The UWI School of Nursing, Mona (UWISON) in collaboration with New York University College of Nursing and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is in the third year of the Randomized Controlled Behavioural Intervention entitled “Mother Daughter HIV Risk Reduction Project funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA.

The behavioural intervention is culturally & developmentally appropriate, gender specific, theory-driven and involves skill-building; it aims to reduce adolescents’ girls sexual risk behaviours and increase mothers’ sexual risk communication and their parental monitoring and supervision.

The research team comprises of Principal investigators Dr. M. Katherine Hutchinson Professor at NYU College of Nursing, New York and Dr. Hermi Hewitt, Head and Director The UWI School of Nursing, Mona and Director PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development in the Caribbean; Project Director Ms. Juliet Weir, NYU and Site Coordinator Ms. Deon Simpson, UWISON and Co-investigators Dr. Loretta Jemmott van Ameringen Professor Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and Director Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Dr. Norman Waldron and Dr. Eulalia Kahwa UWISON and Mrs. Pansy Hamilton Research Coordinator in the Advanced Training and Research in Fertility Management, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica.

The team will be conducting the pilot testing of the intervention August 10 – 15, 2009 at UWISON.