Research Scientist Index

Bio:
Leyla Ismayilova is an Associate Research Scientist at Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW). Dr. Ismayilova specializes in the development and adaptation of health promotion and family-based interventions in the international context and has been involved in international research projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and the former Soviet Union. She currently works at the Columbia University Global Health Research Center of Central Asia.

She received her PhD in Social Work (2009) from CUSSW with a concentration in advanced clinical practice. She also holds Master’s degrees in Social Work (2002) from CUSSW and in Psychology (1999) from Baku State University (Baku, Azerbaijan). During her post-doctoral fellowship at CUSSW she worked on family-based economic empowerment and health promotion interventions for orphaned and vulnerable children in Uganda and Nigeria. Her work experience also includes clinical practice at substance abuse and child and family mental health clinics.

Dr. Ismayilova is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at CUSSW and teaches courses in advanced applied research and international social development practice.

• Prevention and intervention behavioral research
• Child and adolescent mental health
• International social work and global health
• Care and support services for orphaned and vulnerable children
• Domestic violence and women’s health
• Risk behaviors among youth
• Use of multimedia tools in interventions and data collection
• Contextual risk factors and structural interventions

Current Projects:

• Gender-based violence in Azerbaijan: qualitative study of community services
• Couple-based approach in HIV prevention among drug users in Kazakhstan
• Epidemiological health study among migrant workers in Kazakhstan
• HIV prevention, treatment and care programs in the Central Asian countries

Selected Publications:

Journal Articles
Ismayilova L., Ssewamala F., Karimli L. (in press). Family support as a mediator of sexual risk taking among orphaned children in rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Alkhasawneh I., Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N, Olimat H. (in press). Status of social and behavioral HIV/AIDS research in Jordan: A systematic review. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal.

Ismayilova L., Olimat H., Alkhasawneh I., El-Bassel N., Shaw S. (under review). Depressive symptoms among Jordanian youth: results of a national survey. Journal of Adolescence.

Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N. (under review). Intimate partner physical and sexual violence and pregnancy outcomes in the three former Soviet Union countries: Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine. Violence Against Women.

Ismayilova L., Ssewamala F., Mooers E., Nabunya P., Sheshadri S. (in revisions). Imagining the future: community perception of the family empowerment intervention for orphaned adolescents in rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Research.

Alkhasawneh I., Ismayilova L., El-Bassel N, Olimat H. (under review). Gender differences and factors associated with HIV knowledge among youth in Jordan. International Journal of Public Health.

Ssewamala FM, Neilands TB, Waldfogl J., Ismayilova L. (in press). The impact of a microfinance-based intervention on mental health functioning of AIDS-orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Ssewamala F., Chung Keun H., Neilands T.B., Ismayilova L., and Sperber E. (2010). The Effect of Economic Assets on Sexual Risk Taking among Orphaned Adolescents in Uganda. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3): 483-488.

Guterman, N.B., Haj-Yahia, M.M., Vorhies, V., Ismayilova, L., &  Leshem, B. (2010). Help-seeking and internal obstacles to receiving support in the wake of community violence exposure: The case of Arab and Jewish adolescents in Israel. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(6), 687-696.

Ssewamala FM, Karimli L, Chung Keun H, Ismayilova L. (2010). Social Support, Savings, and Educational Outcomes of Orphaned Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for Family-level Economic Strengthening Programs. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(12), 1704-1710.

Ssewamala F., Ismayilova L., McKay M., Sperber E., Bannon W., Alicea S., (2009). Gender and the Effects of an Economic Empowerment Program on Sexual Risk-Taking among Adolescent Youth in Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(4):372-378.

Ssewamala F. and Ismayilova L. (2009). Integrating Children Savings Accounts in the Care and Support of Orphaned Adolescents in Rural Uganda. Social Service Review, 83 (3):453-472.

Ssewamala F., Bannon W., Alicea S., Ismayilova L. (2008). A Novel Economic Intervention to Reduce HIV Risks among School-going AIDS Orphans in Rural Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(1), 102-104. http://aspe.hhs.gov/fbci/comp08/

Book Chapters
Ismayilova L. (2010). Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy in Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine. Demographic and Health Survey Working Papers No. 79, Calverton, Maryland, USA: ICF Macro.

Ssewamala, F. M. and Ismayilova, L. (2008). Faith-based Institutions as Project Implementers: An Innovative Economic Empowerment Intervention for Care and Support of AIDS-Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Rural Uganda. In Pamela Joshi, Stephanie Hawkins and Jeffrey Novey (Eds.) edited volume, Innovations in Effective Compassion: Compendium of Research Papers for the White House FBO Conference (pp.213-235). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.