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Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba'are, PhD, MA

Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba'are, PhD, MA

  • Assistant Professor, School of Nursing & Department of Public Health Sciences
  • Inaugural Harriet J. Kitzman Endowed Fellow in Global Health Research
  • Affiliate, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health

Bio

Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba’are is an assistant professor in nursing and public health and the inaugural Harriet J. Kitzman Endowed Fellow in Global Health Research at the University of Rochester. He is the principal investigator of the Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health Lab that operates out of the University of Rochester School of Nursing,and Jama’a Action in Accra, Ghana. As a global health and behavioral scientist, urban planner, and health geographer, Abu-Ba’are seeks to better understand the role of place and intersectional stigma on HIV and sexual health outcomes. His research develops and refines interventions to reduce intersectional stigma and optimize outcomes among HIV high-risk populations in socially-vulnerable communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Europe, and the United States. His work employs a community participatory approach where he works closely with faculty at the University of Ghana School of Public Health and community-based organizations in Ghana, Nigeria, and Western Europe. Prior to the University of Rochester, Abu-Ba’are completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at the Yale School of Public Health. He earned his bachelor’s from the University for Development Studies in Ghana, master’s in urban planning and applied geography, and PhD in community and public affairs from Binghamton University.


Current Focus

My current research and implementation science work emphasizes working with HIV high-risk populations at every level to develop interventions that will impact social and behavioral risk factors and improve access to HIV prevention and care services. To improve access to HIV prevention and care services for high-risk populations, I believe we must engage with intended beneficiaries throughout the research process – from conceptualization to intervention design and implementation to dissemination of research findings. Using a community participatory approach within a larger context of the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework, my current work seeks to:

  1. Assess HIV risk, experiences of intersectional stigma, social vulnerability, and place-related factors that promote or hinder access to HIV and sexual health services for high-risk populations, including sexual and gender minorities, adolescents, emerging adults, and sex workers.
  2. Develop, or adapt interventions to reduce intersectional stigma and risk behaviors, increase testing, PreP use, and adherence to care, and address other factors identified in the assessment phase that hinder access to prevention and care services.

Professional Experience

Assistant Professor,
University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY. 2022 - Current

Assistant Professor (joint),
University of Rochester School of Public Health Sciences, Rochester, NY. 2020 - Current

Awards

Inaugural Harriet J. Kitzman Endowed Fellow in Global Research
University of Rochester School of Nursing, 2022

Graduate Student Excellence in Service/Outreach
Binghampton University, 2019

PhD. Tuition Scholarship
Binghampton University College of Community and Public Affairs, 2019

PhD. Tuition Scholarship
Binghampton University College of Community and Public Affairs, 2018

PhD. Tuition Scholarship
Binghampton University College of Community and Public Affairs, 2017

Masters Tuition Scholarship
Binghampton University Geography Department, 2016

1st Place Position, Student Paper Competition Race, Ethnicity, and Place Conference
Kent State University, 2016

Partial Masters Tuition Scholarship
Binghampton University Geography Department, 2015

Publications

  • Nyblade, L Stockton, M, Saalim, K, Clay, S; Chonta, M, Dada, D, Abu-Ba’are G. M. R, Mankattah, E; Vormawor, R; Appiah, P, Boakye, F, Akrong, R; Manu, A; Gyamera, E, Turner, D, Sharma, K, Torpey, Kwasi, & Nelson, L. (2022). Using a Mixed-methods Approach to Adapt an HIV Stigma Reduction to Address Intersectional Stigma Faced by men who have sex with men in Ghana. The Journal of the International AIDS Society. PMID: 35818873 PMCID: PMC9274363 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.25908

  • Abubakari, G.M., Smith, M.D.R., Boyd, D.T., Raquel Ramos, S., Johnson, C., Benavides, J.L., Threats, M., Allen, J.L., & Quinn, C.R. (2022). Assessing Different Types of HIV Communication and Sociocultural Factors on Perceived HIV Stigma and Testing among a National Sample of Youth and Young Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (2). PMID: 35055823 PMCID: PMC8776079 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19021003

  • Boyd, D.T., Abubakari, G.M., Turner, D., Raquel Ramos, S., Hill, M.J., & Nelson, L.E. (2022). The Influence of Family Bonding, Support, Engagement in Healthcare, on PrEP Stigma among Young Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Path Analysis. Children, 9 (3). PMID: 35327703 PMCID: PMC8947403 DOI: 10.3390/children9030330

  • Ajiboye, W., Nelson, L., Odhiambo, A., Yusuf, A., Djiadeu, P., Turner, D. A., Abubakari, M., Pedersen, C., Brown, R., Ni, A., Guillaue, G., Lofters, A., & Williams, G. (2022). Decision conflict and the decision support needs of HIV PrEP-eligible Black patients in Toronto regarding the adoption of PrEP for HIV prevention. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC), 21, 232595822110733. PMID: 35098770 PMCID: PMC8808024 DOI: 10.1177/23259582211073399

  • Nelson, L.E., Nyblade, L., Torpey, K., Logie, C.H., Qian, H.-Z., Manu, A., Gyamerah, E., Boakye, F., Appiah, P., Turner, D., Stockton, M., Abubakari, G.M., & Vlahov, D. (2021). Multi-level intersectional stigma reduction intervention to increase HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Ghana: Protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. PLoS ONE, 16. PMID: 34843529 PMCID: PMC8629287 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259324

  • Abubakari, G.M., Turner, D., Ni, Z., Conserve, D.F., Dada, D., Otchere, A., Amanfoh, Y., Boakye, F., Torpey, K., & Nelson, L.E. (2021). Community-Based Interventions as Opportunities to Increase HIV Self-Testing and Linkage to Care Among Men Who Have Sex With Men – Lessons From Ghana, West Africa. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. PMID: 34178919 PMCID: PMC8226123 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.660256

  • Ogunbajo, A., Oke, T., Okanlawon, K., Abubakari, G.M.R., & Oginni, O. (2021). Religiosity and Conversion Therapy is Associated with Psychosocial Health Problems among Sexual Minority Men (SMM) in Nigeria. Journal of Religion and Health. PMID: 34455514 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-021-01400-9

  • Abubakari, G.M., Owusu-Dampare, F., Ogunbajo, A., Gyasi, J., Adu, M., Appiah, P., Torpey, K., Nyblade, L., & Nelson, L.E. (2021). HIV Education, Empathy, and Empowerment (HIVE 3): A Peer Support Intervention for Reducing Intersectional Stigma as a Barrier to HIV Testing among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (24). PMID: 34948712 PMCID: PMC8702001 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182413103

  • Abubakari, G.M.R. (2021). Grocery stores or convenience stores? The food accessibility situation of a Rust Belt city in Upstate New York. Praxis: A Journal of Gender and Cultural Critique.

  • Guillaume, G., Ramos, S.R., Abubakari, G.M.R., Turner, D.E., Ajiboye, W., Yusuf, A., & Nelson, L.E. (2021). Barriers and facilitators to providing human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis decision support to black patients in Canada: a cross-sectional study. International Health Trends and Perspectives.

  • Ogunbajo, A., Abubakari, G.M., Edeza, A., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Biello, K., & Mimiaga, M.J. (2021). Transactional Sex Is Associated with Income Level and Psychosocial Health Problems among Gay and Bisexual Men (GBM) in Nigeria, Africa. Journal of Sex Research, 58 (6), 706-712. PMID: 33284044 PMCID: PMC8180523 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2020.1854649

  • Abubakari, G.M., Dada, D., Nur, J., Turner, D., Otchere, A., Tanis, L., Ni, Z., Mashoud, I.W., Nyhan, K., Nyblade, L., & Nelson, L.E. (2021). Intersectional stigma and its impact on HIV prevention and care among MSM and WSW in sub-Saharan African countries: a protocol for a scoping review. BMJ Open. PMID: 34362801 PMCID: PMC8351482 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047280

  • Abubakari, G.M., Nelson, L.E., Ogunbajo, A., Boakya, F., Appiah, P., Odhiambo, Ap. Sa, T., Zhang, N., Ngozi, I., Scott, A., Mania, G., Manu, A. & Torpey, K. (2021). Implementation and evaluation of a culturally grounded group-based HIV prevention programme for men who have sex with men in Ghana. Global Public Health, 1-18. PMID: 33050773 PMCID: PMC8728790 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2020.1832555

  • Abubakari, G. M. R., Turner, D., Nelson, L. E., Odhiambo, A. J., Boakye, F., Manu, A., & Wilton, L. (2021). An application of the ADAPT-ITT model to an evidence-based behavioral HIV prevention intervention for men who have sex with men in Ghana. International Health Trends and Perspectives. DOI: 10.32920/ihtp.v1i1.1412

  • Ogunbajo, A., Restar, A., Edeza, A., Goedel, W., Jin, H., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Abubakari, M.R., Biello, K. & Mimiaga, M. (2020). Poor sleep health is associated with increased mental health problems, substance use, and HIV sexual risk behavior in a large, multistate sample of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Nigeria, Africa.. Sleep Health. PMID: 32201228 PMCID: PMC7501157 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2020.02.010

  • Abubakari, MR., DiNicola, K., & Lee, W. (2020). Empirical insights on technology use for navigating human services. Journal of Technology in Human Services. DOI: 10.1080/15228835.2020.1789025

  • Abubakari, M. R. (2018). Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach to Food Accessibility Research. Global Journal of Human Social Science.

Projects
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