999- India- Implementation and evaluation of a ‘peer mentorship program’ to improve outcomes among adolescents and youth living with HIV: The I’mPossible Fellowship

Since 2009, our partners at Snehagram, a center in south India have housed, educated and trained adolescents living with HIV to be resilient, discover their potential, and achieve their dreams. Over the years, youth from the center have demonstrated leadership at local, national and international levels and have the potential to positively influence the lives of their peers and policy makers. Leveraging on their experiences, Snehagram adolescents and youth living with HIV mentors have developed a service delivery model for a peer mentorship program for children affected and infected with HIV. Components of the peer mentorship model called ‘I’mPossible Fellowship’ include comprehensive primary healthcare management, psychosocial support, skilling, and transformation of attitudes in order to enable them to live an economically and socially productive life. 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 first iteration of the fellowship program began in 2021 and currently has under its portfolio approximately 30 fellows who in turn mentor up to 600 younger children living with HIV (peers). The 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 in-country (India) with the possibility of an extension. The student will report to Dr. Anita Shet and work closely with the JHU study team as well as our partners in India, 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 Snehagram where relevant, and/or submit a manuscript of their research for publication.

The student will be spending time in community settings (either in-person if travel restrictions are lifted, or virtually through online meetings). The study staff, as well as our implementing partners, Snehagram are warm, welcoming 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 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.

Name: Anita Shet, Department of International Health, ashet1@jhu.edu

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

My aim is to foster an environment that promotes enthusiasm, mutual learning, compassion, 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. I would like students to explore their interests, gain new knowledge from this environment, contribute their skills towards this research, and be a resourceful and integrated member of our research team.

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. Working with institutional and community sites in LMIC settings requires patience, sensitivity and enthusiasm. The student can expect mentorship that is friendly, unbiased, honest, joyful 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 happy and instructive manner.

$1200 (can be covered by the GHEFP scholarship).

Additional stipend available. 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.