Oscar Grusky

Oscar Grusky

Professor Emeritus

Email: grusky@ucla.edu

Personal Website

Curriculum Vitae


View All

Biography

HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic unparalleled in human history.

My teaching and research focus on this epidemic. I teach numerous courses on HIV/AIDS and direct an NIMH/NIH-suported research training program on AIDS (see my website ). I also serve as Co-Director of the Administrative Core and Senior Scientist at the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS). Voluntary HIV antibody counseling and testing are fundamental components of HIV/AIDS prevention worldwide and that is among the main topics that I study. Persons unaware of their HIV positive serostatus may be at least 3.5 times more likely to transmit the virus to their partners than those who are aware of their HIV positive serostatus (Marks, Crepaz, and Janssen, 2006). What are the main barriers to HIV testing? Why do physicians and other front-line service providers decide to order/not order an HIV antibody test? Why do some key hospital units, such as emergency departments, have policies not to order HIV tests? How do medical and non-medical providers handle HIV test results? These are the kinds of questions asked as part of my NIMH-supported study of “Organizational factors in the early detection of HIV (R01-MH62709).” The study data were gathered using face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews from a stratified random sample of LA County HIV testing organizations (for-profit, nonprofit, and county government),and their staff.
Is voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) of drug users in China feasible? Do drug users in China who frequently receive detoxification treatment change their risky drug use practices and sexual behavior? These kinds of questions help guide studies supported by the UCLA AIDS Institute (#A128697) conducted with Professor Hongjie Liu and others of Chinese drug users in two detoxification centers.
As an organizational sociologist, my starting point for understanding these and other questions is the organization and the situation of the individual within the organization since a basic insight of sociology is that organizational and cultural factors can help explain much human variability. Although individuals rather than organizations make decisions they often do so as participants in organizations and those organizations help shape their behaviors and perspectives. The results vary a great deal since organizations may help induce otherwise quite ordinary people to greatness, or, in the cases of Abu Ghraib prison and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp (and others), to make unethical decisions (Milgram, Obedience and Authority, 1974).

Degrees

Ph. D., University of Michigan

Publications

2011. Garrow, Eve & Grusky, Oscar “Institutional Logic and Street-level Discretion: The Case of HIV Test Counseling
(In submission)
2010. Rice,Eric & Grusky,Oscar, “Evaluation of the Mentor-Mentee Relationship: A Case Study,” in Sana Loue (Editor), Mentoring Health Science Professionals (New York: Springer Publishing).

2009. Grusky, Oscar, Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, Swanson, Aimee-Noelle, Rhoades, Harmony, and Lam, Marcus.”Strategies for improving HIV detection: Mobile HIV rapid testing in Los Angeles County.” Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 35:101-111.

2009. Liu, H,Feng T,Liu H, Feng H, Cai Y, Rhodes AG, and Grusky O. “Egocentric Networks of Men Who Have Sex With Men: Network Components, Condom Use Norms,and Safer Sex. AIDS Patient Care & STDs Vol.23:885-893.

2009. Swendeman, Dallas, Grusky, Oscar, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Partner notification among HIV-positive individuals: Multi-level predictors of discussion and agreements in provider’s reports.” AIDS and Behavior, Vol.13:573-581.

2009. Erausquin, Jennifer Toller, Duan, Naihua, Grusky, Oscar, Swanson, Aimee-Noelle, Kerrone, Dustin,and Rudy, Ellen, “Increasing the reach of HIV testing to young Latino MSM: Results of a pilot study integrating outreach and services,” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved,Vol.20: 756-765.

2008. Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, Grusky, Oscar, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Encounters in alternate HIV testing sites: HIV test counselors’ perceptions and experiences.” Behavioral Medicine, 34(1):11-18.

2007. Grusky, Oscar. “Ethical Issues in Training the Next Generation of Researchers.” Pages 310-319 in Sana Loue and Earl C. Pike (Editors), Case Studies in Ethics and HIV Research, New York: Springer.

2007. Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, Grusky, Oscar, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Outcomes of Blood and Oral Fluid Rapid HIV Testing: A Literature Review, 2000-2006”. AIDS Patient Care and STDs,21 (9):621-637.

2006. Grusky, Oscar, Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Failure to Return for HIV Test Results: A Pilot Study of Three Community Testing Sites”. J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care, 5(1):1-9.

2006. Grusky, Oscar, Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Communicating indeterminate HIV Western blot test results to clients: An observational study of three community testing sites.” AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 20(9): 20-27.

2006. Liu, Hongjie, Grusky, Oscar, Zhu, Yibin, and Li, Xiaojing. “Do drug users in China who frequently receive detoxification treatment change their risky drug use practices and sexual behavior?” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 84:114-121.

2006. Taylor, Stephanie L., Leibowitz, Arleen, Simon, Paul A., Grusky, Oscar. “ZIP code correlates of HIV-testing: A multi-level analysis. AIDS and Behavior, 10(5):579-586.

2006. Grusky, Oscar, Liu, Hongjie, Li, Xiaojing, Swanson, Aimee-Noelle, Duan, Naihua, Zhu, Yibin, Ma, Erjian, and Lu, Yao. “Is voluntary counseling and testing of drug users in China feasible?” International Journal of STD & AIDS, 17(5), 354-355.

2006. Liu, Hongjie, Grusky Oscar, Li, Xiaojing, and Ma, Erjian. “Drug users: a potentially important bridge population in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS in China.” Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 33(2): 111-117.

2006. Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, Grusky, Oscar, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “Giving positive HIV test results to clients: A comparative analysis of six sites.” Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 5(1): 39-56.

2005. Murphy, Keith, Grusky, Oscar, Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, and Swanson, Aimee-Noelle. “HIV testing in an urgent care clinic.” Sexual Health, 2: 245-250.

2005. Grusky, Oscar, Roberts, Kathleen Johnston, Swanson, Aimee-Noelle, Joniak, Elizabeth, Leich, Jennifer, McEvoy, Gwen, Murphy, Keith, Schilt, Kristen, and Wilson, Valerie. “Anonymous versus confidential HIV testing: Client and provider decision making under uncertainty.” AIDS Patient Care & STDs. 19(3): 1-10.