School of Public Health

Education

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD , Ph.D. Population, Family, & Reproductive Health, 2009

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, M.H.S. International Health, 2005

• Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, B.A. Anthropology, 2001

Background

Research Areas

Dr. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson᾿s research focuses on using economic-strengthening interventions, mobile health technologies, and applied behavioral economics to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH), including HIV, in economically-disadvantaged populations in the U.S. and abroad. Her research centers on youth and young adults, people living with HIV, racial and ethnic minorities, transgender populations, commercial sex workers, and individuals who have been victimized by sexual violence. Specifically, she is interested in qualitative, epidemiological, and randomized clinical trial studies involving: (i) economic-strengthening interventions, such as microenterprise, cash transfers, and incentives, to mitigate economic disparities in HIV and SRH; (ii) behavioral economic factors, such as present bias or loss aversion, and their association with HIV and SRH outcomes, including maternal and newborn health; and (iii) mHealth technologies, such as text messages or mobile apps, to increase equity in access to HIV and SRH services.

Current Studies

Past Positions

• 2012–2018: Assistant Professor—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, Baltimore, MD

• 2011–2012: Senior Evaluation Advisor—Abt Associates, Inc., Bethesda, MD

• 2010–2011: Senior Research Officer—Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Washington, D.C.

• 2005–2010: Research & Evaluation Officer—University Research Co., LLC, Bethesda, MD

• 2000–2001: Research Assistant—Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Institute for Health and Social Justice, Boston, MA

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Courses Currently/Recently Taught

• SPH-B630 Sexual and Reproductive Health Surveillance

Selected Publications

Articles

Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Mathai M, Yi G, Mak’anyengo M, Davoust M, Massaquoi M, Beral S, Ssewamala F, Glass NE. Lessons learned from using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to assess sexual risk behaviors among Kenyan young adults living in urban slum settlements: a process evaluation. PLoS One. 2020 Apr 10;15(4): e0231248. PMID: 32275677

Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Glass NE, Ssewamala FM, Linnemayr S, Coleman J, Timbo F, Johnson MW, Davoust M, Yenokyan G, Labrique A, Dodge B, Latkin C. Microenterprise intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors and increase employment and HIV preventive practices in economically-vulnerable African-American young adults (EMERGE): protocol for a feasibility randomized clinical trial. Trials. 2019 Jul 17; 20(1):439. PMID: 31315685

Glass NE, Remy MM, Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Kohli A, Sommer M, Turner R, Perrin N. Comparative effectiveness of an economic empowerment program on young adolescent asset building, school attendance, mental health, stigma and food security outcomes in a humanitarian setting: a longitudinal mixed methodology study. BMC Public Health. 2020. Feb 4; 20(1):170. PMID: 32019539

Linnemayr L, Wagner Z, Saya U, MacCarthy S, Mukasa B, Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Stecher C. Behavioral economics incentives to support HIV treatment adherence (BEST): protocol for a randomized controlled trial in Uganda. Trials. 2020 Jan 3;21(1):9. PMID: 31900193

Tingey L, Larzelere F, Goklish N, Rosenstock S, Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Pablo E, Goklish W, Grass R, Sprengeler F, Parker S, Ingalls A, Craig M, Barlow A. Entrepreneurial, economic and social well-being outcomes from an RCT of a youth entrepreneurship education intervention among Native American adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020. Mar 31;17(7). pii: E2383. PMID: 32244495

Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Ssewamala F. Financial and behavioral economic factors associated with uptake of free HIV testing services among adolescents, guardians, and household members affected by AIDS in rural Uganda: a cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 2019; 30(1):339-357. PMID: 30827987

Ssewamala F, Bahar OS, Tozan Y, Nabunya P, Jennings Mayo-Wilson L, Kiyingi J, Kagaayi J, Bellamy S, McKay M, Witte SS. A combination intervention addressing sexual risk-taking behaviors among vulnerable women in Uganda: study protocol for a cluster randomized clinical trial. BMC Women’s Health. 2019 Aug 17;19(1):111. PMID: 31419968

Jennings L, Pettifor A, Hamilton E, Ritchwood TD, Gómez-Olivé FX, MacPhail C, Hughes J, Selin A, Kahn K, and the HPTN 068 Study Team. Economic resources and HIV preventive behaviors among school-enrolled young women in rural South Africa (HPTN 068). AIDS and Behavior 2017; Mar; 21(3):665-677. PMID: 27260180

Jennings L, Yang F, Otupiri E, Akinlo A, Okunlola M, Hindin M. Association of household savings and expected future means on delivery with a skilled birth attendant in Ghana and Nigeria: a cross-sectional analysis. Maternal and Child Health Journal 2017; Jan; 21(1):85-95. PMID: 27465061

LeFevre A, Mohan D, Hutchful D, Jennings L, Mehl G, Labrique A, Romano K, Moorthy A. Mobile technology for community health in Ghana: what happens when technical functionality threatens the effectiveness of digital health programs. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision-Making 2017; Mar 14; 17(1):27. PMID: 28292288

Jennings L, Mathai M, Linnemayr S, Trujillo A, Mak’anyengo M, Montgomery BE, Kerrigan DL. Economic context and HIV vulnerability in adolescents and young adults living in urban slums in Kenya: a qualitative analysis based on scarcity theory. AIDS and Behavior 2017; Jan 11. PMID: 28078495

Jennings L, Conserve DF, Merrill J, Kajula L, Iwelunmor J, Linnemayr S, Maman S. Perceived cost advantages and disadvantages of purchasing HIV self-test kits among urban Tanzanian men: an inductive content analysis. Journal of AIDS and Clinical Research 2017 Aug;8(8). pii: 725. PMID: 29051841

Conserve DF, Jennings L, Aguiar C, Shin G, Handler L, Maman S. Systematic narrative review of mobile health behavioral interventions to improve uptake of HIV testing for vulnerable and key populations. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare 2017; Feb;23(2):347-359. PMID: 27056905

Rothstein JD, Jennings L, Moorthy A, Yang F, Gee L, Romano K, Hutchful D, Labrique AB, LeFevre AE. Qualitative assessment of the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of a mobile client data app for community-based maternal, neonatal, and childcare in rural Ghana. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications 2016; Nov 14. 2515420: p1-16. PMID: 28070186

Bermudez LG, Jennings L, Ssewamala FM, Nabunya P, Mellins C, McKay M. Equity in adherence to antiretroviral therapy in economically vulnerable adolescents living with HIV in Uganda. AIDS Care 2016; May 26; 28 Suppl 2: 83-91. PMID: 27392003

Jennings L, Lee N, Shore D, Strohminger N, Burgundi A, Conserve DF, Cheskin LJ. U.S. minority homeless youth’s access to and use of mobile phones: implications for mHealth intervention design. Journal of Health Communication 2016; Jul; 21(7):725-33.PMID: 27232544

Jennings L, Ssewamala F, Nabunya P. Effect of savings-led economic empowerment on HIV preventive practices among AIDS-orphaned adolescents in rural Uganda: results from the Suubi-Maka randomized experiment. AIDS Care 2016; Mar; 28(3): 273-82. PMID: 26548549

Jennings L, Omoni A, Akerele A, Ibrahim Y, Ekanem E. Disparities in mobile phone use and maternal health service utilization in Nigeria: a population-based survey. International J Medical Informatics 2015; May; 84(5): 341-8. PMID: 25737460

Aguiar C, Jennings L. Impact of male partner antenatal accompaniment on perinatal health outcomes in developing countries: a systematic literature review. Maternal Child Health Journal 2015; Sep; 19(9): 2012-9. PMID: 25656727

Jennings L, Na M, Cherewick M, Hindin M, Mullany B, Ahmed S. Women’s empowerment and male involvement in antenatal care: analyses of demographic and health surveys (DHS) in selected African countries. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2014; Aug 30; 14(1): 297. PMID: 25174359