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Principal Investigator: Angela Robertson Bazzi
Organization: BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
Fiscal Year: 2020
Award: $107,979
Funding agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This application is being submitted in response to NOT-DA-20-047. Injection drug use has contributed to new
HIV outbreaks in many regions of the United States. The parent K01 award seeks to improve the delivery of
antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to people who inject drugs (PWID) through syringe service
programs (SSPs), which provide essential HIV prevention services to this population. Large-scale public health
emergencies, as well as the measures undertaken to mitigate them, can increase HIV risk among PWID (e.g.,
by impacting drug market characteristics and drug-related and sexual risk behaviors) while also impacting the
delivery of essential prevention services. This administrative supplement proposes longitudinal, mixed methods
data collection to understand the impacts of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV or COVID-19) on HIV-
related risk among PWID and SSPs’ capabilities to provide PrEP and other HIV prevention services over the
course of the pandemic. Due to restrictions on in-person research encounters in the context of infectious
disease transmission, over the course of six months, we propose virtual (video-conference) qualitative
interviews with 40 PWID and 20 SSP staff as well as modified, weekly quantitative ecological momentary
assessment (EMA) with participating SSPs to understand evolutions in PWID risk behaviors (Aim 1), SSP
organizational functioning and staff wellbeing (Aim 2), and EMA feasibility and SSP service provision in the
context of a large-scale emergency (Aim 3). Guided by the socio-ecological model, our mixed methods
analyses will provide critical evidence on how to sustain the delivery of PrEP and other essential HIV
prevention services to at-risk PWID during large-scale public health emergencies. Our primary innovations are
the longitudinal examination of individual and organizational responses to the COVID-19 pandemic over time,
the use of virtual data collection methods (including EMA with SSPs) that leverage the parent K01 award’s
network of community research collaborations, and the mixed methods approach to eliciting multiple
stakeholder perspectives on the impacts of this unprecedented pandemic on HIV prevention with a vulnerable
substance-using population. Findings from this supplement will inform efforts to promote sustained HIV
prevention service delivery during future public health emergencies while also enhancing the success of the
parent K01 award focused on SSP-based implementation of PrEP for HIV prevention in a highly socially
marginalized population.
Terms: <2019 novel coronavirus><2019-nCoV><AIDS Virus><AIDS prevention><AOD use><Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Virus><Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus><Actiq><Active Follow-up><Administrative Supplement><Affect><Alcohol or Other Drugs use><Anti-Retroviral Agents><Antiretroviral Agents><COVID-19><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID19><COVID19 epidemic><COVID19 pandemic><Characteristics><Cities><Collaborations><Communities><Community Networks><Crystal Meth><Data><Data Collection><Deoxyephedrine><Desoxyephedrine><Disease Outbreaks><Drugs><Duragesic><E-Mail><Ecological momentary assessment><Electronic Mail><Email><Emergencies><Emergency Situation><Evolution><Fentanest><Fentanyl><Fentyl><Future><Goals><Group Interviews><HIV><HIV Infections><HIV Prevention><HIV risk><HIV/AIDS prevention><HTLV-III Infections><HTLV-III-LAV Infections><Human Immunodeficiency Viruses><Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III Infections><Individual><Infrastructure><Injecting drug user><Injection Drug User><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Interview><Investigators><K01 Award><K01 Mechanism><K01 Program><LAV-HTLV-III><Link><Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus><Massachusetts><Measures><Medication><Mentored Research Scientist Development Award><Mentored Training Award><Methamphetamine><Methods><Methylamphetamine><Modeling><N-Methylamphetamine><NIDA><National Institute of Drug Abuse><National Institute on Drug Abuse><Needle-Exchange Programs><On-Line Systems><Online Systems><Outbreaks><PWID><Parents><Personal Satisfaction><Persons><Pharmaceutic Preparations><Pharmaceutical Preparations><Phentanyl><Population><Position><Positioning Attribute><PrEP><Preparedness><Public Health><Qualitative Research><Readiness><Research><Research Personnel><Research Scientist Development Award><Researchers><Risk><Risk Behaviors><Risky Behavior><SARS-CoV-2><SARS-CoV2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><Service provision><Service setting><Services><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Syringe-Exchange Programs><Testing><Time><Transmission><United States><Videoconferencing><Virus-HIV><Vulnerable Populations><Wuhan coronavirus><active followup><anti-retroviral><antiretroviral><at risk behavior><base><career><communicable disease transmission><conference><convention><corona virus disease 2019><corona virus disease 2019 epidemic><corona virus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><disease transmission><drug market><drug/agent><electronic communication><follow up><follow-up><followed up><followup><implementation strategy><improved><infectious disease transmission><injection drug use><innovate><innovation><innovative><interventional strategy><intravenous opiate><intravenous opioid><member><needle exchange><online computer><operation><opiate injection><opioid injection><opioid injector><outreach><pandemic><pandemic disease><people who inject drugs><people who inject illicit drugs><persons who inject drugs><pre-exposure prophylaxis><prevent><preventing><prevention service><programs><psychostimulant><public health emergency><response><service delivery><sex risk behavior><sexual risk behavior><social><substance use><substance using><success><summit><symposia><symposium><syringe exchange><syringe exchange services><syringe service programs><time use><transmission process><using substances><virtual><vulnerable group><web based><well-being><wellbeing>