March 18, 2024
By Jenny Recktenwald
Brazil has the highest prevalence of HIV in Latin America. While combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically extended the life expectancy of those infected with HIV, there remains a high prevalence of other health conditions.
“I want my students to recognize the barriers to exercise and health that exist everywhere. There’s still so much research that needs to be done.”
Associate Professor of Exercise Science Jason Jaggers — who has focused much of his career on the study of HIV, exercise, and immune function — has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to explore factors influencing daily physical activity among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Natal, Brazil.
Jaggers will work closely with faculty from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Natal to uncover the determinants of physical activity engagement among PLWH and develop a set of targeted interventions to promote a physically active lifestyle in this population.
Jaggers began studying and working with the HIV population during his graduate studies and discovered a significant research gap after the initial wave in the 1980s and 1990s.
“After people were no longer dying from AIDS and began living with HIV due to the success of ART, they were still at an increased risk of developing and dying from chronic diseases at a much younger age,” Jaggers said. “Since we now have a better understanding of the health benefits that can be achieved from daily physical activity, my reason for doing this type of research is to learn more about behavioral aspects that can be applied to help people living with HIV not just begin a physical activity or exercise program but adopt it as part of their lifestyle using whatever resources may or may not be available or accessible to them.”
Jaggers hopes his Fulbright experience will help strengthen international collaboration and provide him with insights he can share with his UofL students.
“In my classes, I talk about the health disparities among racial and ethnic groups here in the United States. Those disparities are compounded in places like Brazil, a country with extreme income inequality and underdeveloped regions. I want my students to recognize the barriers to exercise and health that exist everywhere. There’s still so much research that needs to be done.”
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