Women's Global Health Imperative

Conducting rigorous epidemiologic, biomedical, socio-behavioral and implementation research to improve infectious disease and chronic health outcomes

Research conducted by RTI's Women's Global Health Imperative (WGHI) informs the design, implementation and scale-up of new programs, monitoring and evaluation systems, and health policies around the world—particularly as they pertain to addressing health inequities. Our areas of expertise include:

Biomedical prevention strategies
Socio-behavioral acceptability and adherence research on novel HIV prevention products
Mixed-methods, community-engaged research
The intersection of violence, education, and economic opportunities on adolescent health
Implementation, scale-up, and improvement of health services delivery
Increasing engagement in HIV services among key and hard-to-reach populations
The effects of poverty and gender-based violence on women’s health over the lifecycle

Reducing Intimate Partner Violence around the World

Intimate partner violence is a human rights violation and a public health concern of global magnitude. To help tackle the multifaceted causes of intimate partner violence, the Women's Global Health Imperative designed and evaluated three distinct interventions for women and families in Kenya, South Africa, and India.

Learn More about Reducing Intimate Partner Violence around the World

WGHI's Global Network

The epidemiologists and biomedical and behavioral scientists at WGHI have developed an international reputation as experts in women’s health and global health. WGHI is affiliated with the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, where our investigators serve as faculty members. We also have more than 20 research partners at academic, research and nonprofit organizations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.

Study Briefs

TRIO Study: Long-Acting Injections for Women’s HIV Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa: What End-Users Think

Innovations in multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) offer women valuable tools to protect themselves from HIV infection and unintended pregnancy.

View Downloadable Brief about TRIO Study: Long-Acting Injections for Women’s HIV Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa: What End-Users Think

TRIO Study: Preventing HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

What end-users think about HIV prevention products and multipurpose prevention technologies (MPT)

View Downloadable Brief about TRIO Study: Preventing HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

TRIO Study: Preventing HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

Listening to young women in Kenya and South Africa to inform multipurpose “2-in-1” products for HIV and pregnancy prevention

View Downloadable Brief about TRIO Study: Preventing HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

SAMURAI: South African Male User Research on Acceptability of Implants and Injections

A behavioral and clinical study of attitudes toward and use of placebo implants and injections

View Downloadable Brief about SAMURAI: South African Male User Research on Acceptability of Implants and Injections

TIP: A Biodegradable, Implantable Polymer Device for Long-Acting HIV Prevention

The TIP Program is developing a novel, biodegradable and reversible implantable device with long-acting (LA) antiretroviral (ARV) release for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

View Downloadable Brief about TIP: A Biodegradable, Implantable Polymer Device for Long-Acting HIV Prevention

WGHI Highlights

Vaginal Ring

Multiple factors played into potential users’ considerations for preferred formulations, emphasizing how a suite of options for prevention might best respond to women’s needs and wants.

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PrEP

Multiple factors played into potential users’ considerations for preferred formulations, emphasizing how a suite of options for prevention might best respond to women’s needs and wants.

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Women Want CHOICE

For HIV prevention to be truly successful, we need to make interventions accessible and address a range of needs among diverse users.

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Reproductive Health

Our aim is to address health inequities and improve the health of vulnerable populations around the globe, with a special focus on women’s sexual and reproductive health.

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Knowledge is POWER

Involving female sex workers in planning and ongoing implementation of HIV self-testing is essential, along with strategies to mitigate potential harm.

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Multipurpose Technology

Our multidisciplinary team has been working on a potentially game-changing option to stem the HIV pandemic: a long-acting, biodegradable implant for HIV prevention in women.

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Funding Resources

The Women’s Global Health Imperative and its research programs are funded by a broad range of sources, including the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Bank, UNICEF, the Wellspring Foundation, and multiple institutes and centers of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH funding includes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research.

The contents of this site are the responsibility of RTI International and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the NIH, or the United States Government.