Jacob J van den Berg

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Brown University

Unhealthy alcohol use is a common, often unaddressed behavior associated with increased risk for acquisition of HIV and may also be associated with decreased adherence to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) living in the United States. To inform future alcohol-reduction interventions a...

The brief symptom inventory (BSI), a 53-item measure that assesses psychological distress, is a popular tool for measuring mental health symptoms among youth living with HIV (YLH) in the United States (US); however, it has been used inconsistently with this population. This scoping review summarizes discrepancies in the use of the BSI to identify o...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Minority HIV Research Initiative (MARI) funded 8 investigators in 2016 to develop HIV prevention and treatment interventions in highly affected communities. We describe MARI studies who used community-based participatory research methods to inform the development of interventions in Black/African Ameri...

Background Prior research has found a high prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among sexual minority men (SMM) in the US, and has indicated that CSA is associated with higher rates of alcohol and drug use disorders. However, most of these studies have focused almost exclusively on White SMM. We assessed associations of CSA, alcohol use, and...

The HIV epidemic disproportionately impacts men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly those who use stimulants. We explored barriers and facilitators to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among this population. From June 2018 through February 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connectic...

Background: Stimulant use is increasing in the United States (U.S.), especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). Objectives: We sought to ascertain barriers and facilitators to substance use treatment utilization among MSM who use stimulants in the northeastern U.S. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with MSM who reported recen...

Background Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). However, limited data are available on the effect of PrEP use and sexual satisfaction among MSM taking PrEP. Methods: We conducted a one-time, cross-sectional survey of MSM receiving PrEP care at two hospital-based PrEP...

Because use of geosocial-networking smartphone applications (‘apps’) is ubiquitous among men who have sex with men (MSM), online-to-offline service models that include advertisements on these apps may improve engagement with effective HIV prevention and treatment services. Through our formative qualitative study, we conducted individual in-depth in...

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel, brief two-session behavioral intervention to promote HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM) who are behaviorally at risk for HIV. Setting: A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted at a sexually transmitted infection...

Background: HIV prevention interventions which support engagement in care and increased awareness of biomedical options, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), are highly desired for disproportionately affected Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) populations in the United States...

Objective: To provide the first systematic review of the early adoption of implementation science for HIV prevention or treatment in the United States (US). We identified primary research studies that addressed implementation of HIV prevention or treatment in the US and qualitatively assessed the reporting of implementation outcomes and interventi...

Background and objective Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake has been suboptimal. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics provide important opportunities to scale PrEP uptake. Material and methods To inform the development of a brief intervention to enhance PrEP uptake in STD clinics, we conducted 32 qualitative interviews to explore barriers...

This study aims to identify health disparities among transgender adults in South Korea (hereafter Korea), where they widely experience social stigma. We assessed prevalence of nine health indicators using a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 255 Korean transgender adults in 2017. Standardized prevalence ratios of these indicators were estimated u...

Purpose HIV treatment as prevention is effective for reducing the risk of HIV transmission and the messaging campaign, undetectable = untransmittable, is gaining recognition. As youth living with HIV (YLWH) who have condomless sex may acquire and potentially transmit other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the purpose of this study was to ass...

Objectives: Rates of unintended pregnancies in women with a history of incarceration are high and access to contraception before and after arrest can be limited. Individualized counseling can better prepare women for healthy pregnancy or provide an opportunity for contraceptive education and access within correctional facilities. In this study, we...

Maintenance in HIV care is important to achieve optimal personal health and HIV viral load suppression for young people living with HIV (PLWH). We assessed the relationship between incarceration and missed visits in a longitudinal data cohort of PLWH (n = 910), ages 12–24, from 14 adolescent trial network sites across the US. The time from study en...

Incarceration provides an opportunity for public health interventions, but communication and the delivery of services are complicated by considerable variability even within this generally high-needs population. Public health practitioners have relied heavily on social determinants of health data in their work, but this does not fully explain key p...

Next-generation forms of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) currently in development, including long-acting injectables (LAIs), rectal microbicides (RMs), antibody infusions (AIs), and subdermal implants (SIs), may address barriers to daily oral PrEP uptake and adherence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate barriers to oral PrEP, preferences...

Our objective was to evaluate the impact of insurance coverage on access to sexual health services among at-risk men. Data were collected from Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White male patients at a publicly funded sexually transmitted disease clinic in a Medicaid expansion state from February to July 2017, using in-depth, semistructured intervie...

Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high-risk of HIV infection in the United States. Daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has demonstrated efficacy in reducing HIV acquisition among MSM. However, PrEP uptake in real-world clinical settings has been slow and uneven. Guided by Self-Regulation Theory, we developed and...

Examining how multiple concomitant factors interact to augment HIV transmission risk is needed to inform more effective primary and secondary HIV prevention programs for men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. The development of a "taxonomy" of long-term sexual and drug-related risk behavior profiles may have important implications fo...

Background: Knowledge and uptake of high-efficacy HIV prevention strategies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) remain low among men who have sex with men (MSM) who are at the highest risk for HIV infection in the United States. Electronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for disseminating i...

In the original publication of the article, the given and family name of the third author was not correct. The name has been corrected with this erratum.

BACKGROUND Knowledge and uptake of high-efficacy HIV prevention strategies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) remain low among men who have sex with men (MSM) who are at the highest risk for HIV infection in the United States. Electronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising tools for disseminating inf...

Mobile health interventions to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adolescents and young adults living with HIV represent a promising strategy. This pilot study (N = 37) evaluated the psychosocial impacts of an efficacious adherence intervention, cell phone support (CPS). Participants receiving CPS reported significant decreases in pe...

Background: Black and Hispanic men who have sex with men in the United States continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. Uptake of and knowledge about biobehavioral HIV prevention approaches, such as treatment as prevention and preexposure prophylaxis, are especially low in these populations. eHealth campaigns and social media mes...

Background: Highly active combination antiretroviral treatment has been shown to markedly improve the health of HIV-infected adolescents and young adults. Adherence to antiretroviral treatment leads to decreased morbidity and mortality and decreases the number of hospitalizations. However, these clinical achievements can only occur when young pers...

Questionnaires over a 9-year study period (2002-2010) were used to characterize cannabis, stimulant, and alcohol use among 3099 HIV-infected men participating in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) to determine whether use of these substances is associated with changes in the VACS Index, a validated prognostic indicator for all-cause mortality....

Background Partner notification services (PNS) are highly effective in reducing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We assessed outcomes of PNS before and after integration of an on-site disease intervention specialist (DIS) at a publicly-funded STD clinic. Methods From August 2014 to December 2015, patients testing positive for...

Introduction: Sexual and behavioral health disparities have been consistently demonstrated between African American and White adults and between sexual minority and heterosexual communities in the United States; however, few studies using nationally representative samples have examined disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual adults wit...

Background: Problems with self-reported drug use include difficulties with recall and recognition as well as the desire to respond to questions in a socially desirable manner. Various methods have been developed to improve and/or validate estimates based on direct questioning of individuals regarding their substance use. For this study, we were in...

Background: Partner notification services (PNS) are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a public health intervention for addressing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Barriers and facilitators to the partner notification process from a public health perspective have not been well describe...

Risk factors for depression among 179 women recently released from prison or jail in a state correctional facility in the northeastern United States were examined in this study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) was used to measure longitudinal, self-reported depression data. In addition, potential risk factors for dep...

Background: Beneficial HIV treatment outcomes require success at multiple steps along the HIV Continuum of Care. Youth living with HIV are a key population, and sites in the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) are known for modeling optimum HIV adolescent care. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study conducted at 14...

Background: Identifying factors associated with partner notification among youth living with HIV is critical for effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies. Methods: A total of 924 male and female behaviorally-infected youth ages 13-24 across 14 U.S. cities completed an audio-computer assisted self-interview including questions about demo...

Purpose: HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (Y-GBMSM). Resilience remains understudied among Y-GBMSM living with HIV, but represents a potentially important framework for improving HIV-related outcomes in this population. We sought to explore cognitive and behavioral dimensions of resilienc...

Persons who are transgender (i.e., individuals who are assigned one sex at birth, but who do not identify with that sex) are at elevated risk for developing problematic substance use. Recent studies indicate that transgender persons have high rates of alcohol use, illicit drug use, and nonmedical use of prescription drugs and evince more severe mis...

Identifying risk and protective factors associated with condomless sex among youth living with HIV is imperative for developing effective HIV prevention strategies. A cross-sectional sample of 1728 participants, 12–26 years of age, recruited from adolescent medicine clinics in 17 U.S. cities completed an audio-computer assisted self-interview with...

Background: More than 50 million Americans currently report being food insecure or lack access to healthy and nutritious foods in the United States (U.S.). Food insecurity has been associated with risky sexual behaviors among persons living with HIV. However, few studies have explored the relationship between food insecurity and risky sexual behavi...

Healthcare empowerment (HCE) is patient controlled and includes the process and state of being engaged, informed, collaborative, committed, and tolerant of uncertainty. Understanding psychosocial factors that impact HCE for persons living with HIV is critical for their treatment and care. A sample of 1494 male and female participants living with HI...

Background: The past decade has seen an increased number of state-civil society partnerships in the global Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) response of many countries. However, there has been limited research carried out concerning the successes and challenges of these partnerships. Methods: In-depth qu...

Less than half of the 1.2 million HIV-infected individuals in the United States are in consistent medical care, with only a third receiving treatment resulting in viral suppression. Novel interventions to improve engagement are necessary to ensure medical adherence, improve long-term outcomes, and reduce HIV transmission. Mobile health (mHealth) st...

Prior research has not examined the self-identified goals and plans of incarcerated people as they approach release from prison. This study analyzed the goals and plans generated during a motivational interviewing counseling session of incarcerated men who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a smoking abstinence intervention in a tobac...

Prior research has found high levels of depression and stress among persons who are incarcerated in the United States (U.S.). However, little is known about changes in depression and stress levels among inmates post-incarceration. The aim of this study was to examine changes in levels of depression and stress during and after incarceration in a tob...

Intravaginal rings (IVRs) are currently under investigation as devices for the delivery of agents to protect against the sexual transmission of HIV and STIs, as well as pregnancy. To assist product developers in creating highly acceptable rings, we sought to identify characteristics that intravaginal ring users consider when making decisions about...

Prior international research indicates that food insecurity or lack of regular access to healthy and nutritious foods increases risk of depression and HIV risk behaviors among people living with HIV. However, few studies in the United States (U.S.) have investigated the relationships between food insecurity, depression, and perceived HIV risk among...

Previous research has suggested a need to understand the social-psychological factors contributing to HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 34 adult African American MSM to examine their personal experiences about: (i) sources of social support, (ii) psychological responses...

We used nationally representative data to investigate health disparities associated with sexual minority status among adults in the United States. We analyzed data from 11 114 adults who participated in the 2001 to 2010 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Using multiple logistic regressions, we examined the prevalence of...

Users' sensory perceptions and experiences (USPEs) of intravaginal products can inform acceptability and adherence. Focusing on the meanings women derive from formulation/device characteristics facilitates developers' design iterations toward optimizing user experience. We investigated how users of long acting gels and intravaginal rings (IVRs) imp...

Purpose: Previous research indicates elevated risk for psychological distress in sexual and gender minority populations, and some research suggests that stigma contributes to elevated psychological distress among members of these groups. This study examined the hypothesis that exposure to transgender-related stigma (TRS) is associated with both hi...

A major health challenge facing persons who are incarcerated is tobacco smoking. Upon reentry to the community, concerns regarding smoking cessation may be less likely to receive needed attention. Many individuals have partners who are pregnant and/or reside in households where children and pregnant women live. We explored incarcerated adults' atti...

Background Heavy episodic drinking (HED) is associated with sexual risk behavior and HIV seroconversion among men who have sex with men (MSM), yet few studies have examined heavy drinking typologies in this population.Methods We analyzed data from 4,075 HIV-uninfected MSM (aged 16 to 88) participating in EXPLORE, a 48-month behavioral intervention...

Background: Tobacco use among prisoners is much higher than among the general population. Little is known about changes in smoking-related symptoms during periods of incarceration. The objective of this study is to evaluate changes in smoking-related symptoms during incarceration. Methods: We recruited 262 inmates from a tobacco-free prison. At...

Although high rates of alcohol consumption and related problems have been observed among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM), little is known about the long-term patterns of and factors associated with hazardous alcohol use in this population. We sought to identify alcohol use trajectories and correlates of hazardous alcohol use among HIV-...

Issues Rates of heavy drinking, alcohol problems and alcohol-related disorders are high among men who have sex with men (MSM) and are an important public health issue. Associations between heavy drinking and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition among MSM also suggest that drinking may have more severe and chronic consequences for this pop...

Little is known about smoking behaviors involving shared and previously used cigarettes, which we refer to as "smoking used cigarettes." Examples include: cigarette sharing with strangers, smoking discarded cigarettes ("butts"), or remaking cigarettes from portions of discarded cigarettes. The current study focuses on the prevalence of and factors...

This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of a bundled human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing program for young gay and bisexual men (YGBM). YGBM aged 18–26 years (N = 55) were recruited to receive HPV vaccine with optional HIV testing and personalized counseling. Sexual risk behaviors and know...

Background: Understanding the drivers of passive and indifferent attitudes toward condom use provides important insights into African American MSM’s sexual risk behaviors, and can inform prevention strategies for this highest priority HIV-risk population. Methods: Thirty four semi-structured interviews were conducted with African American MSM in...

Research has demonstrated that certain vaginal gel products-microbicides containing antiretroviral drugs-may reduce HIV infection risk among women. But for vaginal gels to avert HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), at-risk women must be willing to use them as directed. These products must therefore be "acceptable" to women and an i...

Women's initial understandings and anticipated acceptability of long-acting vaginal gels as potential anti-HIV microbicides was investigated by exploring the perceptibility variables associated with prototype formulations. Four focus groups with 29 women, aged 18-45, were conducted to consider gel prototypes with varied physicochemical and rheologi...

Background: The prevalence of smoking among incarcerated adults is over three times that of the general population. Although tobacco smoke exposure is a known public health problem, there is limited research on the attitudes and experiences of incarcerated adults regarding their smoking around children and pregnant women which is the focus of the p...

Background: There is substantial evidence linking alcohol use to poor health outcomes, including HIV transmission, in men who have sex with men (MSM). No prior study has systematically evaluated the effects of interventions to reduce alcohol use in MSM. Methods: Using systematic review methodology, we searched PubMed (MEDLINE) for randomized cont...

Most adults report initiation of cigarette smoking during adolescence, a time also marked by developmental striving for independence and freedom. Tobacco use may retain its association with independence and/or freedom into adulthood. This association may contribute to continued tobacco use and/or increased risk of relapse to smoking among some indi...

BACKGROUND: In the United States, tobacco use among prisoners is nearly three times that of the general population. While many American prisons and jails are now tobacco-free, nearly all inmates return to smoking as soon as they are released back into the community. METHODS: To better understand the role that personal relationships may play in enab...

Objectives To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Microbicide Use Self-Efficacy (MUSE) instrument and to examine correlates of self-efficacy to use vaginal microbicides among a sample of racially and ethnically diverse women living in the north-eastern United States. Methods: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic methods were used to...

Background The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to increase among certain populations including young men who have sex with men (MSM). College campuses represent a potential setting to engage young adults and institute prevention interventions including HIV testing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate testing practic...

Background: Sources of sexual health information exert strong influence on adolescents' sexual behavior. Purpose: The current study was undertaken to understand how family serve as sexual information sources, the messages adolescents recall from family, and how family learning experiences affect sexual behavior among at-risk adolescents. Method...

Background: Stigma and discrimination have been identified as major barriers to satisfactory health care and quality of life among persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The present study sought to examine the associations between HIV/AIDS-related stigma, experiences of social discrimination (e.g., racism, homophobia, and financial hardship), psycho...

Background: Incarcerated adolescents are at an increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV compared to their non-detained adolescent peers. The purpose of the current pilot study was to elicit feedback from diverse incarcerated adolescents regarding their experiences and perceptions of a partner-specific HIV risk behavior interven...

Building on G. A. Kelly's (1991a, 1991b) personal construct theory, this study introduced concepts of threat and guilt as different manifestations of internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice. Results with 102 lesbian and gay participants indicated that internalized threat and guilt each accounted for unique variance in global internalized antiles...

This article presents an overview of the health disparities problem that exists among individuals from ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds and their majority counterparts. The argument is made that the involvement of counseling psychologists in addressing this health disparities problem presents an opportunity for the field to remain true to...

To develop and test the reliability of three race/ethnicity-specific forms of the pilot Tucker-Culturally Sensitive Health Care Inventory (T-CUSHCI) for use by patients at community-based primary care centers to evaluate the level of patient-centered cultural sensitivity perceived in the health care that they experience. This research involved two...

Few studies have examined the relation between race, social support, and coping, particularly among HIV-infected individuals. We examined the relation of race and social support to coping with HIV infection in a sample of 121 gay and bisexual men (64 African American, 57 White). Compared to White participants, African Americans reported higher use...

This study extended research on prejudice against lesbian and gay (LG) persons by examining theoretically grounded links between intrapersonal and interpersonal manifestations of such prejudice. On the basis of G. A. Kelly's (1955/1991a, 1955/1991b) conceptualization of threat, the authors operationalized intrapersonal homophobia, or LG threat, as...