Helping people stay on HIV medicine (SUSTAIN)
Supporting Sustained HIVTreatment Adherence after Initiation (SUSTAIN)
This project finds people who are missing HIV medicines early and gives practical supports—like outreach calls, pill tracking, peer groups, and weekly texts—to help them stay on treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston University Medical Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11124236 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, this work is happening in local clinics in Cape Town where providers will use five practical methods to spot and support people who miss antiretroviral doses. Three methods focus on finding problems early: immediate outreach after an unsuppressed viral test, pharmacy refill monitoring, and real-time electronic pill monitoring. Two methods focus on support: enhanced peer-group counseling using motivational interviewing and weekly check-in text messages. The team will try different combinations of these components to find the best mix for keeping people on treatment, using ideas from Self-Determination Theory to boost motivation and confidence.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people living with HIV who are on antiretroviral therapy but may miss doses or have recent unsuppressed viral tests at participating clinics in Cape Town, South Africa.
Not a fit: People not on ART, those already consistently virally suppressed and well retained in care, or people living outside the Cape Town clinic network are unlikely to benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help more people stay on HIV medication, lower the chance of treatment failure, and reduce onward transmission.
How similar studies have performed: Individual components like outreach, pharmacy refill monitoring, electronic adherence monitoring, peer support, and reminder texts have each shown benefits in prior studies, while combining and optimizing them together is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Boston University Medical Campus — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sabin, Lora L — Boston University Medical Campus
- Study coordinator: Sabin, Lora L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.