Iwelunmor, Nabunya, and Nartey, awarded WashU’s OVCR Seed Grant for Interdisciplinary Research

OCTOBER 8, 2025

Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, co-director of the Midwest D-CFAR, Proscovia Nabunya, PhD, director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) at the WashU Brown School, and Portia Nartey, WashU doctoral student, were awarded a 2025 seed grant from the WashU Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research (OVCR). Funding will be used for a study to explore the prevalence and predictors of sexual risk behaviors in Ghanaian adolescent girls by examining insights from both mothers and daughters.

Approximately one in ten Ghanaian adolescent girls initiate sexual activity before the age of fifteen. Early sexual debut increases the likelihood of engagement in risky sexual behaviors, which exposes them to HIV/STIs risks and teenage pregnancies. The study will be conducted in the Eastern Region of Ghana, which has a high rate of poverty and sexual risk-taking behaviors among young people.

Specifically, the study will: 1) determine the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors among adolescent girls; and 2) explore the barriers and facilitators influencing sexual and reproductive health education and communication between mothers and their daughters. By focusing on mother-daughter dynamics, the study offers a novel, culturally-responsive approach to understanding how family interactions shape adolescent behaviors.

The study will be conducted in collaboration with scholars from the University of Ghana.

Written by the ICHAD team. Edited by April Houston.