Former Humphrey Fellow Rehanna Kader Receives Ph.D.

Rehana Kader, a 2006–2007 Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, has received her Ph.D. from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of the Western Cape. Her research focused on the relationship between substance abuse, health status, and health behaviors of patients attending HIV clinics. Dr. Kader, who works at the Medical Research Council of South Africa Alcohol and Drug Research Unit, found that alcohol and drug use and psychological distress were associated with failure to take antiretroviral medications as prescribed, lower CD4 counts, and increased incidence of tuberculosis. Gender, depression, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder were found to be significant determinants of hazardous or harmful use of alcohol.