Projects per year
Personal profile
Research expertise
I am an epidemiologist with a focus on implementation research, including impact and process evaluations, to improve access to sexual health services. My focus in particular is on access to HIV prevention services. Until 2022, I worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where I was co-investigator of cluster-randomised trials to estimate the impact of community-based distribution of HIV self-testing kits, including a trial nested in the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in Zambia. In parallel, I was an epidemiologist on a non-randomised study to estimate the impact of DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe), a multi-component intervention to reduce HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women, on HIV incidence among young women who sell sex in Zimbabwe.
More recently, I was lead co-investigator of the Yathu Yathu cluster-randomised trial, which estimated the impact of community-based, peer-led, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services on knowledge of HIV status among adolescents and young people aged 15 to 24 in Zambia. I led a multi-disciplinary team in the conduct of the trial, co-designed the process evaluation with a team of social scientists, and was one of a team of analysts for the primary and secondary outcomes of the trial. I was PI of a study to understand barriers to HIV-related services among men in Zambia and to co-design, with men, an intervention to improve their uptake of HIV-related services. I am co-PI of a study in Senegal to co-design an intervention to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services among adolescents aged 15 to 19.
My research focusses on the design, implementation and evaluation of strategies to improve access to sexual health services. I have an interest in the social determinants of sexual health and of access to services, and in the co-development and evaluation of interventions to address these determinants. My research uses a variety of methods, including cluster-randomised trials, non-randomised evaluations, cross sectional surveys (including respondent-driven and time-location sampling surveys), systematic reviews and qualitative methods.
I teach on Masters course modules and supervise PhD students.
Education/Academic qualification
Epidemiology, PhD
2011 → 2015
Control of Infectious Diseases, MSc, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2006 → 2007
Pharmacology, BSc, King's College London
2000 → 2003
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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PrEP implementation in Belgium: Studying PrEP users’ behaviours, attitudes and care needs
Rotsaert, A., Hensen, B., Reyniers, T., Vuylsteke, B. & Schim van der Loeff, M. F.
15/11/22 → …
Project: PhD-project
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Investigating the feasibility of providing injectable PrEP for HIV Prevention in Flanders
Reyniers, T., De Baetselier, I., Nöstlinger, C., Kenyon, C., Hensen, B. & Van Aerde, K.
1/10/22 → 30/09/26
Project: Research Project
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Mixed Method Approach to study the behavioural aspects of injectable PrEP use among West-African MSM
Reyniers, T., Fiorentino, M., Hensen, B., Van Aerde, K. & Van Aerde, K.
31/01/22 → 31/12/23
Project: Research Project
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Promoten van seksuele gezondheid en preventie van hiv & soa Terreinwerking voor seksuele gezondheid bij sub-Saharaans- Afrikaanse migranten in Vlaanderen
Manirankunda, L., Ddungu, C., Nöstlinger, C., Hensen, B., Storme, A. & Storme, A.
Flemish Government - Agency for Care & Health
1/01/22 → 31/12/24
Project: Service
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PreP_OPTIMIZE: Optimise PrEP to Maximise Impact
Vuylsteke, B., Reyniers, T., Nöstlinger, C., Laga, M., Hensen, B., Loos, J., Apers, H., Rotsaert, A., Vanhamel, J., Segers, G., Smekens, T., Van Landeghem, E., Vanbaelen, T., Van Mieghem, H., Scheerder, G. & Van Aerde, K.
1/01/19 → 31/12/23
Project: Research Project
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Does distribution of menstrual products through community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health services increase use of appropriate menstrual products? Findings from the Yathu Yathu trial
Hensen, B., Gondwe, M., Phiri, M., Schaap, A., Sigande, L., Floyd, S., Simuyaba, M., Zulu-Phiri, R., Mwape, L., Fidler, S., Hayes, R., Simwinga, M. & Ayles, H., 2023, In: Reproductive Health. 20, 1, 92.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review
Open AccessFile48 Downloads (Pure) -
Facilitators and barriers to engaging with the DREAMS initiative among young women who sell sex aged 18-24 in Zimbabwe: a qualitative study
Machingura, F., Busza, J., Jamali, G. M., Makamba, M., Mushati, P., Chiyaka, T., Hargreaves, J., Hensen, B., Birdthistle, I. & Cowan, F. M., 2023, In: BMC Women's Health. 23, 1, 12 p., 257.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review
Open AccessFile10 Downloads (Pure) -
Patterns of PrEP and condom use among PrEP users in Belgium: a web-based longitudinal study
Rotsaert, A., Smekens, T., Vuylsteke, B., van der Loeff, M. S., Hensen, B., Nöstlinger, C., Wouters, E., Vanhamel, J., Scheerder, G. & Reyniers, T., 2023, In: BMC Public Health. 23, 1, 13 p., 970.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
PrEP Among Sub-Saharan African Diaspora Communities in Belgium - a Participatory Action Research Study
Van Landeghem, E., Arbier, A., Pratt, C., Senga, M., Scheerder, G., Reyniers, T., Hensen, B. & Nöstlinger, C., 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Community Health.Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Temporal trends in, and risk factors for, HIV seroconversion among female sex workers accessing Zimbabwe's national sex worker programme, 2009-19: a retrospective cohort analysis of routinely collected HIV testing data
Jones, H. S., Hensen, B., Musemburi, S., Chinyanganya, L., Takaruza, A., Chabata, S. T., Matambanadzo, P., Platt, L., Rice, B., Cowan, F. M. & Hargreaves, J. R., 2023, In: Lancet HIV. 10, 7, p. e442-e452Research output: Contribution to journal › A1: Web of Science-article › peer-review
Open AccessFile10 Downloads (Pure)