How social connections affect mental health, substance use, and HIV care during COVID
Official title: Social connections, risk for COVID-era psychiatric and substance use disorders, and HIV control
Funded at Suny Downstate Medical Center · NIH-11230247 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how loneliness and social connections relate to mental health, substance use, and staying on HIV treatment for people living with HIV during the COVID era.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Suny Downstate Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Brooklyn, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2022 |
| Project end | October 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $650,711 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH128955-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11230247 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults living with HIV who have experienced social isolation, loneliness, or changes in social support during the COVID pandemic.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not have HIV or who are not affected by social isolation or substance use are unlikely to benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
If you live with HIV, researchers will follow people over time to see how social connection, loneliness, and pandemic-related losses affect depression, substance use, and HIV care. They will collect surveys, interviews, and medical data such as medication adherence and viral load to link social experiences with health outcomes. The team uses mixed methods and works with community partners to capture diverse experiences, with attention to groups disproportionately affected such as African American communities. Findings aim to show which social supports or interventions could help people manage HIV and mental health better.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to ways to reduce loneliness and improve mental health, substance use outcomes, and HIV treatment adherence for people living with HIV.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked loneliness to worse mental health and poorer HIV adherence, but few large national longitudinal studies combining interviews and medical data during COVID have been done.
Where this research is happening
-
Suny Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wilson, Tracey Elizabeth — Suny Downstate Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Wilson, Tracey Elizabeth
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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.