Dr. Nicole Poovan

Nicole Poovan is a researcher in HIV prevention and implementation science, affiliated with the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her work centers on improving pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in high HIV-burden settings, with a focus on scalable, context-responsive interventions.

Her publications highlight adaptive and differentiated service delivery models, including mobile health strategies, peer support platforms, drug-level feedback, and remote PrEP visits incorporating self-testing and telephonic counselling. Through randomized and qualitative studies, she has contributed to understanding the real-world feasibility, acceptability, and limitations of layered adherence support, informing policy discussions on youth-friendly HIV prevention services.

Additional work explores structural determinants of HIV care, such as the impact of extreme weather events on treatment adherence and healthcare access, reflecting an interest in health system resilience. As the current analysis is based on a limited set of available publications, her scholarship nonetheless demonstrates strengths in clinical trial design, behavioral research, and implementation strategies tailored to resource-constrained environments.