Mohammad Mousavi

Mohammad Mousavi is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware and a Research Assistant in the Stigma & Health Inequities Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Valerie Earnshaw. Broadly, Mohammad’s research interests are in stigma, with a specific focus on stigma regarding HIV/AIDS, mental illness, substance use disorder, and the LGBTQ+ community. Mohammad’s research focuses on two primary lines of scholarly work: 1) Longitudinal research regarding stigma and 2) Developing interventions to address stigma. Mohammad has been working and collaborating with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch, and UNAIDS, focusing on HIV-positive patients and people at risk, such as the LGBTQ+ community, since 2017. He has provided research and services related to HIV/AIDS, stigma, STIs, health inequities, HIV testing, de-stigmatization, intersectionality, psychological assessment and intervention, medication and behavioral adherence, disclosure, promoting resilience and well-being, and reducing disparities in health and treatment. Mohammad comes to the University of Delaware with a Master of Sciences degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Currently ss a research assistant, Mohammad is involved in several national and international NIH-funded projects, including: 1) examining the longitudinal impact of stigma mechanisms on treatment engagement in emerging adults, 2) developing a disclosure intervention to reduce social isolation and facilitate recovery among individuals in treatment for opioid use disorder, 3) implementing stigma reduction tools via a popular teletraining platform to decrease clinician stigma and improve HIV testing, prevention, and linkage to care in Malaysia, 4) explaining the unique perspectives, experiences, challenges, and knowledge of suicide risk factors and evidence-based practices for suicide prevention among professionals working in the criminal legal system, in collaboration with the Addiction Policy Forum 5) evaluating the effectiveness of the enCompass and responding to addiction interventions in improving knowledge of addiction, in collaboration with the Addiction Policy Forum, and 6) conducting a statewide needs assessment to identify the met and unmet needs of individuals who could benefit from HIV prevention services, in collaboration with the Delaware HIV Planning Council. In all these research projects, his mentor, Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, is a principal investigator.

Research Projects

• National Institute of Mental Health (Grant #: R01DA059557) Disclosure Intervention to Reduce Social Isolation and Facilitate Recovery among People in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, 2023-2028
• National Institute of Mental Health (Grant #: R01MH126196) Pathways to Mental Health Care: Examining the Longitudinal Impact of Stigma Mechanisms on Treatment Engagement in Emerging Adults. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, 2022-2026
• National Institute of Mental Health (Grant #: R34MH124390) Implementing Stigma Reduction Tools via a Popular Teletraining Platform to Reduce Clinician Stigma and Disparities in HIV Testing, Prevention, and Linkage to Care in Malaysia. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw, 2020-2023         
• Addiction Policy Forum. Measure whether the enCompass and responding to addiction interventions work, or improve people’s knowledge of addiction. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw. 2023-2026 
• Addiction Policy Forum. Explaining the unique perspectives, experiences, challenges, and knowledge of suicide risk factors and evidence-based practices for suicide prevention among professionals working in the criminal legal system. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw. 2024-2026   
• Delaware HIV Consortium (collaboration with the Delaware HIV Planning Council). Rolling out a statewide needs assessment to identify the met and unmet needs of individuals who would benefit from accessing HIV Prevention Services. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Valerie Earnshaw. 2024 
• University of Delaware General University Research Award. 1) Parent Capacity for Fostering LGBTQ+ Adolescent Socialization Project 2) Queer Joy Project. Research Assistant: Mohammad Mousavi, Principal Investigator: Dr. Eric. Layland. 2023             

Recent Publications

• Mousavi, M., Chong, N., Earnshaw, V. A., & Layland, E. K. (2024). LGBTQ+ Youth Identity Disclosure Processes: A Systematic Review. Adolescent Research Review, 1-30.
• Earnshaw, V. A., Brousseau, N. M., Hill, E. C., Laurenceau, J-P, Sepucha, K. R., Qiu, X., Mousavi, M., Morrison, L. F., Kelly, J. F. (2024). Enacted stigma from family and drug use during opioid use disorder treatment. Stigma & Health.
• Fox AB, Qui X, Mousavi M, Earnshaw VA. In press. Advancing the measurement of mental illness stigma: consideration of time, structural stigma, and intersectionality, In The Handbook of Mental Health Communication, eds. M Yzer, J Siegel
• Mohammadnejhad, S., Najafi, A., Earnshaw, V. A., Mousavi, M. E., Fotouhi, A., & Akbarpour, S. (2024). Sleep traits and associated factors among people living with HIV/AIDS in Iran: a two-step clustering analysis. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 5076.
• Chong, N., Azwa, I., Hassan, A. A., Mousavi, M. E., Wong, P. L., Ng, R. X., … & Earnshaw, V. A. (2024). HIV Activist Identity, Commitment, and Orientation Scale (HAICOS): Psychometric Evaluation to Assess Clinician’s Propensity Towards HIV Activism in Malaysia. AIDS and Behavior, 1-13.
• Hadavandsiri, F., Mahboobi, M., Najafi, A., Mousavi, M. E., Faghihi, S. H., Abdolmohamadi, N., & Akbarpour, S. (2024). Food insecurity and the risk of sleep disorders in people living with HIV/AIDS as a neglected health concern. Heliyon.
• Mousavi, M., Sticinski, E. V, Annie B. Fox, A. B., Hill, E. C, Brousseau, N. M, Morrison, L. M, Kelly, J. F , Earnshaw, V. A. Predictors of enacted stigma following disclosure among people in recovery from opioid use disorder: A Machine Learning approach (under review)
• Hadavandsiri, F., Shafaati, M., Mohammad Nejad, S., Ebrahimzadeh Mousavi, M., Najafi, A., Mirzaei, M., … & Akbarpour, S. (2023). Non-communicable disease comorbidities in HIV patients: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and obstructive sleep apnea as a neglected issue. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 12730.
• Mousavi, M. E., Nejad, S. M., Shafaati, M., Mykyta-Chomsky, R., Akbarpour, S., & Hadavandsiri, F. (2023). Association between psychological discomforts and sleep quality among people living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS Research and Therapy, 20(1), 78.

Professional Experiences

• Clinical Psychologist at Behavioral Disease Counseling Center, Collaboration with UNFPA and UNAIDS, Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch. (Focus on LGBTQ+ Community and People Who Live with HIV)

• Clinical Psychologist at Section of Clinical Psychology, Rofaydeh Rehabilitation Hospital