Staying Safe: Training IDUs in Strategies to Avoid HIV and HCV Infection

Funding Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Funding Period: 2008-2011
Principal Investigator: Pedro Mateu-Gelabert, Ph.D.
CDUHR Co-Investigator(s): Samuel R. Friedman, Ph.D., Marya Gwadz, Ph.D., Holly Hagan, Ph.D., Andrew Osborne, M.S.Ed.
Other Project Staff: Milagros Sandoval (Intervention Specialist)

Worldwide, injection drug users (IDUs) account for 10% of new HIV infections, while in the U.S., IDUs account for 13% of new infections annually. New approaches are needed to reduce transmission of HIV infections and hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is endemic among IDUs. The earlier Staying Safe project was developed to discover strategies, resources, practices and prevention tactics used by long-term IDUs who managed to remain uninfected with HIV and HCV. Based on findings from the earlier study, the current project will develop a Staying Safe intervention curriculum to enhance IDUs’ capabilities to prevent HIV and HCV transmission. It will help IDUs develop and implement long-term strategies to avoid contexts and circumstances associated with high-risk, as well as how to avoid risk behaviors when they are in these situations. The goals for the Staying Safe intervention are for IDUs to: a) increase information about and awareness of risk environments, circumstances and behaviors; b) teach new skills, such as planning and problem solving to reduce risk; c) attend to the role of social networks in risk reduction practices and maintenance of behavior; and d) increase motivation for implementing new long-term preventive practices and strategies. The curriculum will be pilot tested and examined for its acceptability, feasibility and safety and preliminary evidence of its efficacy. Findings will be used to develop a large-scale Staying Safe intervention study.