Department of Biostatistics Seminar/Workshop Series

Causal mediation analyses when studying HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities

Chanelle J. Howe, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health

Reducing HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities in the United States is a high priority. Reductions in HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities can potentially be achieved by intervening on important intermediates. Causal mediation analysis techniques can be used to identify important intermediates of HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities as well as estimate the impact of intervening on such intermediates when certain conditions are met. Using racial disparities in HIV virologic suppression as an example, this talk will: (1) describe a conceptual framework for studying HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities; (2) review causal mediation analysis techniques that can be used for the aforementioned identification and estimation; (3) discuss why studies of HIV racial/ethnic and other health disparities can be particularly vulnerable to selection bias and detail potential approaches that can be used to minimize such selection bias; and (4) emphasize the importance of “good data” when performing causal mediation analyses in this setting.