Wendee M. Wechsberg

Wendee M. Wechsberg (born in Miami, Florida) is an American social science researcher. Wechsberg's research focuses on developing and testing the efficacy of HIV prevention interventions among key populations of substance abusers globally. She is a recognized expert in the fields of substance abuse, gender inequality, and HIV. She developed the Women's CoOp intervention, a woman-focused behavioral HIV intervention that incorporates gender- and culture-specific skills training. Wechsberg is a Principal Researcher and Director of the Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research (SUGAR) Program at RTI International and Director of the RTI Global Gender Center. She is also adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and adjunct professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.

Education

Wechsberg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida in 1975. She received her Master of Science degree in Human Developmental Counseling from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in 1979, and her doctorate in Community Psychology from North Carolina State University in 1993.

Career

Since 1994, Wechsberg has applied mixed methods research to develop and test the efficacy of HIV prevention interventions among diverse populations of people who use substances, particularly at-underserved populations of women, adolescent girls, and couples. Wechsberg began working full-time at RTI International as a Research Psychologist in 1996 and became Director of the Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research (SUGAR)Program, formerly known as the Substance Abuse Treatment, Evaluations, and Interventions program, in 1999. In 2013, she also became Director of the RTI Global Gender Center, an initiative that includes over 300 affiliates and experts worldwide who work collaboratively to identify and address gender inequalities and disparities through innovative research and science.

Additionally, Wechsberg started the International Women's and Children's Health and Gender (InWomen's) Group in 2007 with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She serves as Chair of the InWomen's Group, a multidisciplinary forum addressing all aspects of substance use among women, children, and youth. The group comprises more than 200 members from 40 countries. InWomen's hosts its own satellite meeting annually before the College on Problems of Drug Dependence Conference. She was also recently appointed as the President of WomenNC. Dr. Wechsberg was recently announced to be a part of the 2022 Forbes 50 over 50 Impact list.

Research and impact

Wechsberg has served as principal investigator and project director on studies with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She has been conducting international research in South Africa with at-risk substance-using women and adolescent girls since 2001, and more recently with couples. In 2008, Wechsberg was ranked third among all researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health who received HIV/AIDS investigator-initiated grants with research in the United States and internationally.

Wechsberg is the creator of the woman-focused HIV prevention program, the Women's CoOp, which was developed in 1998. The original Women's CoOp study was funded by NIDA for more than 10 years, and is a CDC best-evidence HIV behavioral prevention intervention. It has been adapted specifically for underserved and vulnerable adult and adolescent women in the United States, as well as in multiple regions in South Africa, the Republic of Georgia, and Russia.

The RTI Global Gender Center hosted a conference on "Ending Gender Inequalities: Addressing the Nexus of HIV, Drug Use, and Violence with Evidence-based Action". Wechsberg served as the Conference Chair. The conference spotlighted successful evidence-informed gender research and practice, and strategized solutions to broaden intervention implementation in usual care settings through engaging plenaries, panels, and multilevel collaborative sessions. Conference attendees included international participants, such as gender experts, civil society, leading researchers, policymakers, survivors, implementing partners, and students.

The impact of Wechsberg's gender-focused work has been recognized both nationally and internationally. Notably her work with high-risk women, adolescents, and couples in South Africa has produced the Women's Health CoOp, the Young Woman's CoOp, and the Couples' CoOp, which are adaptations of the original intervention and effective tools to reduce not only HIV, but violence and drug use – all of which are highly prevalent in the country. Recently, Wechsberg began developing a mobile app that would make the Young Women's CoOp more accessible to adolescent and young adult women at-risk for HIV. If the mobile app version of the Young Women's CoOp is found to be as effective as the face-to-face intervention, it could be the first mobile app to deliver an evidence-based, women-focused HIV intervention for young women.

Ongoing studies

• Couples Health CoOp Plus (2021 to 2026)
• PrEPaRE Pretoria: PRevention Empowering and PRotEcting Young Women in South Africa (2017 to 2022)
• Young Women-Focused HIV Prevention: Seek & Test in North Carolina Clinics (2015 to 2021)
• Implementation Research of the Women's Health CoOp in South Africa (2014 to 2021)

Recently completed studies

• Expanding HIV Testing and Prevention to Reach Vulnerable Young Women (2015 to 2020)
• Linking High-Risk Young Women to HIV Prevention and Care for Comorbid Conditions (2015 to 2018)
• Combination Prevention for Vulnerable Women in South Africa (2011 to 2017)
• Developing Empowering Strategies for Drug-Using Female School Dropouts in Cape Town (2014 to 2016)
• HIV/STI Risk Reduction for Incarcerated Women with Interpersonal Violence (2011 to 2015)
• HIV and Drug Use in Georgian Women (2010 to 2015)

Professional activity

Selected advisory boards

• Women North Carolina (NC) Advisory Board, 2018 to date; President, 2020 to 2022
• Friends Committee, board member, 2017 to date
• NC HIV Prevention Work group 2016 to date
• Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Internal Advisory Board, University of North Carolina, 1999 to date
• NC Community Advocates Advisory Committee (Against Trafficking) 2017–2018
• North Carolina Community AIDS Fund, board member, 2011−2014
• Comprehensive International Programme for Research on AIDS in South Africa (CIPRA–SA), Scientific Advisory Board, Cape Town, South Africa, 2002−2008

Selected associations

• NAADAC, Association for Addiction Professionals
• Addiction Professionals of North Carolina
• American Association of Community Psychology
• American Psychological Association
• American Public Health Association
• College on Problems of Drug Dependence
• International AIDS Society

Selected awards and recognition

• Margaret Elliot Knox Excellence Award, RTI International, 2018
• Pioneer Certificate, Two Decades of International Collaborations, NIDA, 2015
• Women in Business, Mentoring, Triangle Business Journal, 2014
• NIDA International Mentoring Award, 2013
• 10 Area People Working To Change the World, Triangle Business Journal, 2007
• RTI President's Award—recognized for innovative adaptation of a U.S.-developed research and intervention protocol for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in South Africa, 2002
• Forbes 50 over 50 for Impact

Books, chapters, and monographs

• Wechsberg, Wendee M, Ed., (2018). HIV pioneers: Lives Lost, Careers Changed, and Survival. Co-published. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press; Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press.
• Wechsberg, W., Anderson, S., & Howard, B. N. (2017). Ending gender inequalities: Addressing the nexus of HIV, drug use, and violence with evidence-based action, April 12–13, 2016. (RTI Press Publication No. CP-0003-1704). Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press. Ending gender inequalities: Addressing the nexus of HIV, drug use, and violence with evidence-based action, April 12-13, 2016
• Wechsberg, W., Parry, C. DH., & Jewkes, R.(2010). Drugs, sex, gender-based violence, and the intersection of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with vulnerable women in South Africa. (RTI Press Publication No. PB-0001-1005). Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press. Drugs, sex, gender-based violence, and the intersection of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with vulnerable women in South Africa

Reception of "On HIV Pioneers: Lives Lost, Careers Changed, and Survival"

• “A moving and essential addition to the history of our effects in confronting the epidemic.” - Paul A. Volberding, MD, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
• “Wechsberg has assembled many of the key players to create a verbal AIDS quilt, a tapestry rich in poignancy, wisdom, sadness, and hope.” – Kenneth H. Mayer, MD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• “A quietly powerful book.” – Gerald Friedland, MD, Professor Emeritus, Yale School of Medicine.

Selected publications

• Bonner, C.P., Carney, T., Browne, F.A., Ndirangu, J.W., Howard, B.N., Wechsberg, W.M. (14 December 2020). "Substance use and depressive and anxiety symptoms among out-of-school adolescent girls and young women in Cape Town, South Africa" South African Medical Journal. 111(1): 33–39. doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v111i1.14520 PMID 33404004.
• Gichane, M. W., Wechsberg, W. M., Ndirangu, J., Browne, F. A., Bonner, C. P., Grimwood, A., ... & Zule, W. A. (1 October 2020). "Implementation science outcomes of a gender-focused HIV and alcohol risk-reduction intervention in usual-care settings in South Africa" Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 215: 108206, doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108206 PMID 32771909; PMCID: PMC7502463.
• Wechsberg, W. M., Browne, F. A., Ndirangu, J., Bonner, C. P., Minnis, A. M., Nyblade, L., ... & Ahmed, K. (2020). "The PrEPARE Pretoria Project: protocol for a cluster-randomized factorial-design trial to prevent HIV with PrEP among adolescent girls and young women in Tshwane, South Africa" BMC Public Health, 20(1): 1–14. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09458-y PMCID: PMC7490774. PMID 32933510
• Doherty, I. A., Browne, F. A., & Wechsberg, W. M. (2020). "Think Inside the Box: the Heterogeneity of “in Risk” Among “at Risk” Female African American Adolescents in North Carolina" (December 2020) Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 7(6): 1–10. doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00739-1 PMID 32297304
• Belus, J. M., Baucom D. H., & Wechsberg, W. M. (2020). "Individual and relationship predictors of couple-level sexual concurrency in heterosexual South African couples" Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(3): 999–1015. doi:10.1007/s10508-019-1444-3
• Belus, J. M., Kline, T., Carney, T., Myers, B., & Wechsberg, W. M. (2020). "Measuring relationship functioning in South African couples: A strategy for improving HIV prevention efforts" Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 35(1): 2–14. doi:10.1080/14681994.2017.1419559 PMID 32728347. PMCID: PMC7388832.
• Peterson Williams, P, Washio, Y., Myers, B., Jaspan, H., Browne, F.A., Wechsberg, W.M. (December 26, 2019).  "Cannabis use and breastfeeding: do we know enough?" South African Journal of Psychology 50(1): 1–4. doi:10.1177/0081246319893934 journals.sagepub.com/home/sap
• Myers, B., Carney, T., Johnson, K., Browne, F.A., & Wechsberg, W.M. (January 2020). "Service providers’ perceptions of barriers to the implementation of trauma-focused substance use services for women in Cape Town, South Africa" International Journal of Drug Policy. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.102628 PMID 31830616. PMCID: PMC7021212.
• McCauley, H. L., Richie, F., Hughes, S., Johnson, J. E., Zlotnick, C., Rosen, R. K., ... Kuo, C. C. (18 April 2019). "Trauma, power, and intimate relationships among women in prison" Violence Against Women. 26(6-7):659-674. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219842948
• Meyer, JP, Isaacs, K, El-Shahawy, O, Burlew, K.A., & Wechsberg, WM. (1 April 2019). "Research on women with substance use disorders: Reviewing progress and developing a research and implementation roadmap" Drug and Alcohol Dependence. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.01.017. PMID 30826625 PMCID: PMC6440852.
• Belus, J.M., Baucom, D. H., Carney, T., Carrino, E. A., & Wechsberg, W. M. (November—December 2019). "A South African couple-based HIV prevention program: preliminary evidence of the long-term effects" The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care: JANAC. 30(6):648-657 doi:10.1097/JNC.0000000000000074 PMID 30958405.
• Kline, T., Owens, C., Bonner, C.P., Carney, T., Browne, F.A., & Wechsberg, W.M. (2019) "Accuracy and utility of the AUDIT-C with adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) who engage in HIV risk behaviors in South Africa" Journal of Applied Measurement, 10(2): 132–142. PMID 30789836
• Kuo, C, Rosen, R.K., Zlotnick, Wechsberg, W.M., Peabody, M., Johnson, J.E., (2019). "Sexual health prevention for incarcerated women: Eroticizing safe sex during re-entry to the community" BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 45(1): 17–22. Sexual health prevention for incarcerated women: eroticising safe sex during re-entry to the community. PMID 29954877. PMCID: PMC7250161.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Bonner, C. P.; Zule, W. A.; van der Horst, C.; Ndirangu, J.; Browne, F. A.; Kline, T.L.; Howard, B. N.; Rodman, N.F. (February 1, 2019). "Addressing the nexus of risk: Biobehavioral outcomes from a cluster randomized trial of the Women's Health CoOp Plus in Pretoria, South Africa". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 195: 16–26. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.10.036. ISSN 0376-8716. PMC 6415667. PMID 30562676.
• Carney, T.; Browne, F. A; Myers, B.; Kline, T.L; Howard, B.; Wechsberg, Wendee M. (January 2, 2019). "Adolescent female school dropouts who use drugs and engage in risky sex: effects of a brief pilot intervention in Cape Town, South Africa". AIDS Care. 31 (1): 77–84. doi:10.1080/09540121.2018.1500008. ISSN 0954-0121. PMC 6343022. PMID 30021470.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Browne, F. A.; Carney, T.; Myers, B.; Minnis, A.; MacDonald, R.; Ndirangu, J. W.; Turner, L. B.; Howard, B. N.; Rodman, N. F. (July 11, 2018). "The Young Women's Health CoOp in Cape Town, South Africa: Study protocol for a cluster-randomised trial for adolescent women at risk for HIV". BMC Public Health. 18 (1): 859. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5665-5. ISSN 1471-2458. PMC 6042235. PMID 29996792.
• Browne, F. A.; Wechsberg, W. M.; Kizakevich, P. N.; Zule, W. A.; Bonner, C. P.; Madison, A. N.; Howard, B. N.; Turner, L. B (August 6, 2018). "mHealth versus face-to-face: study protocol for a randomized trial to test a gender-focused intervention for young African American women at risk for HIV in North Carolina". BMC Public Health. 18 (1): 982. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5796-8. ISSN 1471-2458. PMC 6080398. PMID 30081868.
• Myers, B.; Carney, T.; Wechsberg, W. M. (2016). "Not on the agenda: A qualitative study of influences on health services use among poor young women who use drugs in Cape Town, South Africa". International Journal of Drug Policy. 30: 52–58. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.12.019. PMC 4829448. PMID 26797188.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Zule, W. A.; El-Bassel, N.; Doherty, I. A.; Minnis, A. M.; Novak, S.; et al. (2016). "The male factor: Outcomes from a cluster randomized field experiment with a couples-based HIV prevention intervention in a South African township". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 161: 307–315. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.02.017. PMC 5645020. PMID 26946991.
• Jones, E. H.; Kirtadze, I.; Otiashvili, D.; O'Grady, K.; Murphy, K.; Zule, W.; Krupitsky, E.; Wechsberg, W. M. (2015). "Feasibility and initial efficacy of a culturally sensitive women-centered substance use intervention in Georgia: Sex risk outcomes". Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. 10: 47. doi:10.1186/s13011-015-0043-0. PMC 4672492. PMID 26644132.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Doherty, I. A.; Browne, F. A.; Kline, T. L.; Carry, M. G.; Raiford, J. L.; Herbst, J. H. (2015). "Gang membership and marijuana use among African American female adolescents in North Carolina". Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation. 6: 141–150. doi:10.2147/SAR.S93304. PMC 4646480. PMID 26635492.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Deren, S.; Myers, B.; Kirtadze, I.; Zule, W.; Howard, B.; El-Bassel, N. (2015). "Gender-specific HIV prevention interventions for women who use alcohol and other drugs: The evolution of the science and future directions". Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 69 (Suppl 2): S128–S139. doi:10.1097/qai.0000000000000627. PMC 4505613. PMID 25978479.
• Minnis, A. M.; Doherty, I.; Kline, T.; Zule, W. A.; Myers, B.; Carney, T.; Wechsberg, W. M. (2015). "Relationship power, communication, and violence among couples: Results of a cluster-randomized HIV prevention study in a South African township". International Journal of Women's Health. 7: 517–525. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S77398. PMC 4435250. PMID 25999767.
• Wechsberg, W. M., El-Bassel, N., Carney, T., Browne, F. Myers, B., & Zule, W. (2015). Adapting an evidence-based HIV behavioral intervention for South African couples. Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy, 10(1), 6. doi:10.1186/s13011-015-0005-6
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Zule, W. A.; Ndirangu, J.; Kline, T. K.; Rodman, N. F.; Doherty, I. A.; Novak, S. P.; van der Horst, C. M. (2014). "The biobehavioral Women's Health CoOp in Pretoria, South Africa: Study protocol for a cluster-randomized design". BMC Public Health. 14 (1): 1074. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1074. PMC 4287508. PMID 25318563.
• Johnson, J. E.; Peabody, M. E.; Wechsberg, W. M.; Rosen, R.; Fernandes, K.; Zlotnick, C. (2014). "Feasibility of an HIV/STI risk reduction program for incarcerated women who have experienced interpersonal violence". Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 30 (18): 3244–3266. doi:10.1177/0886260514555013. PMC 4429003. PMID 25395223.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Jewkes, R.; Novak, S. P.; Kline, T.; Myers, B.; Browne, F. A.; Parry, C. (2013). "A brief intervention for drug use, sexual risk behaviours and violence prevention with vulnerable women in South Africa: a randomised trial of the Women's Health CoOp". BMJ Open. 3 (5): e002622. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002622. PMC 3657672. PMID 23793683.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Zule, W. A.; Luseno, W. K.; Kline, T. L.; Browne, F. A.; Novak, S. P.; Ellerson, R. M. (2011). "Effectiveness of an adapted evidence-based woman-focused intervention for sex workers and non-sex workers: the Women's Health CoOp in South Africa". Journal of Drug Issues. 41 (2): 233–252. doi:10.1177/002204261104100205. S2CID 73292212.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Luseno, W. K.; Kline, T. L.; Browne, F. A.; Zule, W. A. (2010). "Preliminary findings of an adapted evidence-based woman-focused HIV intervention on condom use and negotiation among at-risk women in Pretoria, South Africa". Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community. 38 (2): 132–146. doi:10.1080/10852351003640799. PMC 3129984. PMID 20391060.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Browne, F. A.; Ellerson, R. M.; Zule, W. A. (2010). "Adapting the evidence-based Women's CoOp intervention to prevent human immunodeficiency virus infection in North Carolina and international settings". North Carolina Medical Journal. 71 (5): 477–481. doi:10.18043/ncm.71.5.477. PMC 3131687. PMID 21473554.
• Wechsberg, W. M.; Lam, W. K.; Zule, W. A.; Bobashev, G. (2004). "Efficacy of a woman-focused intervention to reduce HIV risk and increase self-sufficiency among African-American crack abusers". American Journal of Public Health. 94 (6): 1165–1173. doi:10.2105/AJPH.94.7.1165. PMC 1448416. PMID 15226138.