Helping people who inject drugs start and stay on HIV treatment in India
PWID Opportunities to Improve TrEat and Retain (POINTER)
The project tests same-day HIV treatment, community-based care, and one-on-one psychosocial support to help people who inject drugs in India begin and remain on HIV therapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11090456 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you inject drugs and live in parts of North or Central India, researchers will use social-network outreach to find people who may not know their HIV status or who have dropped out of care. People who test HIV-positive will be randomly assigned in a factorial trial to receive same-day ART at diagnosis or standard timing, to get care delivered in the community or at clinics, and to receive extra psychosocial support/navigation or usual services. This lets the team see which single approaches or combinations work best for helping people start treatment, achieve viral suppression, and stay in care. Outcomes like treatment start, retention, and viral suppression will be tracked over time.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people who inject drugs in the trial regions of North and Central India who are HIV-positive or at high risk and who may be out of care or unaware of their status.
Not a fit: People who do not inject drugs, those already on stable ART with good viral control, or individuals living outside the study regions are unlikely to benefit directly from this trial.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help more people who inject drugs start HIV treatment quickly and stay on it, improving health and reducing transmission.
How similar studies have performed: Previous work shows respondent-driven sampling can find out-of-care PWID and same-day ART or community-based care have helped other groups, but this exact combination in PWID in India is largely untested.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lucas, Gregory M — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Lucas, Gregory M
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.