Dr.Ha's research focuses on social and behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS, stigma, ART adherence and sexually risky behaviors among vulnerable populations including people living with HIV (PLHIV), men who have sex with men (MSM), young people and young migrants. He is currently PI on an R21 from NIH/NIMH that assesses HIV prevalence and multiple risk factors associated with HIV prevalence among young migrant female workers in the industrial zones in Vietnam. Previously, Dr. Ha was working on an multilevel and multifactorial intervention study assessing the impact of alcohol use on ART adherence among men living with HIV in India. He was also working as a postdoc fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Public Health focusing the research on social and behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS and sexual concurrency among MSM and “Money Boys” in China.
In addition, Dr. Ha is a public health physician cum data evaluation director in the MidAtlantic AIDS Education & Training Center (MAAETC) which provides HIV/AIDS education, consultation, technical assistance and resource materials to health care professionals throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia.
Dr. Ha possesses extensive experience in international health and public health practice, program implementation, policy advocacy and promoting international partnership. He previously worked the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam. He has been working in the area of sexual and reproductive health and HIV/STIs for the past 15 years as a researcher, program manager, and policy advocate in the U.S., India, China and Vietnam
1991-1997 | Tay Nguyen University, Vietnam | Doctor of Medicine
1999-2000 | Copenhagen University | Master of International Health
2004-2008 | The University of Texas at Houston | Doctor of Public Health
2009-2010 | Virginia Commonwealth University |Postdoc Fellow
2015-2018 | University of Connecticut | Postdoc Fellow
Instructor|IDM 2025: Critical Evaluation of Public Health Journals
Guest Lecturer|IDM 2034, Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS
Guest Lecturer|IDM 2038, Prevention and Control of Global Infectious Diseases
Previously taught:
International Health at UConn Health
Global Health Promotion and Intervention at UConn Health
Toan Ha, David Givens, Trang Nguyen, Nam Nguyen. Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward People Living with HIV among Young Women Migrant Workers in Vietnam. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022, 19 (11), 6366.
Schensul JJ, Salvi A,Ha T, Grady J, Li J, Reisine S. Evaluating Cognitive/Emotional and Behavioral Mediators of Oral Health Outcomes in Vulnerable Older Adults.J Appl Gerontol. 2022. 41(1):187-197. doi: 10.1177/0733464820974920
Toan Ha, Stephen Schensul, Jean Schensul, Nam Nguyen, Trang Nguyen. Sexual risk behaviors, HIV prevalence and access to reproductive health services among young women migrant workers in the industrial zones in Vietnam. Frontiers in Reproductive Health.2021. doi:10.3389/frph.2021.775375
Schensul, S.L.,Ha, T., Schensul, J.J. et al. Multilevel and Multifactorial Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Improve ART Adherence and Related Factors Among HIV Positive Men in Mumbai, India. AIDS Behav. 2021. 25, 290–301. doi:10.1007/s10461-021-03303-y
Gualberto Ruaño,Toan Ha*.Living with respiratory viruses: The next saga in human/viral coexistence?. Bioessays. 2021 Jan 6:e2000321. doi: 10.1002/bies.202000321. (* correspondent author)
Toan Ha, Stephen Schensul. Data on early assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral responses to COVID-19 among Connecticut residents. 2020, Data in brief, 33, 106347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.106347
Roopal J Singh, Avina Sarna, Jay Schensul, Bidhubhushan Mahapatra,Toan Ha, Steve Schensul. Stigma reduction in a cohort of HIV positive males receiving ART who consume alcohol: Findings from a Randomized Control Trial in India.AIDS. 2020. 34: 83-92. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000002604
Toan Ha, Stephen Schensul, Mitchell Irving, Marie Brault, Jean Schensul, Priti Prabhughate and Melita Vaz. Depression among alcohol consuming, HIV positive men on ART treatment in India.AIDS Behav. 2019. 23(6):1623-1633. doi: 10.1007/s10461-018-2339-3.
Jean Schensul,Toan Ha, Stephen Schensul, Avina Sarna. Identifying the intersection of alcohol, adherence and sex in HIV positive men on ART treatment in India using an Adapted Timeline Followback procedure.AIDS Behav. 2017 Nov;21(Sup 2):228-242. doi:10.1007/s10461-017-1916-1.
Stephen Schensul,Toan Ha, Jean Schensul, Melita Vaz, Rajendra Singh, Joseph Burleson, Kendall Bryant. Alcohol Use and its Impact on ART Treatment in Urban India. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2017. 78(5), 716–724
Anh D Ngo,Toan Ha, Rule J, Chinh V Dang. Peer-based Education and the Integration of HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services for Young People in Vietnam: Evidence from a Project Evaluation.Plus One. 2013. 8(11):e80951 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080951.
Toan Ha, Hongjie Liu, Jian Li, Jennifer Nield, Zhouping Lu. Psychometric assessment of scales measuring HIV public stigma, drug-use public stigma and fear of HIV infection among young adolescents and their parents. AIDS Care, 2012,1: 39-45.
Toan Ha, Hongjie Liu, Hui Liu, Yumao Cai, Tiejian Feng. Concurrent sexual partnership among men who has sex with men in Shenzhen, China.Sexually Transmitted Disease, 2010, 37:1-6.
PREPRINT.
Ha, Toan and Rodriguez, McClaren and Nguyen, Hanh and Nguyen, Trang and Nguyen, Nam and Linda, Frank. Contraception, Abortion and Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Among Young Women Migrant Workers in the Industrial Zones in Vietnam.JMHEALTH-D-21-00304. 2022. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4079494
Toan Ha, Gualberto Ruano, Judy Lewis. Comparison of epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam.Preprint: medRxiv, 2020 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.03.20121467v2.
