Kentucky outreach kiosks to prevent overdoses, hepatitis C, and HIV in rural Appalachia
Official title: Kentucky Outreach Service Kiosk (KyOSK): Reducing Overdose, Hepatitis C, and Other Drug-related Risks in Rural Appalachia through Health Kiosks
Funded at University of Kentucky · NIH-11373832 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is trying out public health kiosks to offer anonymous syringe services, naloxone, testing, and care referrals to people who inject drugs in rural Appalachian Kentucky.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Kentucky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $25,877 |
| NIH project number | 3R01DA055872-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11373832 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who inject drugs or are otherwise at risk for overdose or HCV/HIV and live in the rural Appalachian Kentucky counties served by the kiosks.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not inject drugs, live outside the served counties, or require immediate inpatient addiction or medical care may not receive direct benefit from the kiosk services.
What this research studies
You would find unmanned health kiosks placed in rural Kentucky counties where people can get sterile syringes, naloxone, and HCV/HIV testing without having to enter staffed sites. The project works with local syringe service programs to stock kiosks, provide anonymous access, and offer follow-up outreach or callbacks when people want help getting treatment. Researchers will track who uses the kiosks, whether people who previously avoided staffed services start using prevention tools, and outcomes like overdoses and new HCV/HIV diagnoses. The effort focuses on reaching people in high‑risk networks across rural communities to reduce harms linked to injection drug use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the kiosks could expand anonymous access to prevention and testing services and help reduce overdoses, hepatitis C, and the risk of HIV outbreaks in rural areas.
How similar studies have gone: Staffed syringe service programs have been shown to reduce infections and overdoses, but delivering services via unmanned kiosks in rural settings is a newer approach with limited prior testing.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Kentucky
Lexington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Young, April Marie — University of Kentucky
- Study coordinator: Young, April Marie
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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.