I am a social/behavioral scientist studying community-based health interventions and the social context of HIV/AIDS, focusing on the most-at-risk-populations in the United States and internationally. My general research interests include social psychological determinants of health inequalities, psychological and health consequences of stigma and discrimination, community collaborative research, and evidence-based practice and policy.

Biography

Don Operario is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Program in Public Health, Department of Behavior and Social Sciences. He was trained as a Social and Health Psychologist (BA, UCLA; MS, PhD, UMass Amherst; Postdoctoral Fellow, UC San Francisco). He was previously on the faculty of the University of Oxford (Department of Social Policy and Social Work) and before that was at the University of California San Francisco (Center for AIDS Prevention Studies - Department of Medicine). His research addresses two inter-related areas. The first general area is the social context of HIV transmission and the social sequelae of HIV/AIDS in affected communities, with an emphasis on developing and evaluating theory-based social and behavioral interventions in high-risk groups. A second research area is the lived experiences associated with social inequality, with an emphasis on understanding the perspectives of disadvantaged group members and addressing associated health and psychosocial disparities. He conducts research addressing both U.S. domestic and international public health issues.

Research Description

My research bridges behavioral sciences and public health, with a specific focus on social determinants and social sequelae of HIV/AIDS. I work with vulnerable populations for health disparities -including ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, and other disadvantaged groups in the United States and in developing world settings. I am fundamentally interested in conducting work that has direct public health and policy relevance, aimed especially toward improving outcomes in underprivileged communities. My current work is based in urban centers in the United States as well as international settings including China, South Africa, Kenya, and ex-Soviet states in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Current research studies include: Integrating HIV/STD treatment and counseling in routine health care in rural China; HIV prevention for African American men in the United States; relationship dynamics contributing to high risk sexual behaviour and substance use for primary partners; reducing sexual risk behavior for MSM in coastal Kenya; HIV risk and mental health in children orphaned or affected by family HIV illness; health and well-being of LGBT youth.

Awards

2012, Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, Brown University
2007, American Psychological Association, Early Career Award, Minority Fellowship Program
2006, University of Oxford Excellence in Teaching Award
2001, UCSF-Robert Harris Award for Research in Health Psychology
1998, American Psychological Association Doctoral Dissertation Research Award
1995-1998, American Psychological Association Minority Predoctoral Fellowship

Affiliations

American Psychological Association, American Public Health Association, Cochrane Collaboration HIV/AIDS Group
Rhode Island HIV Prevention Community Planning Group
International Academy of Sex Research

Funded Research

NIAAA, Sexual Minority Populations Core (Operario, PI)

NIMH, Developing an HIV Prevention Program for High Risk Couples (Operario, PI)

Brown Office of International Affairs, Social and Demographic Context of HIV Risk in Young Migrants in China (Operario, Zaller, Rivas-Drake, PIs)

NIAAA, Brief Interventions in the Emergency Department for Alcohol and HIV/Sexual Risk (Co-Investigator; Monti, PI)

NIMH, A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Bruthas Project: HIV Prevention Program for African American MSM (Co-Investigator; Arnold, PI)

NIDA, Individual & Family Motivational Interviews for Substance Using Truant Teens (Co-Investigator; Spirito, PI)

NICHD, Conditional Economic Incentives to Reduce HIV Risks: A Pilot in Mexico (Co-Investigator; Galarraga, PI)

NIAAA, Alcohol and HIV: Biobehavioral Interactions and Intervention (Co-Investigator; Monti, PI)

Teaching Experience

PHP 2300 Research Methods - Behavioral Science (Fall)
PHP 2330 Social and behavioral approaches to HIV prevention (Spring)

Selected Publications

• Kuo, C., Operario, D., & Cluver, L. (2012). Depression amongst carers of AIDS-orphaned and other-orphaned children in Umlazi Township, South Africa. Global Public Health, 7, 253-269.(2012)
• Chuong, C., & Operario, D. (2012). Challenging household dynamics: Impact of ophanhood, parental absence, and children's living arrangements on education in South Africa. Global Public Health, 7, 42-57.(2012)
• Lloyd, S., & Operario, D. (2012). HIV risk among men who have sex with men who have experienced childhood sexual abuse: Systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS Education and Prevention, in press.(2012)
• Kuo, C., Fitzgerald, J, Operario, D., & Casale, M. (2011). Social support disparities for caregivers of AIDS-orphaned children in South Africa. Journal of Community Psychology, in press.(2011)
• Saleh, L. D., Operario, D., Smith, C. D., Arnold, E., & Kegeles, S. (2011). "We're going to have to cut loose some of our personal beliefs": Barriers and opportunities in providing HIV prevention to African American men who have sex with men and women. AIDS Education and Prevention, 23, 521-532.(2011)
• Kuo, C, & Operario, D. (2011). Health of adults caring for orphaned children in an HIV endemic community in South Africa. AIDS Care, 23, 1128-1135.(2011)
• Operario, D., Nemoto, T., Iwamoto, M., & Moore. (2011). Risk for HIV and unprotected sexual behavior in male primary partners of transgender women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 1255-1261.(2011)
• Operario, D., Nemoto, T., Iwamoto, M., & Moore T. (2011). Unprotected sexual behavior and HIV risk in the context of primary partnerships for transgender women. AIDS and Behavior, 15, 674-682.(2011)
• Operario, D., Underhill, K., Chuong, C., & Cluver, L. (2011). HIV infection and sexual risk behavior among youth who have experienced orphanhood: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 14:25 [Epub ahead of print].(2011)
• Cluver, L., Lane, T., & Operario, D. (2011). Educational shortfalls among adolescent 'young carers' in the South African AIDS epidemic. Journal of Adolescent Research, in press.(2011)
• Operario, D., Smith, C. D., Arnold, E., & Kegeles, S. (2010). The Bruthas Project: evaluation of a community-based HIV prevention intervention for African American men who have sex with men and women. AIDS Education and Prevention, 22, 37-48.(2010)
• Burton, J., Darbes, L. A., & Operario, D. (2010). Couples-focused behavioral interventions for prevention of HIV: systematic review of the state of evidence. (2010). AIDS and Behavior, 14, 1-10.(2010)
• Kuo, C., & Operario, D. (2010). Caring for AIDS-orphaned children: An exploratory study of challenges faced by carers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 5, 344-352.(2010)
• Wang, D., Operario, D., Hong, Q., Zhang, H., & Coates, T. (2009). Intervention to train physicians in rural China on HIV/STI prevention and risk reduction counseling. AIDS Care, 21, 468-492(2009)
• Operario, D., Smith, C. D., Arnold, E., & Kegeles, S. (2009). Sexual risk and substance use behaviors among African American men who have sex with men and women. AIDS and Behavior, 15, 576-583.(2009)
• Kuo, C., & Operario, D. (2009). Caring for AIDS-orphaned children: A systematic review of studies on caregivers. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 4, 1-12(2009)
• Cluver, C., Gardner, F. & Operario, D. (2009). Parental illness, caregiving factors, and psychological distress among children orphaned by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in South Africa. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 4, 185-198.(2009)
• Cluver, L., Gardner, F., & Operario, D. (2009). Poverty and psychological health among AIDS-orphaned children in Cape Town, South Africa. AIDS Care, 21,732-741.(2009)
• Wise, J., & Operario, D. (2008). Electronic monitoring devices to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV/AIDS: Systematic review. AIDS Patient Care & STDs, 22, 495-504.(2008)
• Underhill, K., Montgomery, P., & Operario, D. (2008). Abstinence-plus programs for HIV infection prevention in high-income countries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, Jan 23(1):CD007006.(2008)
• Operario, D., Smith, C. D., & Kegeles, S. M. (2008). Social and psychological context for HIV risk in African American non-gay-identified men who have sex with men. AIDS Education and Prevention, 20, 347-359.(2008)
• Operario, D., Han, C. S., & Choi, K. H. (2008). Dual identity among gay Asian and Pacific Islander men. Culture, Health, and Sexuality, 10, 447-461.(2008)
• Operario, D., Cluver, L., Rees, H., MacPhail, C., & Pettifor, A. (2008). Orphanhood and completion of compulsory education among young people in South Africa. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18, 173-186.(2008)
• Operario, D., Burton, J., Underhill, K, & Sevelius, J. (2008). Men who have sex with transgender women: Challenges to category-based HIV prevention. AIDS and Behavior, 12, 18-26.(2008)
• Hidaka, Y., Operario, D., Takenawa, M., Omori, S., Ichikawa, S., & Shirasaka, T. (2008). Suicide attempts and risk factors among young people in urban Japan. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 43, 752-757.(2008)
• Cluver, L., Gardner, F., & Operario, D. (2008). Effects of stigma on the mental health of adolescents orphaned by AIDS. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42, 410-417.(2008)
• Operario, D., Soma, T., & Underhill, K. (2008). Sex work and HIV status among transgender women: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 48, 97-103.(2008)