Preferential Initiation of Long-Acting Injectable Versus Oral HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Women Who Inject Drugs.

Fifty-five of 62 women who inject drugs (WWID) selected long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA) over oral PrEP, and 51/55 received a first injection. More recent injection drug use and number of sexual partners were associated with selecting CAB-LA (P < .05).

Exploration of weekly variation in naloxone possession and carriage among people who use opioids in New York City before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Naloxone is critical for reversing opioid-related overdoses. However, there is a dearth of research examining how naloxone possession and carriage are impacted by time-varying individual and social determinants, and if this differed during the height of the COVID-related mitigation measures (e.g.

Long-Acting Injectable Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Preferred Over Other Modalities Among People Who Inject Drugs: Findings from a Qualitative Study in California.

People who inject drugs (PWID) have extraordinarily low uptake of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) despite high levels of need. Long-acting PrEP modalities hold promise for HIV prevention among PWID, but product preferences remain poorly understood. From September to November 2021, we conducted qualitative interviews with 28 HIV-negative, adult (≥18 years) PWID in San Diego County, CA, to explore their perspectives on daily oral PrEP pills and long-acting PrEP modalities (i.

Impact of reduced restrictions on buprenorphine prescribing during COVID-19 among patients in a community-based treatment program.

Background: Medications such as buprenorphine are considered the gold standard for the treatment of opioid use disorders. This study aimed to determine whether less restrictive buprenorphine prescribing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted retention in and adherence to buprenorphine among patients accessing treatment from 2018-2020 at a community-based syringe services program.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we compared retention in treatment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who Can I Ask? Who Would I Tell? An Egocentric Network Analysis Among a Sample of Women At-Risk to Explore Anticipated Advice Seeking and Disclosure Around Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) health campaigns invite women to talk with their provider, partner, and peers about PrEP, though they do not offer specific guidance about who and how to engage. This study uses egocentric network methods in a sample of women at risk for HIV to understand what characteristics of women (egos), their networks, and network members (alters) were associated with anticipated PrEP advice-seeking and anticipated PrEP disclosure. Multivariable generalized linear mixed models revealed that women often consider close, supportive, and trusted network members as PrEP discussants while ego-level, network-level, and cross-level interactions depict the complexity of anticipated network activation.

Tina's ParTy line: Polysubstance use patterns in sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine.

Introduction: This cross-sectional study examined the associations of demographic, structural and psychological factors with distinct typologies of polysubstance use in sexual minority men (SMM) living with HIV who use methamphetamine.

Methods: In total, 161 SMM living with HIV who reported methamphetamine use in the past 3 months were recruited in San Francisco from 2013 to 2017 for a randomised controlled trial. A latent class analysis was conducted by leveraging baseline measures of self-reported use of 15 substances in the past 3 months as well as validated screening measures of hazardous alcohol and cannabis use.

Wearable biosensors have the potential to monitor physiological changes associated with opioid overdose among people who use drugs: A proof-of-concept study in a real-world setting.

Introduction: Wearable biosensors have the potential to monitor physiological change associated with opioid overdose among people who use drugs.

Methods: We enrolled 16 individuals who reported ≥ 4 daily opioid use events within the previous 30 day. Each was assigned a wearable biosensor that measured respiratory rate (RR) and actigraphy every 15 s for 5 days and also completed a daily interview assessing drug use.

Limited Risk Compensation Among Women Who Inject Drugs: Results From the Project Sexual Health Equity Preexposure Prophylaxis Demonstration Study in Philadelphia.

The impact of preexposure prophylaxis uptake on sexual and injection-related behaviors among women who inject drugs is poorly understood. Over 24 weeks, preexposure prophylaxis uptake among women who inject drugs was associated with increased sharing of injection equipment but not syringes and no changes in condomless sex, providing limited evidence of risk compensation in this vulnerable population.

Overdose response among trained and untrained women with a history of illicit drug use: a mixed-methods examination.

Little is known about differences in bystander behavior among people who use drugs, trained and untrained in opioid overdose prevention. We examined three types of recommended overdose response - a 911 call, rescue breathing/CPR, and naloxone administration-among Philadelphia-based, predominantly street-involved women with a history of illicit drug use. The study utilized a convergent mixed methods approach integrating data from 186 quantitative survey responses and 38 semi-structured qualitative interviews.

The Influence of PrEP-Related Stigma and Social Support on PrEP-Use Disclosure among Women Who Inject Drugs and Social Network Members.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising but underutilized HIV prevention strategy for Women who Inject Drugs (WWID). Stigma and disclosure concerns have been key barriers to PrEP use among women in PrEP efficacy trials. Social support has been found to buffer against some PrEP stigma, though these factors have been largely unexplored among WWID.

Applying the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Initiation Among Women Who Inject Drugs.

This study used Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations (BMVP) to identify factors associated with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation among women who inject drugs (WWID) when PrEP was offered at a syringe services program (SSP). Participants ( = 89) were WWID, $ge18 years, and eligible for PrEP. Most (69) initiated PrEP.

"PrEP just isn't my priority": Adherence challenges among women who inject drugs participating in a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) demonstration project in Philadelphia, PA USA.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has the ability to curb HIV transmission among women if they are highly adherent (e.g. 6/7 weekly doses).

Prevalence and Correlates of Syringe Disposal Box Use in a Philadelphia Neighborhood with High Levels of Public Drug Injection.

Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA) is facing an unprecedented public health crisis due to fentanyl use. To combat drug-related litter, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health installed 7 public syringe disposal boxes (SDB) in Kensington, the neighborhood most impacted by the opioid crisis and home to a syringe exchange. We used street- and business-intercepts to recruit residents (N=358) and business owners/staff (N=78) who completed a brief survey with two binary items measuring observing and using SDB.

"I probably got a minute": Perceptions of fentanyl test strip use among people who use stimulants.

Background: Fentanyl dominates the heroin supply in many regions of the United States. One harm reduction response has been the distribution of fentanyl test strips to people who use heroin to test for the presence of fentanyl. Reports increasingly indicate that fentanyl contamination is occurring in the illicit stimulant market, but whether people who use stimulants would use fentanyl test strips is unknown.

Intention to initiate and uptake of PrEP among women who injects drugs in a demonstration project: an application of the theory of planned behavior.

Some women who inject drugs (WWID) would benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), yet there are few studies of issues related to uptake in real-world settings. In this study, participants ( = 95) were offered PrEP and responded to items measuring PrEP-related attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. We tested associations with intention to initiate PrEP and uptake.

Predictors of Willingness to Diffuse PrEP Information within Ego-Centric Networks of Women Who Inject Drugs.

Little is known about how social networks among women who inject drugs (WWID) can be leveraged to increase awareness about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We tested the hypothesis that interpersonal characteristics influence willingness of WWID to communicate PrEP information with peers. Forty WWID ≥ 18 years completed social network surveys.

Role of Social Networks and Social Norms in Future PrEP Use in a Racially Diverse Sample of At-Risk Women and Members of Their Social Networks.

Objective: Despite the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing the risk of HIV infection, uptake remains low among many who are most vulnerable to HIV, such as Black and Latinx women. Interventions that target social networks to encourage at-risk women to initiate PrEP are underused.

Design: This study used an egocentric network design and sampled Black/African American and Latinx women at risk of HIV as well as people from their social networks (N = 211) in a small, western city.

Integrating HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis With Community-Based Syringe Services for Women Who Inject Drugs: Results From the Project SHE Demonstration Study.

Introduction: To guide future preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation for women who inject drugs (WWID), a population increasingly represented in new HIV cases in the United States, we present results from a demonstration project integrated within a syringe services program (SSP) in Philadelphia, PA.

Methods: WWID ≥18 years were educated about and offered 24 weeks of daily PrEP. Participants completed surveys and clinical assessments at baseline and at weeks 1, 3, 12, and 24.

Motivations for PrEP-Related Interpersonal Communication Among Women Who Inject Drugs: A Qualitative Egocentric Network Study.

A qualitative egocentric social network approach was taken to explore motivations for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)-related communication between women who inject drugs and network members. Eligible participants were HIV-negative, 18 years or older, and participating in a PrEP demonstration project in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The study employed content analysis of in-depth interviews to identify themes related to contextual and relational factors impacting PrEP communication within networks.

The Role of Life Events/Contextual Factors and Cannabis Use in Patterns of Other Drug Use Among Young Adult Cannabis Users in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Inquiry.

This analysis examined the role of impactful life events/stressful contextual factors and cannabis use in the patterns of illicit drug use. It utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 young adult medical cannabis patients and 22 non-patient users collected in Los Angeles during 2014-2015. Three patterns of illicit drug use emerged based on participants' narratives: regular/problematic, recreational/occasional, and never users.

Acceptability of smartphone applications for facilitating layperson naloxone administration during opioid overdoses.

Objective: We investigated user requirements for a smartphone application to coordinate layperson administration of naloxone during an opioid overdose.

Materials And Methods: We conducted interviews and focus groups with 19 nonmedical opioid users and other community members in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which has one of the highest overdose rates in the country. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Multiple Victimizations and Overdose Among Women With a History of Illicit Drug Use.

The experiences of violence and overdose are highly prevalent among women who use illicit drugs. This study sought to ascertain whether multiple victimizations during adulthood increase the frequency of women's overdose. The sample comprised 218 women recruited at Philadelphia harm reduction sites during 2016-2017.

Developmental trajectories of illicit drug use, prescription drug misuse and cannabis practices among young adult cannabis users in Los Angeles.

Introduction And Aims: Young adults have the highest rates of drug use and contribute significantly to the growing population of medical cannabis patients (MCP). This study examined relationships between longitudinal patterns of illicit/prescription drug use/misuse and cannabis practices among young adult cannabis users.

Design And Methods: In 2014-2015, 210 young adult MCP and 156 nonpatient users were recruited in Los Angeles and surveyed annually over four waves.