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Karina Berg, M.D., M.S.
Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
karina.m.berg@gmail.com
2006-2009 Cohort
Project Title: "Improving Measurement of Antiretroviral Adherence in Current and Former Drug Users"

About the Project:

The goal of this project was to study the reporting of medication taking behaviors and compare these self-reports with objective measures including pill counts, electronic pill bottle monitors, and pharmacy refill records. Accurate measurement methods are necessary for both clinicians and researchers working to improve outcomes for HIV-infected drug users. Dr. Berg's work has informed the development and evaluation of adherence improving interventions for drug users with HIV.

Biosketch:

Karina M. Berg, M.D., M.S. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine & Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM). Dr. Berg received her B.S. in History of Science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and her M.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After completing her residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine and Chief Residency at Montefiore Medical Center, she began a two-year NIH-funded fellowship in substance abuse research, based in the AECOM Division of Substance Abuse.

Dr. Berg’s interest in the provision of high quality medical care for drug users started in residency and continued during fellowship when she provided comprehensive medical and HIV care for methadone maintained current and former drug users. After her fellowship, Dr. Berg joined the Division of General Internal Medicine at AECOM.

Dr. Berg’s current research interests include optimizing care for HIV-infected drug users and improving the management of drug users with chronic pain. Specifically, Dr. Berg has focused on assessing and improving antiretroviral adherence. In 2005, she was awarded the Montefiore Medical Center Health Services Research Faculty Scholar Award.

Her Physician Faculty Scholars Program project was titled "Improving Measurement of Antiretroviral Adherence in Current and Former Drug Users" and involved combining information from multiple adherence measures using structural equation modeling, examining the agreement and validity of different specific self-report measures of adherence, and exploring the underlying cognitive tasks involved in answering specific adherence questions using qualitative research methods including cognitive interviewing.

Dr. Berg is a native New Yorker and lives in the house where she grew up with her husband and two young children.


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