Reducing Drug Use and HIV Risk in Drug-dependent Adults Arrested for Prostitution

Johns Hopkins University

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 1

Conditions: Substance-related Disorders; HIV Risk Behavior

Treatments: Drug: Methadone; Drug: Buprenorphine; Behavioral: Therapeutic Workplace

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01560221

R34DA033141

Details and patient eligibility

About

The combination of using injection drugs, smoking crack cocaine, having multiple sex partners, and inconsistent condom use results in substantial risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV, and many drug dependent adults who have been arrested on charges of prostitution fit this profile. Existing interventions for reducing HIV risk have had limited efficacy in drug-dependent sex workers, and criminal justice approaches have been ineffective despite their high cost. A potentially ideal alternative is to divert drug-dependent arrestees from prosecution to a treatment that reduces drug use and HIV sex risk behaviors, while providing job skills training and promoting community employment to alleviate the financial need to continue sex work. In order to provide an effective therapeutic alternative to criminal prosecution, the investigators propose to develop a multifaceted intervention that includes opiate agonist treatment (i.e., methadone OR buprenorphine) and the Therapeutic Workplace. The Therapeutic Workplace is a supported environment in which participants are required to provide drug-free urine samples to access paid job skills training or employment and to maintain the maximum rate of pay. The overall intervention is designed to reduce drug use and HIV risk behaviors, and simultaneously promote employment. The proposed project is a 2-year Stage I behavior therapy development effort that will include the development, manualization and pilot testing of a Therapeutic Workplace intervention tailored to drug-dependent adults arrested for prostitution. In the pilot study, the investigators will recruit opiate- and cocaine-dependent adults arrested for prostitution from the Eastside District Court in Baltimore. Eligible individuals will be offered methadone treatment in lieu of prosecution and will be required to remain in methadone treatment for 90 days to have the charges against them dropped. After enrolling in opiate agonist treatment, the diverted individuals will be invited to participate in the pilot study. Interested individuals will be randomly assigned to receive the standard opiate agonist treatment services or these services plus the Therapeutic Workplace. The Therapeutic Workplace has two phases. In Phase 1, participants will be offered four months of stipend-supported job training in the Therapeutic Workplace. In Phase 2, participants will be encouraged to seek employment in a community job and will receive wage subsidies for four months for maintaining community employment or engaging in supervised job seeking. Throughout both phases, participants will be required to provide drug-free urine samples to receive Therapeutic Workplace wages (training stipends in Phase 1 and wage subsidies in Phase 2). The wage subsidy program will include drug testing managed by a national supplier of drug-free workplace services. Overall, this treatment could serve as a novel and ideal intervention for drug-dependent adults arrested for prostitution while reducing criminal justice costs.

Enrollment: 38 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria:

• Opioid dependent
• Adults
• Recently arrested
• Have a pending charge of prostitution or perverted practice

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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38 participants in 2 patient groups

Therapeutic Workplace

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive all standard services plus the Therapeutic Workplace intervention, in which access to stipend supported training and/or wage subsidies for community employment is contingent upon drug abstinence as verified by urinalysis.

Treatment:

Drug: Methadone

Behavioral: Therapeutic Workplace

Drug: Buprenorphine

Standard Services

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants will receive methadone treatment or buprenorphine treatment, depending upon medical recommendations of their physicians, slot availability, and their own preferences. Participants who remain in treatment for at least 90 days will have the charge of prostitution that is pending against them dropped.

Treatment:

Drug: Methadone

Drug: Buprenorphine