S. Raquel Ramos, PhD, MBA, MSN, FNP, FNYAM, FAHA

About

Dr. S. Raquel Ramos, PhD, MBA, MSN, FNP, FNYAM, FAHA is an Associate Professor at the Yale University School of Nursing. She is also appointed as Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Ramos has over a decade of direct patient care experience as a nurse clinician in the areas of critical care, interventional cardiology, LGBTQ+ health, long-term care, and HIV clinical trials research as a protocol nurse for The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). This was the longest running study on the life course of HIV in gay and bisexual men. It was in this role, where Dr. Ramos observed the connection between HIV and cardiovascular disease risk.

Ramos’ formal training and expertise in consumer health informatics has cultivated her research questions about how both formative and technology-driven approaches can enhance cardiovascular health equity in sexual minority men with HIV.

Dr. Ramos has received multiple federal awards and subawards. She is currently funded on a NIH/NHLBI randomized clinical trial to test the acceptability and feasibility of using a virtual environment as CVD prevention education in sexual minority men of color with HIV. She is also funded by the Yale Fund for Lesbian and Gays Studies (FLAGS) to examine the associations between discrimination and inequitable social determinants on cardiovascular disease risk in sexual and gender minoritized adults. More about this work is featured in the Ramos Lab website. Ramos has earned competitive NIH-sponsored R25 fellowships and subawards to support her research program from the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research (ABMR), Summer Institute on Randomized Behavioral Clinical Trials, the UCLA mHealth Summer Scholars Program, the PRIDE CVD Summer Institute, the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), and Research Education Institute for Diverse Scholars (REIDS) at Yale University.

Dr. Ramos is an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC) and for the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR). She serves on the Editorial Board for Annals of Behavioral Medicine. In 2016, Dr. Ramos was awarded the 40 Under 40 Leader in Health Award from The National Minority Quality Forum. Ramos was recognized by the AARP, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Campaign for Action, and American Academy of Nursing as the inaugural 2023 Equity-minded Nurse Researcher. This award is recognition of her scholarship and body of research that advances health equity. Dr. Ramos is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Ramos was a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale School of Nursing. She earned her PhD from Columbia University and her MSN, MBA, and BSN from Purdue University.

Research Interests

Dr. Ramos’ program of research examines how user-centered design and technology-driven, behavioral interventions can enhance cardiovascular health equity in sexual minority men of color with HIV and at risk of HIV-related comorbid conditions.

Selected Books/Chapters

Ramos SR, Gaffey A, Rabbani MS, Kang B, McCall T. (2023). Sleep: A Mind, Body, & HEART Experience. Healthy Living Series. Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Gaffey A, Ramos SR, Nishimuta K. Intimacy, Sexual Health, and Wellbeing in Heart Disease. Healthy Living Series. (2023). Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Uribe JS, Boyar K, Ramos SR. Bringing Research to Life for Undergraduate Nursing Students Using a Design Thinking Model. In Innovative use of concept care planning in a large class. Innovative strategies in teaching nursing: Exemplars of optimal learning outcomes 2020. Springer.

Selected Publications/Presentations

Publications

Ramos SR, Fraser M, Araya F, Kim HY, Parrilla JA, Sy KM, Nagpal RT, Camacho-Rivera M, Boutjdir M. Community-Engaged Intervention Mapping for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Black and Latinx Sexual Minority Men With HIV in New York City: Protocol for a Web-Based Mixed Methods Study. JMIR research protocols. 2022 Oct 11;11(10):e41602.

Ramos SR, Portillo CJ, Rodriguez C, Gutierrez JI. Latinx: Sí, Se Puede? A Reflection on the Terms Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Urban Health. 2022 Oct 19:1-3.

Ramos SR, Johnson C, Melkus G, Kershaw T, Gwadz M, Reynolds H, Vorderstrasse A. CVD Prevention Education using a Virtual Environment in Sexual Minority Men of Color with HIV: A Sequential Mixed Methods Wait-list Randomized Control Trial Protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Apr 12. doi: 10.2196/38348

Ramos SR, Beauchamp G, Wheeler DP, Wilton L, Whitfield DL, Boyd DT, Hightow-Weidman L, Fields SD, Nelson LE, HPTN 073 Team. Optimizing PrEP Continuance: A Secondary Analysis Examining Perceived Autonomy Support and Care Coordination Quality among Black MSM in HPTN 073. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022 Apr 8;19(8):4489.

Ramos SR, Lardier DT, Bond KT, Boyd DT, O’Hare OM, Nelson LE, et al. Participatory Design of a Web-Based HIV Oral Self-Testing Infographic Experiment (HOTIE) for Emerging Adult Sexual Minority Men of Color: A Mixed Methods Randomized Control Trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021;18(22):11881.

Ramos SR, Lardier Jr DT, Opara I, Turpin RE, Boyd DT, Gutierrez Jr JI, Williams CN, Nelson LE, Kershaw T. Intersectional effects of sexual orientation concealment, internalized homophobia, and gender expression on sexual identity and HIV risk among sexual minority men of color: A path analysis. The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. 2021 Jul;32(4):495.

Ramos SR, Nelson LE, Jones SG, Ni Z, Turpin RE, Portillo CJ. A State of the Science on HIV Prevention Over 40 Years Among Black and Hispanic/Latinx Communities. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. 2021 May 1;32(3):253-63.

Ramos SR, Lardier DT, Boyd DT, Gutierrez JI, Carasso E, Houng D, & Kershaw T. Profiles of HIV-risk, sexual power, and decision-making among sexual minority men of color who engage in transactional sex: A latent profile analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 Jan;18(9):4961.

Ramos SR, Lardier DT, Warren RC, Cherian M, Siddiqui S, & Kershaw T. Substance use, general health, and health literacy as predictors of oral health in emerging adult sexual minority men of color: A secondary data analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2021 Jan;18(4):1987.

Ramos SR, O’Hare OM, Colon AH, Jacobs SK, Campbell B, Kershaw T, Vorderstrasse A, Reynolds HR. Purely Behavioral: A Scoping Review of Nonpharmacological Behavioral and Lifestyle Interventions to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease in Persons Living With HIV. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. 2020 Sep 1;32(5):536-47.

Nelson LE, Ajiboye W, Djiadeu P, Odhiambo AJ, Pedersen C, Ramos SR, Lofters A, Mbuagbaw L, Williams G. A web-based intervention to reduce decision conflict regarding HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: protocol for a clinical trial. JMIR research protocols. 2020 Jun 15;9(6):e15080.

Ramos SR, Paintsil E, Ofori-Atta A, Kusah JT, Amissah AA, Ofori IP, Reynolds NR. Prototype development, usability, and preference of a culturally relevant pictorial aid to facilitate comprehension of Likert-type levels of agreement in caregivers of children living with HIV in Ghana. Computers, Informatics, Nursing. 2020 Jan;38(1):45

Ramos SR, Warren RC, Shedlin M, Melkus G, Kershaw T, and Vorderstrasse A. A framework for using eHealth interventions to overcome medical mistrust among sexual minority men of color living with chronic conditions. Behavioral Medicine. 2019; Apr 3;45(2):166-76.

Ramos SR. User-Centered design, experience, and usability of an electronic consent user interface to facilitate informed decision-making in an HIV clinic. Comput Inform Nurs. 2017; Nov;35(11):556-564.

Ramos SR, Gordon P, Bakken S, Schnall R. Sociotechnical analysis of health information exchange consent processes in an HIV clinic. The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. 2016; Nov - Dec;27(6):792-803. Epub 2016 Aug 16.

Presentations

Ramos, SR (2023, March). HIV and cardiovascular health equity for diverse and vulnerable populations: Lessons learned and implications for future research. Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Ramos SR. (2023, January). Formative and technology-enabled strategies to prevention of chronic conditions in sexual minority men of color: Lessons learned & opportunities for the future. University of Washington / Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research.

Ramos SR, Beauchamp G, Wheeler DP, Wilton L, Whitfield DL, Boyd DT, Hightow-Weidman L, Fields SD, and Nelson LE. (2021, May). An Examination of Perceived Autonomy Support, Care Coordination Quality, and PrEP Discontinuation among Black MSM in Three US Cities: HPTN 073. Podium presentation at the 2021 HIV Prevention Trials Network Annual Meeting.

Ramos SR, Boyd DT, Guillaume G, Camacho-Rivera M, and Fraser M. (2021, April). Formative development of a multi-level, community-engagement protocol to prevent CVD in sexual minority men of color living with HIV: The gaming protocol study. Abstract presentation at the 2021 NHLBI Program to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research Annual Meeting.

Ramos SR. (2021, March). Formative and technology-enabled approaches to inform decision making in persons living with or at Risk of HIV. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University: Qualitative Research Discussion Group.

Ramos SR. (2016, June). User-centric design of a health information exchange eConsent for Persons Living with HIV: results from a mixed methods study. Podium presentation at: AcademyHealth 2016 Annual Research Meeting. Boston, MA.