Peer-delivered stepped care to help people with HIV stick to ART and reduce substance use
Official title: Stepped Care, Peer-Delivered Intervention to Improve ART Adherence and SUD in Primary Care
Funded at Univ of Maryland, College Park · NIH-11378865 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A peer-delivered stepped care program aims to help people living with HIV who use substances stay on their HIV medicines and get extra substance-use support in primary care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $324,450 |
| NIH project number | 3R01DA056102-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11378865 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults living with HIV who receive primary care, report problematic substance use, and have difficulty adhering to ART would be the ideal candidates for this program.
✕Less likely to help
People without HIV, those without substance-use concerns, or those requiring intensive inpatient addiction or psychiatric treatment are unlikely to benefit from this outpatient peer-delivered program.
What this research studies
You would meet with a trained peer in your primary care clinic who starts with a short problem-solving and motivational session to support taking HIV medication. If you need more help, the program steps up to provide brief behavioral skills like activity planning, mindfulness, and relapse-prevention techniques. The research team will track medication adherence, substance use, and HIV health measures while also studying how well clinics can deliver and sustain the program. This work builds on a small pilot in Cape Town that showed the peer approach was acceptable and feasible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help people with HIV who use substances maintain antiretroviral adherence and reduce substance-use harms through scalable peer support in primary care.
How similar studies have gone: A prior pilot (Khanya) in Cape Town demonstrated feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary positive effects, but larger trials are needed to confirm effectiveness and scalability.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of Maryland, College Park
College Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Magidson, Jessica F — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Magidson, Jessica F
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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.