Mixed Methods in Population Research

Clare Barrington,
UNC-CH Associate Professor of Health Behavior and CPC Faculty Fellow

Professor Barrington’s research examines social and structural influences on health and health behaviors, with a focus on HIV prevention and health care among female sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender women in Latin America and Latino migrants in the United States. She has been conducting community-based research in the Dominican Republic for over 15 years. In collaboration with the Centro de Orientacion e Investigacion Integral (COIN), she studied the social networks of male clients of female sex workers. Most recently, with support from USAID, Dr. Barrington has been studying a cohort of 250 female sex workers living with HIV in Santo Domingo and their male partners. The aim is to improve understanding of the factors influencing their achievement of optimal HIV outcomes, and to assess feasibility and initial effects of a multi-level intervention called Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors). In North Carolina, Barrington has been studying the intersection between social networks, migration, and HIV among Mexican migrants. She currently leads the qualitative formative research and evaluation of a HRSA project to promote early detection and linkage to care for HIV among Mexican MSM and transgender women in North Carolina.