Dillon Trujillo, PhD, MPH

Burnout Prevention Among the Public Health & HIV Care Workforce

The HIV response is only as strong as the people delivering it.

Burnout among public health and HIV frontline workers remains critically understudied. This developing research agenda aims to use qualitative methods and intervention mapping to generate evidence on how the public health and HIV workforce experience burnout and identify worker-driven strategies that are sustainable and feasible to support the public health and HIV care delivery workforces.

Substance Use, Addiction, and Health Disparities

Substance use and addiction are driving contributors to poor health and HIV disparities.

Substance use disorders disproportionately affect communities already bearing the greatest burden of HIV and health inequities. This developing research interest aims to improve substance use disorder prevention and treatment outcomes among marginalized populations, including sexual and gender minoritized communities and those with co-occurring conditions. I am particularly interested in how health systems such as the VA can deliver evidence-based, integrated behavioral interventions that address the intersecting epidemics of HIV and substance use, and in identifying the organizational barriers that prevent these communities from accessing the care they need.

AI & Digital Health Tools

Technology should serve the communities it was built to help.

AI & Digital Health Tools exist in a continuously evolving landscape. This developing research agenda aims to evaluate AI-enabled tools, including large language models and new digital health technologies, and understand how they can be harnessed for health promotion and disease prevention. Particularly, their capacity to strengthen public health infrastructure, with a focus on equity, ethics, and underrepresented communities.