Project dates: January 2024 - March 2025
This pilot project aimed to address the increasing rates of HIV, overdose and other sequlea among Spanish speaking people who inject drugs (PWID) in New York City. The study explored barriers and facilitators to PrEP, harm reduction and use of Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs). Using PhotoVoice, a community-based participatory research method, to capture the experiences, perspectives, and ideas of Spanish speaking PWID. PhotoVoice data were triangulated with ethnography and a social network inventory.
This project explored if, how, and why OPCs are social infrastructures that foster social networks. The research was guided by an intersectional risk environment framework, acknowledging the influence of physical, social, economic, and policy domains and intersectional stigmas on the experiences of PWID. It also explored means of resilience.
The findings will inform the development and implementation of strengths base interventions, such as PhotoVoice and/or social network/peer change agent interventions, to reduce intersectional stigma and discrimination and increase resilience. Photos will also be used to raise awareness and advocate for policy changes that promote access to prevention and treatment services.