HIV, Equity, and Addiction Training (HEAT) Program

The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Status: Begins enrollment in 9 months

Conditions: Opioid Use Disorder; Stimulant Use (Diagnosis); Substance Use Disorders; Hiv

Treatments: Other: Telemedicine; Other: Standard of care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06370481

K24DA060786 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

IRB-300012349

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project is a pilot study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a telemedicine intervention for substance use disorder service delivery in diverse people living with HIV in Alabama.

Full description

The contemporary drug crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the complex syndemics of addiction and infectious diseases: rising rates of substance use disorder (SUD) have outpaced our ability to respond with a limited healthcare workforce and public health capacity. SUD is increasing in those living with and at risk for HIV, and infectious consequences of SUD, like hepatitis C, have continued, unmitigated, in rural parts of the U.S. where many states lack Medicaid expansion, syringe service programs, and public health infrastructure to respond to the drug crisis and comorbid infections. Systemic racism and regressive policies in the Deep South criminalize people who use drugs, creating additional barriers to care, HIV prevention, and addiction treatment. As a result, people who use drugs rarely receive comprehensive addiction and HIV treatment. Yet telemedicine has the potential to overcome these barriers and bypass the constraints of a brick-and-mortar clinic to link vulnerable people, including those with HIV, to care. Although telemedicine has become mainstream in recent years, few studies have evaluated telemedicine for SUD in the Deep South from the perspective of patients and providers.

Enrollment: 30 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Receiving services at HIV clinics in Alabama
• Reported opioid and/or stimulant misuse
• 18 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

• Receipt of SUD clinical care other than through HIV provider/clinic in the last 3 months
• Inability to engage in interviews independently without support (e.g., cognitive impairment)
• Currently psychotic
• Actively suicidal: presents with a suicide attempt or suicidal ideation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 1 patient group

Patients living with HIV and substance use

Experimental group

Description:

Patients living with HIV and substance use, aged 18 and over. These participants are receiving services at HIV clinics in Alabama and must have reported opioid and/or stimulant misuse.

Treatment:

Other: Standard of care

Other: Telemedicine