is implemented. 
2.        Assist with development of quantitative surveys and qualitative interview tools and monitoring tools to measure the impact the fellowship program has on the fellows and peer mentees. 
3.        Assist with collection, management, and analysis of data obtained from surveys and interviews. 
4.        Participate in training sessions introducing the fellows to research methodology, and help fellows to develop research abstracts and papers during the course of the fellowship period
5.        Assist with study tasks as needed, such as attending team calls, drafting IRB amendments, developing training material, and assisting with writing manuscripts.

If interested, the student may choose to develop a research project of her/his interest that fits within the objectives of the project. At the end of the program, depending on the focus of the students work, the student will write a report documenting findings, share results with local Indian partners where relevant, and/or submit a manuscript of their research for publication.

The student will be spending time in community settings (either in-person, or virtually through online meetings). The staff and implementing partners include some amazing youth with lived experience of HIV, are warm, welcoming, fun and supportive. This opportunity will provide the student a well-rounded exposure to global health.

enjoys working in, or facilitating work in a community setting among HIV-infected and affected children and youth in an LMIC setting and gaining practical experience with a global health study. The student would also ideally have a high level of compassion, responsibility and independence, and should be able to interact regularly with adolescent participants and implementing partners in a professional manner. Past students have described this placement as incredibly fun and transformative. This opportunity enables a student to gain skills in many different aspects of a global health study. 

The placement will require experience in interacting with community members and research staff, and assisting with the administration of study protocols, case report forms, interviews and proposals. Knowledge of basic quantitative and qualitative data analysis is preferred.  Experience and knowledge on HIV and adolescent health would be a bonus. No specific language requirements are needed. 

Name: Anita Shet, ashet1@jhu.edu

I would describe my communication and mentorship styles as... 

My aim is to foster an environment that promotes enthusiasm, compassion, mutual learning, organizational skills, and confidence building. I like to encourage thinking in rational ways and seek to create a learning environment to help students understand foundational concepts in child health, public health and infectious diseases. A big focus of our work in community-based participatory research. Students are such incredibly resourceful and integrated members of our research team. I would like students to explore their interests, gain new knowledge from this environment, contribute their skills towards this research, and know that their work is touching lives for the better. 

A complementary student would have a working style and mentorship expectations that are..

Students can develop independent thinking, and gain confidence as we progress in the mentorship. I would like students to be curious and creative, engage with local communities and absorb their wisdom, and enjoy the whole process while learning and doing, and think about how they can pay it forward. Working with institutional and community sites in LMIC settings requires patience, sensitivity and enthusiasm. The student can expect mentorship that is friendly, unbiased, respectful, honest, and constructive. Children and youth especially are one of the most fun populations to work with, and my hope is that students going through this experience will be transformed in a joyful and instructive manner. 

Estimated Costs: 

Round trip flight to India: $1500
Housing: $300/month
Food: $100/month 
Local Transportation and internet/phone: $50/month 
Misc: $50/month
Total (excluding flights): $500/month (may be partly covered from my project)
 

Additional support from PI:

If feasible, additional support may be provided. The student's accommodation and food expenses can be covered from project funds. In some cases, If the student extends project work beyond 2 months, a research assistantship may be offered.