Young, Sera

Household food insecurity, maternal nutritional status, and infant feeding practices among HIV-infected Ugandan women receiving combination antiretroviral therapy

Publication Type

Household food insecurity (HHFI) may be a barrier to both optimal maternal nutritional status and infant feeding practices, but few studies have tested this relationship quantitatively, and never among HIV-infected individuals. We therefore described the prevalence of HHFI and explored if it was associated with poorer maternal nutritional status, shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and fewer animal-source complementary foods.

"I Have Remained Strong Because of That Food": Acceptability and Use of Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Among Pregnant HIV-Infected Ugandan Women Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy

Publication Type

We evaluated the acceptability and use of macronutrient supplementation among HIV-infected pregnant Ugandan women receiving antiretroviral therapy in a clinical study (NCT 00993031). We first conducted formative research among 56 pregnant and lactating women to select a supplement regimen. Acceptability and use of the supplementation regimen (35 sachets of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) and 4 or 6 kg of instant soy porridge for the household provided monthly) were evaluated among 87 pregnant women. Organoleptic assessments of LNS were favorable.

Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Ugandan Women of Mixed HIV Status is Associated with Social Environment and Food Insecurity

Publication Type

Antenatal alcohol use (AAU) is associated with poor health outcomes in maternal-infant dyads. However, AAU prevalence and risk factors are poorly understood, particularly in low-income settings. Therefore we studied correlates of any AAU among pregnant women receiving antenatal care in Gulu, Uganda.

Reliability and validity of an individually-focused food insecurity access scale for assessing inadequate access to food among pregnant Ugandan women of mixed HIV status

Publication Type

Food security occurs when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." Food insecurity (FI) exists when these conditions are not met and is a major underlying cause of undernutrition enshrined in the UNICEF conceptual framework.

Reliability and validity of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression scale in screening for depression among HIV infected and uninfected pregnant women attending antenatal services in northern Uganda

Publication Type

In the two decades since the first Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report was released in 1990, the impacts that HIV infection and major depressive disorders (MDDs) have had on medical and public health systems have changed profoundly. The 2010 GBD report indicates that HIV infection has risen from being the 33rd to the 5th contributor to the global burden of disease (Murray et al. 2013). At the same time, the disease burden attributable to MDDs has risen from being the 15th to the 11th.

Social Support Modifies Bidirectional Linkages Between Food Insecurity and Prenatal Depressive Symptoms while Domestic Violence Alters the Unidirectional Impact of Food Insecurity on Prenatal Depressive Symptoms

Publication Type

To inform perinatal nutrition and mental health interventions, we used a cohort study to: 1) examine the directionality of relationships between maternal food insecurity (MFI) and prenatal depressive symptoms (PDS); and 2) see if social support (SS) or domestic violence (DV) modify this relationship. We enrolled 403 Ugandan pregnant women (33% HIV+ on antiretrovirals)) in mid-gestation and assessed them monthly through delivery for MFI (IFIAS) and the PDS (CES-D) using validated scales.