Structural properties of sociometric networks have been associated with behaviors related to HIV transmission. Very few studies, however, have explored the correlation between sociometric network factors and drug injection-related norms. This exploratory work: (i) describes basic structural qualities of a sociometric risk network of participants in the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) in Athens, Greece, in the context of a large HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs (PWID); (ii) measures HIV prevalence within specific structures within the sociometric risk network of PWID in TRIP; and (iii) explores the association of structural properties of the sociometric risk network in TRIP with drug injection-related norms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoor mental health among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive people who inject drugs (PWID) may contribute to stigma, and together they act as barriers to medical care. This analysis aims to examine factors associated with the mental health of PWID and their network contacts, and the association of poor mental health with the experience of HIV-related stigmatizing events, with HIV-related social support, and with perceived access to care. Data were collected during the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) conducted in Athens, Greece (2013-2015).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) was a network-based, enhanced contact tracing approach, targeting recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece (2013-2015). This analysis examines behavioral changes of participants in TRIP and their determinants between baseline and follow-up visits to the program. All participants of TRIP were tested for HIV and interviewed using a questionnaire with items on drug injection-related and sexual behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentifying and linking people to care soon after HIV infection could limit viral transmission and protect their health. This work aims at describing the continuum of care among recently HIV-infected people who inject drugs (PWID) and participated in an intervention in the context of an HIV outbreak in Athens, Greece. The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) conducted risk network-based contact tracing and screened people for recent HIV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr HIV Res
July 2019
Background: TRIP (Transmission Reduction Intervention Project) was a network-based, contact tracing approach to locate and link to care, mostly people who inject drugs (PWID) with recent HIV infection.
Objective: We investigated whether sequences from HIV-infected participants with high viral load cluster together more frequently than what is expected by chance.
Methods: Paired end reads were generated for 104 samples using Illumina MiSeq next-generation sequencing.
As part of a network study of HIV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) and their contacts, we discovered a connected subcomponent of 29 uninfected PWID. In the context of a just-declining large epidemic outbreak, this raised a question: What explains the existence of large pockets of uninfected people? Possible explanations include "firewall effects" (Friedman et al., 2000; Dombrowski et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect Dis
July 2018
Background: The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) is a network-based intervention that aims at decreasing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) spread. We herein explore associations between transmission links as estimated by phylogenetic analyses, and social network-based ties among persons who inject drugs (PWID) recruited in TRIP.
Methods: Phylogenetic trees were inferred from HIV-1 sequences of TRIP participants.
Early treatment, soon after infection, reduces HIV transmissions and benefits patients. The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) evaluated a network intervention to detect individuals recently infected (in the past 6 months). TRIP was conducted in Greece (2013-2015) and focused on drug injector networks.
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