Partner support to help young adults who inject drugs get hepatitis C treatment
A Randomized Trial to Test the Efficacy of a Partner Navigation Intervention for HCV Treatment among Young Adult People who Inject Drugs
This project sees whether two short partner-focused sessions can help young adults who inject drugs start and finish curative hepatitis C treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11311886 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You and a person you inject with would be invited to a two-session Partner Navigation program that builds practical help, trust, and support to get HCV care. Pairs are randomly assigned so some receive the two-session intervention while others receive usual referral, and staff follow participants over time. The team helps with things like scheduling appointments, planning medication use, and overcoming barriers such as transportation or stigma. The study tracks who starts treatment, stays on it, and achieves cure to see if partner involvement helps.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are young adults (about 30 or younger) who inject drugs, have hepatitis C, and have an injecting partner willing to join the program.
Not a fit: People who do not have an injecting partner, are older than the target age group, or do not have hepatitis C would not be expected to benefit from this partner-focused approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could meaningfully increase the number of young people who inject drugs who start and complete curative hepatitis C therapy.
How similar studies have performed: Prior dyadic research shows partner support and interpersonal factors can improve health behaviors, but applying a formal two-session Partner Navigation approach to HCV treatment for young PWID is a newer, less-tested application.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morris, Meghan D — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Morris, Meghan D
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.