Peer-delivered stepped care to help people with HIV stick to ART and reduce substance use
Stepped Care, Peer-Delivered Intervention to Improve ART Adherence and SUD in Primary Care
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 ID | NIH-11378865 on NIH RePORTER |
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.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: 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.
Not a fit: 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.
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 performed: 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
College Park, United States
- 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
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.