A Social Network Approach for Improving Medication Assisted Treatment and HIV Prevention and Medical Care Among People Who Inject Drugs in Ukraine

A Social Network Approach for Improving Medication Assisted Treatment and HIV

The aim of this study is to pilot a peer education for people on medication assisted treatment (MAT). People on MAT will be trained to be peer educators and provide outreach to the educators social network members who inject drugs, some of whom will be HIV positive.

The, goal of the intervention is to increase medication assisted treatment (MAT) uptake and retention in order to enhance as well as HIV medical care and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among those social network members who use drugs and those living with HIV who use drugs. The project will quantitatively and qualitatively assess barriers to MAT and ART uptake and adherence, while using peer educators to promote MAT and ART among their network members. Finally, the project aims to determine the effect size for guiding the planning of larger intervention and the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention for HIV prevention and improvement in HIV-related health outcomes among people living with HIV who inject drugs (PLWH PWID). The intervention will be deployed in Ukraine, a setting with high HIV incidence rates among PWID, low levels of viral suppression among HIV positive PWID, and low rates of MAT uptake.

Inclusion Criteria:

• On methadone for at least 1 year and rated by the staff as low risk for relapse
• Report at least 1 drug network member living with HIV, not on methadone, and seen weekly
• Willing to talk with drug users in their network about medication for drug dependence and accompany them to methadone clinic

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons that are currently psychotic, suicidal, or cognitively impaired such that they cannot provide informed consent will be excluded from participation.