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Machavariani E, Miceli J, Altice FL, Neblett Fanfair R, Speers S, Nichols L, Jenkins H, Villanueva M. Using Data-To-Care Strategies to Optimize the HIV Care Continuum in Connecticut: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2024; 96:40-50. [PMID: 38324241 PMCID: PMC11009056 DOI: 10.1097/qai.0000000000003391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Re-engaging people with HIV who are newly out-of-care remains challenging. Data-to-care (D2C) is a potential strategy to re-engage such individuals. METHODS A prospective randomized controlled trial compared a D2C strategy using a disease intervention specialist (DIS) vs standard of care where 23 HIV clinics in 3 counties in Connecticut could re-engage clients using existing methods. Using a data reconciliation process to confirm being newly out-of-care, 655 participants were randomized to DIS (N = 333) or standard of care (N = 322). HIV care continuum outcomes included re-engagement at 90 days, retention in care, and viral suppression by 12 months. Multivariable regression models were used to assess factors predictive of attaining HIV care continuum outcomes. RESULTS Participants randomized to DIS were more likely to be re-engaged at 90 days (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] = 1.42, P = 0.045). Independent predictors of re-engagement at 90 days were age older than 40 years (aOR = 1.84, P = 0.012) and perinatal HIV risk category (aOR = 3.19, P = 0.030). Predictors of retention at 12 months included re-engagement at 90 days (aOR = 10.31, P < 0.001), drug injection HIV risk category (aOR = 1.83, P = 0.032), detectable HIV-1 RNA before randomization (aOR = 0.40, P = 0.003), and county (Hartford aOR = 1.74, P = 0.049; New Haven aOR = 1.80, P = 0.030). Predictors of viral suppression included re-engagement at 90 days (aOR = 2.85, P < 0.001), retention in HIV care (aOR = 7.07, P < 0.001), and detectable HIV-1 RNA prerandomization (aOR = 0.23, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A D2C strategy significantly improved re-engagement at 90 days. Early re-engagement improved downstream benefits along the HIV care continuum like retention in care and viral suppression at 12 months. Moreover, other factors predictive of care continuum outcomes can be used to improve D2C strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eteri Machavariani
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Disease, HIV/AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Janet Miceli
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Disease, HIV/AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Disease, HIV/AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Suzanne Speers
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, CT, USA
| | - Lisa Nichols
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Disease, HIV/AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Heidi Jenkins
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, CT, USA
| | - Merceditas Villanueva
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Disease, HIV/AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Ahmad A, Bromberg DJ, Shrestha R, Salleh NM, Bazazi AR, Kamarulzaman A, Shenoi S, Altice FL. Higher methadone dose at time of release from prison predicts linkage to maintenance treatment for people with HIV and opioid use disorder transitioning to the community in Malaysia. Int J Drug Policy 2024; 126:104369. [PMID: 38484531 PMCID: PMC11056294 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Incarcerated people with HIV and opioid-dependence often experience poor post-release outcomes in the absence of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). In a prospective trial, we assessed the impact of methadone dose achieved within prison on linkage to MMT after release. METHODS From 2010 to 2014, men with HIV (N = 212) and opioid dependence before incarceration were enrolled in MMT within 6 months of release from Malaysia's largest prison and followed for 12-months post-release. As a prospective trial, allocation to MMT was at random and later by preference design (predictive nonetheless). MMT dosing was individually targeted to minimally achieve 80 mg/day. Time-to-event analyses were conducted to model linkage to MMT after release. FINDINGS Of the 212 participants allocated to MMT, 98 (46 %) were prescribed higher dosages (≥80 mg/day) before release. Linkage to MMT after release occurred in 77 (36 %) participants and significantly higher for those prescribed higher dosages (46% vs 28 %; p = 0.011). Factors associated with higher MMT dosages were being married, on antiretroviral therapy, longer incarceration periods, having higher levels of depression, and methadone preference compared to randomization. After controlling for other variables, being prescribed higher methadone dosage (aHR: 2.53, 95 %CI: 1.42-4.49) was the only independent predictor of linkage to methadone after release. INTERPRETATION Higher doses of methadone prescribed before release increased the likelihood of linkage to MMT after release. Methadone dosing should be introduced into international guidelines for treatment of opioid use disorder in prisons and further post-release benefits should be explored. FUNDING National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahsan Ahmad
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA; Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Daniel J Bromberg
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale University School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Roman Shrestha
- University of Connecticut, Department of Allied Health Sciences, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Na Mohd Salleh
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Alexander R Bazazi
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA; Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Sheela Shenoi
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA; Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, USA; Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Yale University School of Public Health, Department Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, New Haven, CT, USA.
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O'Hanlon R, Altice FL, Lee RKW, LaViolette J, Mark G, Papakyriakopoulos O, Saha K, De Choudhury M, Kumar N. Misogynistic Extremism: A Scoping Review. Trauma Violence Abuse 2024; 25:1219-1234. [PMID: 37272372 DOI: 10.1177/15248380231176062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the concept of "misogynistic extremism" has emerged as a subject of interest among scholars, governments, law enforcement personnel, and the media. Yet a consistent understanding of how misogynistic extremism is defined and conceptualized has not yet emerged. Varying epistemological orientations may contribute to the current conceptual muddle of this topic, reflecting long-standing and on-going challenges with the conceptualization of its individual components. To address the potential impact of misogynistic extremism (i.e., violent attacks), a more precise understanding of what this phenomenon entails is needed. To summarize the existing knowledge base on the nature of misogynistic extremism, this scoping review analyzed publications within English-language peer-reviewed and gray literature sources. Seven electronic databases and citation indexes were systematically searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist and charted using the 2020 PRISMA flow diagram. Inclusion criteria included English peer-reviewed articles and relevant gray literature publications, which contained the term "misogynistic extremism" and other closely related terms. No date restrictions were imposed. The search strategy initially yielded 475 publications. After exclusion of ineligible articles, 40 publications remained for synthesis. We found that misogynistic extremism is most frequently conceptualized in the context of misogynistic incels, male supremacism, far-right extremism, terrorism, and the black pill ideology. Policy recommendations include increased education among law enforcement and Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism experts on male supremacist violence and encouraging legal and educational mechanisms to bolster gender equality. Violence stemming from misogynistic worldviews must be addressed by directly acknowledging and challenging socially embedded systems of oppression such as white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin O'Hanlon
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY | The CUNY Graduate Center, USA
| | | | - Roy Ka-Wei Lee
- Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
| | | | | | | | - Koustuv Saha
- Microsoft Research Lab - Montréal, Redmond, WA, USA
| | | | - Navin Kumar
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Seminario AL, Karczewski AE, Stanley S, Huamani JV, Montenegro JJ, Tafur K, Julca AB, Altice FL. Implementation of REDCap mobile app in an oral HIV clinical study. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:629. [PMID: 38413910 PMCID: PMC10900554 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-17837-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Peru, HIV cases are highly concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM). Despite the availability of anti-retroviral therapy, people living with HIV (PWH) have higher levels of oral diseases. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is significantly present among PWH. Our overarching goal was to generate foundational evidence on the association of AUD and oral health in MSM with HIV and enhance research capacity for future intersectional research on AUD, oral health and HIV. Our specific aim was to implement an on-site electronic data collection system through the use of a REDCap Mobile App in a low-middle income country (LMIC) setting. METHODS Five validated surveys were utilized to gather data on demographics, medical history, HIV status, alcohol use, HIV stigma, perceived oral health status, and dietary supplement use. These surveys were developed in REDCap and deployed with the REDCap Mobile App, which was installed on ten iPads across two medical HIV clinics in Lima, Peru. REDCap app as well as the protocol for data collection were calibrated with feedback from trial participants and clinical research staff to improve clinical efficiency and participant experience. RESULTS The mean age of participants (n = 398) was 35.94 ± 9.13y, of which 98.5% identified as male, and 85.7% identified as homosexual. 78.1% of participants binge drank, and 12.3% reported being heavy drinkers. After pilot testing, significant modifications to the structure and layout of the surveys were performed to improve efficiency and flow. The app was successfully deployed to replace cumbersome paper records and collected data was directly stored in a REDCap database. CONCLUSIONS The REDCap Mobile App was successfully used due to its ability to: (a) capture and store data offline, (b) timely translate between multiple languages on the mobile app interface, and (c) provide user-friendly interface with low associated costs and ample support. TRIAL REGISTRATION 1R56DE029639-01.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Lucia Seminario
- Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health, University of Washington School of Dentistry, 1959 NE Pacific St B-307, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA.
- Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
| | - Ashley E Karczewski
- Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health, University of Washington School of Dentistry, 1959 NE Pacific St B-307, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA
| | - Sara Stanley
- Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health, University of Washington School of Dentistry, 1959 NE Pacific St B-307, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA
| | | | - Juan José Montenegro
- Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
- Facultad de Ciencias de La Salud, Universidad Científica Del Sur, Lima, Peru
- Servicio de Medicina de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales, Hospital Nacional Dos de Mayo, Lima, Peru
| | - Karla Tafur
- Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Frederick L Altice
- AIDS Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Ni Z, Peng ML, Balakrishnan V, Tee V, Azwa I, Saifi R, Nelson LE, Vlahov D, Altice FL. Implementation of Chatbot Technology in Health Care: Protocol for a Bibliometric Analysis. JMIR Res Protoc 2024; 13:e54349. [PMID: 38228575 PMCID: PMC10905346 DOI: 10.2196/54349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chatbots have the potential to increase people's access to quality health care. However, the implementation of chatbot technology in the health care system is unclear due to the scarce analysis of publications on the adoption of chatbot in health and medical settings. OBJECTIVE This paper presents a protocol of a bibliometric analysis aimed at offering the public insights into the current state and emerging trends in research related to the use of chatbot technology for promoting health. METHODS In this bibliometric analysis, we will select published papers from the databases of CINAHL, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science that pertain to chatbot technology and its applications in health care. Our search strategy includes keywords such as "chatbot," "virtual agent," "virtual assistant," "conversational agent," "conversational AI," "interactive agent," "health," and "healthcare." Five researchers who are AI engineers and clinicians will independently review the titles and abstracts of selected papers to determine their eligibility for a full-text review. The corresponding author (ZN) will serve as a mediator to address any discrepancies and disputes among the 5 reviewers. Our analysis will encompass various publication patterns of chatbot research, including the number of annual publications, their geographic or institutional distribution, and the number of annual grants supporting chatbot research, and further summarize the methodologies used in the development of health-related chatbots, along with their features and applications in health care settings. Software tool VOSViewer (version 1.6.19; Leiden University) will be used to construct and visualize bibliometric networks. RESULTS The preparation for the bibliometric analysis began on December 3, 2021, when the research team started the process of familiarizing themselves with the software tools that may be used in this analysis, VOSViewer and CiteSpace, during which they consulted 3 librarians at the Yale University regarding search terms and tentative results. Tentative searches on the aforementioned databases yielded a total of 2340 papers. The official search phase started on July 27, 2023. Our goal is to complete the screening of papers and the analysis by February 15, 2024. CONCLUSIONS Artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT (OpenAI Inc), have sparked numerous discussions within the health care industry regarding their impact on human health. Chatbot technology holds substantial promise for advancing health care systems worldwide. However, developing a sophisticated chatbot capable of precise interaction with health care consumers, delivering personalized care, and providing accurate health-related information and knowledge remain considerable challenges. This bibliometric analysis seeks to fill the knowledge gap in the existing literature on health-related chatbots, entailing their applications, the software used in their development, and their preferred functionalities among users. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/54349.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao Ni
- School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Mary L Peng
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Vimala Balakrishnan
- Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Unversity of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Vincent Tee
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Infectious Disease Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rumana Saifi
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - LaRon E Nelson
- School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - David Vlahov
- School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
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Bromberg DJ, Machavariani E, Madden LM, Dumchev K, LaMonaca K, Earnshaw VA, Pykalo I, Filippovych M, Haddad MS, Dvoriak S, Altice FL. Integrating methadone into primary care settings in Ukraine: effects on provider stigma and knowledge. J Int AIDS Soc 2024; 27:e26202. [PMID: 38379179 PMCID: PMC10879646 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Stigma has undermined the scale-up of evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment. Negative beliefs influence clinicians' discriminatory behaviour and ultimately have wide-ranging effects across the HIV prevention and treatment continuum. Stigma among clinicians can be mitigated in several ways, including through interpersonal contact. In this study, we test whether interactions with people who inject drugs (PWID) influence attitudes of both direct and indirect providers of opioid agonist therapies (OATs) within the same primary care clinics (PCCs) where OAT is newly introduced. METHODS In a cluster randomized controlled trial integrating OAT and HIV care into PCCs in Ukraine, clinicians at 24 integrated care sites (two sites in 12 regions) from January 2018 to August 2022 completed a structured survey at baseline, 12 and 24 months. The survey included feeling thermometers and standardized scales related to clinician attitudes towards patients and evidence-based care. Nested linear mixed-effects models were used to examine changes in mean scores over three timepoints for both direct and indirect clinicians. RESULTS There were fewer significant changes in any of the scales for direct providers (n = 87) than for indirect providers (n = 155). Direct providers became less tough-minded about substance use disorders (p = 0.002), had less negative opinions about PWID (p = 0.006) and improved their beliefs regarding OAT maintenance (p<0.001) and medical information (p = 0.004). Indirect providers reported improvements in most stigma constructs, including a significant decrease in prejudice (p<0.001), discrimination (p = 0.001), shame (p = 0.007) and fear (p = 0.001) towards PWID. CONCLUSIONS Integrating OAT services within primary settings was associated with significantly reduced stigma constructs and improved attitudes towards PWID, possibly through increased intergroup contact between PWID and general clinical staff. Unlike most stigma reduction interventions, re-engineering clinical processes so that PWID receive their care in PCCs emerges as a multilevel stigma reduction intervention through the integration of specialized services in PCCs. Integration influences different types of stigma, and has positive effects not only on health outcomes, but also improves clinician attitudes and efficiently reduces clinician stigma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Bromberg
- Yale School of Public Health, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | | | - Lynn M. Madden
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- APT FoundationNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | | | | | | | - Iryna Pykalo
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health PolicyKyivUkraine
| | | | - Marwan S. Haddad
- Center for Key Populations, Community Health Center, Inc.MiddletownConnecticutUSA
| | | | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale School of Public Health, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- University of DelawareNewarkDelawareUSA
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Cheah MH, Gan YN, Altice FL, Wickersham JA, Shrestha R, Salleh NAM, Ng KS, Azwa I, Balakrishnan V, Kamarulzaman A, Ni Z. Testing the Feasibility and Acceptability of Using an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot to Promote HIV Testing and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Malaysia: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Hum Factors 2024; 11:e52055. [PMID: 38277206 PMCID: PMC10858413 DOI: 10.2196/52055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The HIV epidemic continues to grow fastest among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia in the presence of stigma and discrimination. Engaging MSM on the internet using chatbots supported through artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially help HIV prevention efforts. We previously identified the benefits, limitations, and preferred features of HIV prevention AI chatbots and developed an AI chatbot prototype that is now tested for feasibility and acceptability. OBJECTIVE This study aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of an AI chatbot in promoting the uptake of HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in MSM. METHODS We conducted beta testing with 14 MSM from February to April 2022 using Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc). Beta testing involved 3 steps: a 45-minute human-chatbot interaction using the think-aloud method, a 35-minute semistructured interview, and a 10-minute web-based survey. The first 2 steps were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Emerging themes from the qualitative data were mapped on the 4 domains of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence. RESULTS Most participants (13/14, 93%) perceived the chatbot to be useful because it provided comprehensive information on HIV testing and PrEP (performance expectancy). All participants indicated that the chatbot was easy to use because of its simple, straightforward design and quick, friendly responses (effort expectancy). Moreover, 93% (13/14) of the participants rated the overall chatbot quality as high, and all participants perceived the chatbot as a helpful tool and would refer it to others. Approximately 79% (11/14) of the participants agreed they would continue using the chatbot. They suggested adding a local language (ie, Bahasa Malaysia) to customize the chatbot to the Malaysian context (facilitating condition) and suggested that the chatbot should also incorporate more information on mental health, HIV risk assessment, and consequences of HIV. In terms of social influence, all participants perceived the chatbot as helpful in avoiding stigma-inducing interactions and thus could increase the frequency of HIV testing and PrEP uptake among MSM. CONCLUSIONS The current AI chatbot is feasible and acceptable to promote the uptake of HIV testing and PrEP. To ensure the successful implementation and dissemination of AI chatbots in Malaysia, they should be customized to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia and upgraded to provide other HIV-related information to improve usability, such as mental health support, risk assessment for sexually transmitted infections, AIDS treatment, and the consequences of contracting HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Hui Cheah
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Yan Nee Gan
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Jeffrey A Wickersham
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Nur Afiqah Mohd Salleh
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Kee Seong Ng
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Vimala Balakrishnan
- Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | - Zhao Ni
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT, United States
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Bromberg DJ, Madden LM, Fraenkel L, Muthulingam D, Rhoades D, Dvoriak S, Dumchev K, Pykalo I, Altice FL. Preferences and decisional considerations relating to opioid agonist therapy among Ukrainian people who use drugs: A conjoint analysis survey. PLOS Glob Public Health 2024; 4:e0002725. [PMID: 38277422 PMCID: PMC10817130 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Scaling up opioid agonist therapies (OAT) is the most effective strategy to control combined HIV and opioid epidemics, especially in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), where HIV incidence and mortality continue to increase. Patient concerns about OAT, however, have undermined scale-up. The objective of this study is to understand Ukrainian opioid use disorder patient preferences about OAT to guide the development of an evidence-informed decision aid for clinical decision-making. We conducted a conjoint-based choice (CBC) survey. Participants were asked to about their preferences relating to 7 attributes of OAT (cost, dosing frequency, concerns about withdrawal symptoms, adverse side effects, improvements in quality of life, precipitation of withdrawal and legislative requirements to be registered as a drug dependent person) and 20 attribute levels for receiving OAT under differing potential treatment constraints. Data were analyzed using Hierarchical Bayesian models. Using respondent-driven sampling and random sampling, we recruited 2,028 people who inject drugs with opioid use disorder. Relative importance (RIS) and partial-worth utility scores (PWUS) were used to assess preferences for attributes and thresholds within each attribute. Cost and dosing frequency were the most important attributes (RIS = 39.2% and RIS = 25.2%, respectively) to potential patients, followed by concerns about withdrawal symptoms (RIS = 10.8%), adverse side effects (RIS = 9.0%), quality-of-life improvement (RIS = 7.5%), precipitation of euphoria (5.2%) and requirement to be registered as a drug- dependent person (RIS = 3.1%). The monthly cost-threshold for willingness-to-pay was 1,900 UAH ($70 USD). In Ukraine, where both governmental and private OAT clinics have emerged and provide markedly different delivery strategies, preferences are mostly driven by out-of-pocket expenses, despite many patients being willing to pay for OAT. Programmatic demands (flexibility and ease of acquiring medications) remain an important consideration while for a minority, clinical concerns about withdrawal symptoms, adverse side effects and OAT impact on life play a smaller role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Bromberg
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- APT Foundation, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Liana Fraenkel
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Dharushana Muthulingam
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Delaney Rhoades
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Sergii Dvoriak
- European Institute of Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Iryna Pykalo
- European Institute of Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- APT Foundation, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
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Galvez SJ, Altice FL, Meteliuk A, Ivasiy R, Machavariani E, Farnum SO, Fomenko T, Islam Z, Madden LM. Corrigendum: High perceived stress in patients on opioid agonist therapies during rapid transitional response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. Front Public Health 2024; 11:1359708. [PMID: 38274528 PMCID: PMC10809844 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1359708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1231581.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Samy J. Galvez
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Anna Meteliuk
- Alliance for Public Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Roman Ivasiy
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Eteri Machavariani
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | | | - Zahedul Islam
- Alliance for Public Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States
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Zelenev A, Michael L, Li J, Altice FL. Social networks, secondary syringe exchange, and opioid agonist therapy retention among people who inject drugs in Hartford, CT. Int J Drug Policy 2024; 123:104250. [PMID: 38088004 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Opioid agonist therapies (OAT) and harm reduction such as syringe service programs (SSP) have been shown to be effective in preventing adverse outcomes such as overdose deaths, HIV and Hepatitis C infections among people who inject drugs (PWID). The importance of social network influence on disease transmission is well established, yet the interplay between harm reduction and network structures is, generally, not well understood. This study aims to analyze how social networks can mediate the harm reduction effects associated with secondary exchange through syringe service programs (SSP) and opioid agonist therapies (OAT) among injection network members. METHODS Sociometric data on networks on people who inject drugs from Hartford, CT, which were collected in 2012-2013, provided assessment of risk behaviors among 1574 injection network members, including participation in OAT and SSP. Subject's network characteristics were examined in relation to retention in OAT, as well as secondary syringe exchange using exponential random graph model (ERGM) and regression. RESULTS Based on the analysis, we found that probability of individuals being retained in OAT was positively associated with the OAT retention status of their peers within the network. Using simulations, we found that higher levels of positive correlation of OAT retention among network members can result in reduced risk of transmission of HIV to network partners on OAT. In addition, we found that secondary syringe exchange engagement was associated with higher probability of sharing of paraphernalia and unsterile needles at the network level. CONCLUSIONS Understanding how networks mediate risk behaviors is crucial for making progress toward ending the HIV epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexei Zelenev
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine. 135 College St., Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Laura Michael
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine. 135 College St., Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Jianghong Li
- Institute for Community Research, Hartford, CT, 06106, USA
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine. 135 College St., Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA; Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Mazhnaya A, Meteliuk A, Pykalo I, Altice FL. Qualitative exploration of the early experiences of opioid use disorder patients from private clinics after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in five major cities in Ukraine. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1238188. [PMID: 38162610 PMCID: PMC10756895 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1238188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, over 6,000 patients were at risk of potential disruptions in treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Ukraine. Before 2022, privatized MOUD clinics had emerged, partly driven by restrictive governmental policies and practices in state-funded facilities. Nevertheless, scant information exists regarding their operation and the patient's experiences, especially during crises. This study seeks to elucidate the initial lived experiences of patients utilizing private MOUD clinics, integrating these insights with an analysis of the responding health system during war. Methods The findings are derived from 20 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted between March and June 2022, engaging participants from five major Ukrainian cities: Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, and Zaporizhzhya. Employing a rapid analysis procedure, we examined the data through descriptive and analytical summaries aligned with the domains of the data collection instrument. Results Emergent themes encompassed stress and uncertainty following the invasion's onset, challenges accessing MOUD, and consequent perceptions concerning state-funded versus private clinics. The study identified disruptions in the operation of private MOUD clinics across most cities examined. Issues pertaining to MOUD medication availability were linked to dosage reductions at state-funded clinics or pharmacy medication shortages or closures. Despite varied experiences at different MOUD clinics and cities, most participants continued their treatment. Discussion This qualitative exploration provides a perspective on lived experiences with MOUD treatment at private clinics amidst the initial months of the invasion, illuminating how the early days' stress, access challenges, varied responses from private MOUD clinics, and precarious conditions informed or altered preferences regarding MOUD treatment options. Moreover, these findings corroborate previously documented efforts by myriad stakeholders to mitigate war-related disruptions to MOUD delivery. These insights contribute to the international understanding of health system navigation and resilience during major crises, offering valuable lessons for preparedness development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyona Mazhnaya
- School of Public Health, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Anna Meteliuk
- International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health”, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Iryna Pykalo
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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Elder H, Lang SG, Villanueva M, John B, Roosevelt K, Altice FL, Brady KA, Gibson B, Buchelli M, DeMaria A, Randall LM. Using the exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment (EPIS) framework to assess the cooperative re-engagement controlled trial (CoRECT). Front Public Health 2023; 11:1223149. [PMID: 38106893 PMCID: PMC10722986 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1223149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background "Data to Care" (D2C) is a strategy which relies on a combination of public health surveillance data supplemented by clinic data to support continuity of HIV care. The Cooperative Re-Engagement Controlled Trial (CoRECT) was a CDC-sponsored randomized controlled trial of a D2C model, which provided an opportunity to examine the process of implementing an intervention for people with HIV (PWH) who are out-of-care across three public health department jurisdictions. Using the EPIS (Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment) framework, we aimed to retrospectively describe the implementation process for each site to provide insights and guidance to inform future D2C activities implemented by public health agencies and their clinical and community partners. Methods After completion of CoRECT, the three (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Philadelphia) trial sites reviewed study protocols and held iterative discussions to describe and compare their processes regarding case identification, interactions with partnering clinics and patients, and sustainability. The EPIS framework provided a structure for comparing key organizational and operational practices and was applied to the entire implementation process. Results The trial sites varied in their implementation processes and the specific elements of the intervention. Factors including prior D2C experience, data management and analytic infrastructure, staff capacity, and relationships with clinic partners informed intervention development and implementation. Additionally, this review identified key lessons learned including to: (1) explore new supplemental sources for public health surveillance data; (2) work with stakeholders representing core functions/components in the early stages of the intervention design process; (3) build flexibility into all components of the follow-up activities; and (4) integrate data sharing, project management, and follow-up activities within existing DPH organizational structure. Conclusion The CoRECT study provides a general blueprint and lessons learned for implementing a D2C intervention for re-engagement in HIV care. Interventions should be tailored to local operational and structural factors, and responsive to evolving clinical and public health practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Elder
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Simona G. Lang
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Betsey John
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | | | - Kathleen A. Brady
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Briana Gibson
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Marianne Buchelli
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, CT, United States
| | - Alfred DeMaria
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Liisa M. Randall
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
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Galvez SJ, Altice FL, Meteliuk A, Ivasiy R, Machavariani E, Farnum SO, Fomenko T, Islam Z, Madden LM. High perceived stress in patients on opioid agonist therapies during rapid transitional response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1231581. [PMID: 38098837 PMCID: PMC10720365 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1231581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in marked disruptions in healthcare delivery in Ukraine related to emergency guidance in response to treating opioid use disorder (OUD). Patients with OUD, a group with high levels of comorbid medical and psychiatric disorders, and prescribed opioid agonist therapies (OAT) were rapidly shifted to take-home dosing if they were deemed clinically stable. The impact of these shifts on patient stress and related substance use during the pandemic, however, is unknown. Methods In early May 2020, 269 randomly selected OAT patients in Ukraine were surveyed to assess their stress level and substance use using the validated Perceived Stress Scale and examined correlates of severe perceived stress. Results Overall, 195 (72.5%) met criteria for moderate to severe levels of stress, which was independently correlated with having started OAT within the past 12 months (aOR: 1.33; 95%CI: 1.15-1.55), living in a large metropolitan area (aOR: 1.31; 95%CI: 1.18-1.46), having been asked by others to share their medication (aOR: 1.13; 95%CI: 1.02-1.25), and having an increase of over 10 min in transportation time to get to treatment (aOR: 1.16; 95%CI: 1.04-1.29). Twenty seven (10%) patients felt at high risk of relapse, while 24 (8.9%) patients reported purchasing drugs. Conclusion During a time of great uncertainty soon after emergency guidance to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was extraordinary high levels of perceived stress reported. In response to emergency guidance, OAT patients should be screened for perceived stress and certain subgroups should be targeted for additional psychosocial support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samy J. Galvez
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Anna Meteliuk
- Alliance for Public Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Roman Ivasiy
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Eteri Machavariani
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | | | - Zahedul Islam
- Alliance for Public Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, New Haven, CT, United States
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States
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Ponticiello M, Azbel L, Tate MM, Bromberg DJ, Pykalo I, Kiriazova T, Saichuk N, Altice FL. Introducing methadone maintenance therapy into Ukrainian prisons: a qualitative study of criminal subculture, Russia's full-scale invasion, and contested methadone objects. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1227216. [PMID: 38098632 PMCID: PMC10720714 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1227216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background After pilot testing, methadone was newly being introduced into Ukrainian prisons in 2021 as part of a national scale-up strategy to treat opioid use disorder and prevent transmission of HIV and HCV infections. Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) scale-up in Eastern Europe and Central Asia prisons has been hampered by varying levels of influence of criminal subculture, an extralegal informal governance by a social hierarchy that operates in parallel to formal prison authorities. This study examined the socio-environmental factors influencing the uptake of methadone treatment in Ukrainian prisons, including changes that evolved during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the displacement of people deprived of liberty (PDL) from conflict to non-conflict regions. Methods In-depth qualitative interviews (N = 37) were conducted from January 2021 to October 2022 in the only two Ukrainian prisons where methadone was being introduced with PDL (N = 18). These two prisons continued to provide methadone after the full-scale invasion. Former PDL (N = 4) were also interviewed and prison staff (N = 15). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Four authors independently reviewed, coded, and applied a phenomenological framework for data analysis, delineating themes related to criminal subculture, drug use, methadone uptake, and evolving changes during the Russian invasion. Findings Criminal subculture perceptions varied, with some seeing it as strongly discouraging drug use among certain groups, while others described it as a residual and weak influence from a more distant past. The influence of the subculture on methadone treatment uptake, however, was less clear. PDL and prison staff struggled to identify and articulate differences between illicit street-bought methadone, used recreationally, and medically prescribed methadone. Thus, the meaning of "methadone" varies in interpretation as it is being introduced, making it potentially conflicting for patients to opt into this evidence-based treatment. As Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, PDL from conflict zones were transferred to non-conflict regions where methadone was being introduced. The prison environment became more enabling for PDL to start methadone as they were segregated and not subject to the existing criminal subculture's rules and lacked the social ties necessary to procure drugs illegally. Conclusion It appears that the criminal subculture is variable and evolving in Ukrainian prisons and appears to be impacted differently by the invasion of Russia. As methadone scale-up in prisons expands, it will be important to distinguish the meaning of methadone perpetuated negatively by the prison subculture versus that in which it is intended as a medical treatment by the formal prison authorities. The current invasion of Ukraine by Russia provides a potential disruption to alter this course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Ponticiello
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Lyu Azbel
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Mary M. Tate
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Daniel J. Bromberg
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Iryna Pykalo
- European Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | | | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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Nikitin BM, Bromberg DJ, Pykalo I, Ivasiy R, Islam Z, Altice FL. Early disruptions to syringe services programs during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1229057. [PMID: 38074770 PMCID: PMC10702598 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1229057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The widespread HIV epidemic in Ukraine is concentrated among people who inject drugs (PWID), making access to sterile injection paraphernalia (SIP) like sterile needles and syringes a critical method of HIV/AIDS prevention; however, the Russian invasion has threatened to disrupt the operations of syringe services programs (SSPs), creating a risk of HIV outbreaks among PWID. Methods We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with outreach workers from SSPs. Interviews were purposively sampled to cover three prototypic regions of Ukraine: temporarily Russian-controlled, frontline, and destination. Qualitative results from interviews were then compared against a standardized, nationwide harm reduction database. Results We found that the Russian invasion triggered both supply and demand challenges for SSPs. Demand increased for all regions due to client transitions from pharmacies that closed to SSPs, increases in illicit drug use, greater client openness to NGO support, and displacement of clients to destination regions. Supply decreased for all areas (except for remote destination regions) due to battle-related barriers like curfews, roadblocks, and Internet disruptions; diminished deliveries of SIP and funding; and staff displacement. Time series plots of the number of unique clients accessing harm reduction services showed that an initial decrease in service provision occurred at the start of the war but that most regions recovered within several months except for Russian-controlled regions, which continued to provide services to fewer clients relative to previous years. Conclusion To ensure continued scale-up of SIP and other HIV prevention services, the SyrEx database should be leveraged to serve as a streamlined harm reduction locator that can inform workers and clients of open site locations and other pertinent information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Iryna Pykalo
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Roman Ivasiy
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Zahedul Islam
- International Alliance for Public Health Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
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Ranjit YS, Krishnan A, Earnshaw VA, Weikum D, Ferro EG, Sanchez J, Altice FL. Psychometric Evaluation and Validation of the HIV Stigma Scale in Spanish among Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender Women. Stigma Health 2023; 8:437-444. [PMID: 38434589 PMCID: PMC10906740 DOI: 10.1037/sah0000302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Stigma and discrimination toward the LGBTQ community is pervasive and negatively impacts health. Validated measures of stigma in Spanish, however, are limited and none have specifically validated HIV-related stigma in Spanish-speaking men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) in resource-limited settings. The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of a standardized HIV Stigma Scale, translated to Spanish, including its factor structure. Measures consisted of self-reported socio-demographic measures of age, sex, sexual orientation, education, employment status, income, living situation, HIV stigma, depressive symptoms, and social support. Using SPSS AMOS 24, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the 10-item Wright HIV Stigma Scale translated to Spanish was conducted in 359 MSM and TGW with HIV recruited from HIV clinics in Lima, Peru. The path model with three sub-scales: enacted, anticipated and internalized stigma, with eight items had an adequate fit to the data. The Spanish version (HIV Stigma Scale-ES) and its dimensions are similar to the ones validated in English for people with HIV (not MSM). Each construct was deemed to be reliable and showed good construct validity. Given the need to better understand and measure stigma in Spanish-speaking MSM, the HIV Stigma Scale-ES can be a useful tool to examine stigma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Archana Krishnan
- Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York
| | | | - Damian Weikum
- AIDS Program, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Enrico G. Ferro
- AIDS Program, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Jorge Sanchez
- Centro de Investigaciones Tecnologicas, Biomedicas y Medioambientales, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
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Bromberg DJ, Galvez de Leon SJ, Litz T, Azbel L, Liberman AR, Polonsky M, Dvoriak S, Saichuk N, Taxman F, Altice FL. Aligning public health and public safety: Probation as a touchpoint to identify and link patients with opioid use disorder to opioid agonist treatment. PLOS Glob Public Health 2023; 3:e0002349. [PMID: 37910486 PMCID: PMC10619786 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People in criminal justice settings (CJS) have high rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and HIV. Probation is part of the CJS and congregates many individuals with high rates of mental health and substance use disorders relative to the general population; nevertheless, probation remains a major improvement to incarceration. As a steppingstone to full decarceration efforts, community supervision settings like probation can be leveraged as "touchpoints" to identify and link people with OUD (and other co-morbid conditions) to treatment and reduce criminal activity. METHODOLOGY To determine the feasibility of a modified screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) strategy to link probationers to opioid agonist therapies (OAT) in the newly created probation system in Ukraine, we conducted a single-arm SBIRT intervention in eight probation centers in four Ukrainian administrative regions. For those screening positive for OUD, interest in OAT was assessed before and after a brief intervention. Those interested in OAT were referred to community OAT services. Participants with OUD also underwent HIV testing. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Of the 1,298 consecutive individuals screened, 208 (16.0%) met criteria for opioid dependence. Of these, 122 (58.7%) enrolled in brief intervention, of which 54 (44.3%) had HIV and 14 (25.9%) of these were newly diagnosed. After the brief intervention, interest in starting OAT increased significantly from a median of 7.0 to 8.0 (P = <0.001) using a 10-point scale. Thirty (N = 30; 24.6%) of the enrolled participants initiated OAT and 21 of these (70%) were retained in treatment for 6 months. SIGNIFICANCE The prevalence of OUD (and HIV) is high among people in probation in Ukraine. SBIRT can identify a large number of people eligible for OAT, many of whom were willing to initiate and remain on OAT. Integrating SBIRT into probation can potentially assist with OAT scale-up and help address HIV prevention efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Bromberg
- Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Samy J. Galvez de Leon
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Taylor Litz
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Lyu Azbel
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Amanda R. Liberman
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Maxim Polonsky
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Sergii Dvoriak
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Faye Taxman
- George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
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Muthulingam D, Hassett TC, Madden LM, Bromberg DJ, Fraenkel L, Altice FL. Preferences in medications for patients seeking treatment for opioid use disorder: A conjoint analysis. J Subst Use Addict Treat 2023; 154:209138. [PMID: 37544510 DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The opioid epidemic continues to be a public health crisis that has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are the most effective way to reduce complications from opioid use disorder (OUD), but uptake is limited by both structural and individual factors. To inform strategies addressing individual factors, we evaluated patients' preferences and trade-offs in treatment decisions using conjoint analysis. METHOD We developed a conjoint analysis survey evaluating patients' preferences for FDA-approved MOUDs. We recruited patients with OUD presenting to initiate treatment. This survey included five attributes: induction, location and route of administration, impact on mortality, side effects, and withdrawal symptoms with cessation. Participants performed 12 choice sets, each with two hypothetical profiles and a "none" option. We used Hierarchical Bayes to identify relative importance of each attribute and part-worth utility scores of levels, which we compared using chi-squared analysis. We used the STROBE checklist to guide our reporting of this cross-sectional observational study. RESULTS Five-hundred and thirty participants completed the study. Location with route of administration was the most important attribute. Symptom relief during induction and withdrawal was a second priority. Mortality followed by side effects had lowest relative importance. Attribute levels with highest part-worth utilities showed patients preferred monthly pick-up from a pharmacy rather than daily supervised dosing; and oral medications more than injection/implants, despite the latter's infrequency. CONCLUSION We measured treatment preferences among patients seeking to initiate OUD treatment to inform strategies to scale MOUD treatment uptake. Patients prioritize the route of administration in treatment preference-less frequent pick up, but also injections and implants were less preferred despite their convenience. Second, patients prioritize symptom relief during the induction and withdrawal procedures of medication. These transition periods influence the sustainability of treatment. Although health professionals prioritize mortality, it did not drive decision-making for patients. To our knowledge, this is the largest study on patients' preferences for MOUD among treatment-seeking people with OUD to date. Future analysis will evaluate patient preference heterogeneity to further target program planning, counseling, and decision aid development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dharushana Muthulingam
- Washington University School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, 4523 Clayton Ave., CB 8051, St. Louis, MO, 63110, United States of America.
| | - Thomas C Hassett
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Lynn M Madden
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, United States of America; APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Daniel J Bromberg
- Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Liana Fraenkel
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, New Haven, CT, United States of America; APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States of America; Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America; University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Narayan A, Salindri AD, Keshavjee S, Muyoyeta M, Velen K, Rueda ZV, Croda J, Charalambous S, García-Basteiro AL, Shenoi SV, Gonçalves CCM, Ferreira da Silva L, Possuelo LG, Aguirre S, Estigarribia G, Sequera G, Grandjean L, Telisinghe L, Herce ME, Dockhorn F, Altice FL, Andrews JR. Prioritizing persons deprived of liberty in global guidelines for tuberculosis preventive treatment. PLoS Med 2023; 20:e1004288. [PMID: 37788448 PMCID: PMC10547494 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In this Policy Forum piece, Aditya Narayan and colleagues discuss the challenges and opportunities for tuberculosis preventive treatment in carceral settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Narayan
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Argita D. Salindri
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Salmaan Keshavjee
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Division of Global Health Equity, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Monde Muyoyeta
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Kavindhran Velen
- Implementation Division, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Zulma V. Rueda
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
- Research Department, School of Medicine, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Julio Croda
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - Salome Charalambous
- Implementation Division, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Wits School of Public Health, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Alberto L. García-Basteiro
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Manhiça Health Research Center, Maputo, Mozambique
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sheela V. Shenoi
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | | | | | - Lia G. Possuelo
- Department of Life Sciences, Santa Cruz do Sul University, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil
| | - Sarita Aguirre
- National Tuberculosis Control Program, Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MSPyBS), Asunción, Paraguay
| | | | - Guillermo Sequera
- Department of Public Health, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Asunción, Paraguay
| | - Louis Grandjean
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lily Telisinghe
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael E. Herce
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Fernanda Dockhorn
- Ministry of Health, Health and Environmental Surveillance Secretariat, General Coordination for Tuberculosis, Endemic Mycoses and Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Surveillance, Brasília, (DF) Brazil
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jason R. Andrews
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
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20
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Kumar N, Chen K, Shi Y, Altice FL. Online platforms' framing around vaping. Drug Test Anal 2023; 15:1297-1302. [PMID: 36445242 DOI: 10.1002/dta.3417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we provide a descriptive overview of how vaping is framed differently between various online platforms (Wikipedia, Quora, Medium, Reddit, Stack Exchange, wikiHow, Facebook, and online news media). We provide an overview of >1 million posts and news articles about vaping to study the differences in framing between online platforms. Findings indicate an inconsistent framing around vaping across platforms. Stakeholders may utilize our findings to intervene around the framing of vaping and may design communications campaigns that improve the way society sees vaping, possibly aiding smoking cessation and reducing youth vaping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navin Kumar
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Keyu Chen
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Yiwen Shi
- Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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21
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DiDomizio E, Chandra DK, Nichols L, Villanueva M, Altice FL. Challenges to Achieving HCV Micro-Elimination in People With HIV in the United States: Provider Perspectives and the Role of Implicit Bias. Health Promot Pract 2023; 24:998-1008. [PMID: 37440258 DOI: 10.1177/15248399231169928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
The prevalence of HIV/HCV (hepatitis C virus) co-infection is high particularly in persons who inject drugs (PWID) and is increasing because of the evolving opioid epidemic in the United States. The introduction of effective antiviral medications for HCV has raised the strategic goal of HCV micro-elimination, and efforts to understand the barriers to treatment are critical. In this study, we explored the provider perspective of factors that inhibit HCV micro-elimination efforts in people with HIV (PWH), including the role of implicit bias and related stigma in providers' health care decision making. We used the mixed-methods approach of nominal group technique (NGT) with 14 participants from 11 different clinics engaged in two virtual focus group sessions (n = 5 and n = 9). Responses from the NGTs were rank ordered during the sessions to identify providers' perspectives of major barriers and facilitators, then identified possible implicit bias after the NGTs concluded. There were 12 responses given for micro-elimination barriers with the three most prioritized being housing instability, medication nonadherence concerns, and inability to motivate patients. Of these, eight were categorized as potential implicit biases. Among the 14 responses given for facilitators of treatment, the three major solutions included distributive models of care, improved provider knowledge, and increased patient engagement. Although the solutions offered were insightful, there was consensus that the individual lives of patients were the root cause of most barriers to care. We recommend further research on behavioral design interventions that promote patients' involvement in decision making and focus on patients' eligibility criteria for HCV treatment as opposed to providers' perceived barriers to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Divya K Chandra
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Lisa Nichols
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Frederick L Altice
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
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22
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Nachega JB, Musoke P, Kilmarx PH, Gandhi M, Grinsztejn B, Pozniak A, Rawat A, Wilson L, Mills EJ, Altice FL, Mellors JW, Quinn TC. Global HIV control: is the glass half empty or half full? Lancet HIV 2023; 10:e617-e622. [PMID: 37506723 PMCID: PMC10733629 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-3018(23)00150-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The massive scale-up of HIV treatment and prevention over the past two decades has resulted in important reductions in new infections and mortality globally. Reduction in HIV incidence, however, has been unequal, with worsening epidemics in regions where the reach and scale of HIV control programmes have been insufficient, especially in eastern Europe, central Asia, the Middle East, north Africa, and Latin America where HIV epidemics are concentrated among key populations, including people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and some minority racial and ethnic groups. The global state of the HIV pandemic highlights disparities in HIV control efforts and provides a roadmap for what should be done, including investment to better implement the effective HIV prevention and treatment tools that are available, but whose adoption and scale-up are not yet sufficient to get us close to an AIDS-free generation. To achieve the full potential of global HIV control, we call for urgent, evidence-informed implementation at scale of our existing and novel HIV prevention and treatment strategies in ways that are better, faster, more efficient, and cost-effective, especially in key populations and regions where the HIV pandemic continues to expand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean B Nachega
- Department of Epidemiology, Department of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, and Center for Global Health, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Philippa Musoke
- Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University (MUJHU) Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Peter H Kilmarx
- Fogarty International Center, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Monica Gandhi
- Department of Medicine, Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Beatriz Grinsztejn
- Instituto National de Infectologia Evandro Chagas-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Anton Pozniak
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, UK; Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Angeli Rawat
- School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Edward J Mills
- Platform Life Sciences, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - John W Mellors
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Thomas C Quinn
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and Center for Global Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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23
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Brooks R, Wegener M, Freeman B, Fowles C, Madden LM, Tetrault JM, Nichols L, Altice FL, Villanueva M. Improving HIV and HCV Testing in Substance Use Disorder Programs (SUDs) That Provide Medications for Opiate Use Disorder (MOUD): Role of Addressing Barriers and Implementing Universal and Site-Specific Approaches. Health Promot Pract 2023; 24:1018-1028. [PMID: 37439759 DOI: 10.1177/15248399231169791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Introduction. National strategies to end the HIV epidemic and eliminate hepatitis c (HCV) through a syndemic approach require improvements in testing for HIV and HCV. Given the intersection of the opioid crisis with HIV and HCV acquisition, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment centers providing medications for opiate use disorder (MOUD) provide a critical opportunity to expand testing. Rates of testing in MOUD clinics have been suboptimal. Method. We employed the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), Ishikawa cause and effect diagrams, and individualized Quality Improvement (QI) efforts at two SUD clinics (SUD A and B) in Connecticut (CT) as part of an HRSA-funded grant focused on improving HCV cure in persons with HIV/HCV coinfection. Baseline and longitudinal data were collected on rates of HIV and HCV testing and positivity as well as linkage to treatment. Results. Between April 1, 2019, and May 31, 2021, for SUD A and B respectively, HIV testing increased from 13% to 90% and 33% to 83%; HCV testing increased from 4% to 90% and 30% to 82%, with few reported cases of HIV/HCV coinfection. HCV testing revealed new and prior diagnoses at both sites, with subsequent referrals for treatment. Qualitative assessments identified best practices which included the institution of formal policies and procedures, streamlining of testing logistics, designation of a site champion, and broadening relevant education to staff and clients. Conclusion. Strategic assessment of barriers and facilitators to HIV and HCV testing at MOUD clinics can lead to improved testing and referral rates that are key to improving the cascade of care for both diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Brooks
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | | | - Cathy Fowles
- Recovery Network of Programs, Inc. (RNP), Bridgeport, CT, USA
| | - Lynn M Madden
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jeanette M Tetrault
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lisa Nichols
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
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Dubov A, Altice FL, Gutierrez JI, Wickersham JA, Azwa I, Kamarulzaman A, Gautam K, Shrestha R. Pre-exposure prophylaxis service among men who have sex with men in Malaysia: findings from a discrete choice experiment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14200. [PMID: 37648731 PMCID: PMC10468492 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41264-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia are disproportionately affected by HIV. As pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is being introduced, we assessed population-based PrEP delivery preferences among MSM in Malaysia. We conducted a discrete choice experiment through an online survey among 718 MSM. The survey included 14 choice tasks presenting experimentally varied combinations of five attributes related to PrEP delivery (i.e., cost, dosing strategy, clinician interaction strategy, dispensing venue, and burden of visits to start PrEP). We used latent class analysis and Hierarchical Bayesian modeling to generate the relative importance of each attribute and preference across six possible PrEP delivery programs. PrEP dosing, followed by cost, was the most important attribute. The participants were clustered into five preference groups. Two groups (n = 290) most commonly preferred on-demand, while the other three preferred injectable PrEP. One group (n = 188) almost exclusively considered cost in their decision-making, and the smallest group (n = 86) was substantially less interested in PrEP for reasons unrelated to access. In simulated scenarios, PrEP initiation rates varied by the type of program available to 55·0% of MSM. Successful PrEP uptake among Malaysian MSM requires expanding beyond daily oral PrEP to on-demand and long-acting injectable PrEP, especially at affordable cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Dubov
- School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - José I Gutierrez
- Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Wickersham
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Kamal Gautam
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, 358 Mansfield Rd, Unit 1101, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, 358 Mansfield Rd, Unit 1101, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
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Machavariani E, Bromberg DJ, Dumchev K, Dvoriak S, Zeziulin O, Morozova O, Esserman D, Pykalo I, Saichuk N, Ivasiy R, Haddad MS, Altice FL. Design, implementation and preliminary results of a type-2 hybrid cluster-randomized trial of integrating screening and treatment for major depressive disorder into specialty clinics providing opioid agonist therapies in Ukraine. Contemp Clin Trials 2023; 131:107248. [PMID: 37263492 PMCID: PMC10527419 DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Ukraine has a high prevalence of co-occurring disorders (COD), defined as having both substance use (SUD) and psychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder among people with SUD. People with COD experience poor health outcomes, and international agencies propose integrated COD care. In Ukraine, treatment for SUD is delivered in specialized substance use clinics, without providing any other medical services for comorbidities, including MDD. Here we present the protocol, along the with the preliminary results of the MEDIUM project, including observations over the first 6 months. METHODS A cluster-randomized type-2 hybrid trial was conducted to integrate MDD treatment into specialty clinics providing opioid agonist therapies (OAT) in Ukraine. Twelve clinics in four regions underwent randomization to control (N = 1) vs experimental arms (N = 2) in each region. Clinicians at experimental sites received tele-education through modified project ECHO using a facilitated screening, evaluation, and treatment algorithm of depression, with or without financial incentives. Service-, patient- and provider-level data were collected for the analysis every 6 months for 24 months. PRELIMINARY RESULTS For service delivery outcomes, 4421 patients enrolled on OAT across all sites were assessed for MDD for screening (76.7%), evaluation with diagnosis (43.5%) and treatment (30.7%) for MDD; 13.8% continued treatment at least for 6 months. For patient-level outcomes, 1345 patients and 54 providers participated in serial surveys every six months. CONCLUSION This study will be the first to explore integrated COD care in Ukraine and generate evidence on effective service integration and delivery strategies for people with COD receiving treatment at substance use clinics with broader implications for Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eteri Machavariani
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - Daniel J Bromberg
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Sergii Dvoriak
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Olga Morozova
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Denise Esserman
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Iryna Pykalo
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Roman Ivasiy
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Marwan S Haddad
- Center for Key Populations, Community Health Center Inc, Middletown, CT, United States
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
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Nikitin BM, Bromberg DJ, Madden LM, Stöver H, Teltzrow R, Altice FL. Leveraging existing provider networks in Europe to eliminate barriers to accessing opioid agonist maintenance therapies for Ukrainian refugees. PLOS Glob Public Health 2023; 3:e0002168. [PMID: 37440470 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused a major refugee crisis, particularly impacting Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine has one of the highest prevalence rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) in Europe, which increases the risk of HIV spread due to injection drug use. Opioid agonist maintenance therapies (OAMT) are a gold standard treatment for OUD and the prevention of HIV spread. Refugees who were displaced and previously maintained on OAMT in Ukraine require reliable care continuity, but OAMT is often highly regulated making it difficult to access. Using an implementation science lens, we sought to understand the barriers and facilitators that might impede OAMT continuity. We performed 23 semi-structured interviews with displaced patients with OUD and providers of OAMT and harm reduction. Interview participants were purposively sampled to include individuals from the highest-impacted countries: Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary. Interviews focused on existing provider networks and barriers that refugees on OAMT faced during displacement. Though networks existed, there was little collaboration between providers and key stakeholders, such as NGOs, in overcoming barriers. Moreover, existing formal networks were not leveraged for rapid problem-solving. We found that despite existing networks, providers encountered substantial barriers to successfully coordinating access and retention in OAMT for refugees. Owing to insufficiently leveraged coordination between providers, clinics frequently turned patients away due to insufficient capacity, language barriers, and financial coverage issues. The limited geographic distribution of clinics in larger countries, such as Poland and Germany, further inhibited refugees from accessing and remaining on treatment. To support countries and providers in responding to a rapidly evolving crisis, collaborative learning combined with rapid cycle change projects used by the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) model could be deployed to promote collaboration between providers both nationally and throughout the European Union to guide continuity of OAMT.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lynn M Madden
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Heino Stöver
- Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | - Frederick L Altice
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States of America
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O’Shea J, Fanfair RN, Williams T, Khalil G, Brady KA, DeMaria A, Villanueva M, Randall LM, Jenkins H, Altice FL, Camp N, Lucas C, Buchelli M, Samandari T, Weidle PJ. The Cooperative Re-Engagement Controlled Trial (CoRECT): Durable Viral Suppression Assessment. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2023; 93:134-142. [PMID: 36812382 PMCID: PMC10962216 DOI: 10.1097/qai.0000000000003178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A collaborative, data-to-care strategy to identify persons with HIV (PWH) newly out-of-care, combined with an active public health intervention, significantly increases the proportion of PWH re-engaged in HIV care. We assessed this strategy's impact on durable viral suppression (DVS). METHODS A multisite, prospective randomized controlled trial for out-of-care individuals using a data-to-care strategy and comparing public health field services to locate, contact, and facilitate access to care versus the standard of care. DVS was defined as the last viral load, the viral load at least 3 months before, and any viral load between the 2 were all <200 copies/mL during the 18-month postrandomization. Alternative definitions of DVS were also analyzed. RESULTS Between August 1, 2016-July 31, 2018, 1893 participants were randomized from Connecticut (n = 654), Massachusetts (n = 630), and Philadelphia (n = 609). Rates of achieving DVS were similar in the intervention and standard-of-care arms in all jurisdictions (all sites: 43.4% vs 42.4%, P = 0.67; Connecticut: 46.7% vs 45.0%, P = 0.67; Massachusetts: 40.7 vs 44.4%, P = 0.35; Philadelphia: 42.4% vs 37.3%, P = 0.20). There was no association between DVS and the intervention (RR: 1.01, CI: 0.91-1.12; P = 0.85) adjusting for site, age categories, race/ethnicity, birth sex, CD4 categories, and exposure categories. CONCLUSION A collaborative, data-to-care strategy, and active public health intervention did not increase the proportion of PWH achieving DVS, suggesting additional support to promote retention in care and antiretroviral adherence may be needed. Initial linkage and engagement services, through data-to-care or other means, are likely necessary but insufficient for achieving DVS for all PWH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse O’Shea
- Division of HIV Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | | | | | - George Khalil
- Division of HIV Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | | | - Alfred DeMaria
- Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA
| | | | - Liisa M. Randall
- Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA
| | - Heidi Jenkins
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, CT
| | | | - Nasima Camp
- Division of HIV Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | - Crystal Lucas
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA
| | | | - Taraz Samandari
- Division of HIV Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
| | - Paul J. Weidle
- Division of HIV Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
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Ranjit YS, Gibson BA, Altice FL, Kamarulzaman A, Azwa I, Wickersham JA. HIV care continuum among cisgender and transgender women sex workers in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AIDS Care 2023; 35:784-790. [PMID: 34723714 PMCID: PMC9056582 DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2021.1995839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
An estimated 37,000 cisgender and transgender women work as sex workers in Malaysia, a population that has been disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. Although Malaysia provides no-cost antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people with HIV, little is known about sex workers' engagement in the HIV care continuum. We analyzed data from 57 HIV-infected cisgender women (n = 33) and transgender women (n = 24) sex workers from a respondent-driven sampling study on HIV prevalence among sex workers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We examined the proportion of women who were newly diagnosed with HIV, had a baseline CD-4 count test, were initiated and retained on antiretroviral treatment (ART). Overall, only 26.3% had ever been HIV tested and almost 60% were newly diagnosed. Only a small proportion of cisgender (15.2%) and transgender (12.5%) women were currently taking ART. Interventions to enhance sex workers' engagement in the HIV care continuum are urgently needed. Deployment of evidence-based strategies to improve linkage and retention in HIV care should be adapted to address the unique needs of this important key population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yerina S Ranjit
- Department of Communication, University of Missouri, Columbia, MI, USA
| | | | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, AIDS Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Department of Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Department of Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Jeffrey A Wickersham
- Department of Internal Medicine, AIDS Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Rosen AO, Wickersham JA, Altice FL, Khati A, Azwa I, Tee V, Jeri-Wahrhaftig A, Luces JR, Ni Z, Kamarulzaman A, Saifi R, Shrestha R. Barriers and Facilitators to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis by Men Who Have Sex with Men and Community Stakeholders in Malaysia. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:5669. [PMID: 37174187 PMCID: PMC10177799 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia are disproportionately affected by HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an evidence-based HIV prevention strategy; yet, uptake remains low among Malaysian MSM, who have a limited understanding of barriers to PrEP. METHODS We employed the nominal group technique (NGT), a structured mixed-methods strategy to understand the barriers and facilitators to PrEP use among Malaysian MSM, combined with a qualitative focus group. Six virtual focus group sessions, three among MSM (n = 20) and three among stakeholders (n = 16), were conducted using a video-conferencing platform. Rank-ordering of barriers from NGT was recorded, and thematic analysis was conducted for content. RESULTS Similar barriers were reported by MSM and community stakeholders, with aggregated costs associated with PrEP care (e.g., consultation with a clinician, medication, laboratory testing) being the greatest barrier, followed by limited knowledge and awareness of PrEP. Additionally, the lack of access to PrEP providers, the complex clinical protocol for PrEP initiation and follow-up, and social stigma undermined PrEP delivery. Qualitative discussions identified potential new strategies to overcome these barriers, including expanded outreach efforts to reach hard-to-reach MSM, a 'one-stop' delivery model for PrEP services, a patient-centered decision aid to guide PrEP uptake, and easy access to LGBT-friendly PrEP providers. CONCLUSION Current barriers may be overcome through governmental subsidy for PrEP and evidence-informed shared decision aids to support both MSM and PrEP providers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviana O. Rosen
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Wickersham
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Antoine Khati
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Vincent Tee
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Alma Jeri-Wahrhaftig
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Jeffrey Ralph Luces
- Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Zhao Ni
- Yale School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT 06477, USA
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Rumana Saifi
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
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Charalambous S, Velen K, Rueda Z, Croda J, Herce ME, Shenoi SV, Altice FL, Muyoyeta M, Telisinghe L, Grandjean L, Keshavjee S, Andrews JR. Scaling up evidence-based approaches to tuberculosis screening in prisons. Lancet Public Health 2023; 8:e305-e310. [PMID: 36780916 DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(23)00002-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
People deprived of liberty have among the highest rates of tuberculosis globally. The incidence of tuberculosis is ten times greater than the incidence of tuberculosis in the general population. In 2021, WHO updated its guidance to strongly recommend systematic screening for tuberculosis in prisons and penitentiary systems. Which case-finding strategies should be adopted, and how to effectively implement these strategies in these settings, will be crucial questions facing ministries of health and justice. In this Viewpoint, we review the evidence base for tuberculosis screening and diagnostic strategies in prisons, highlighting promising approaches and knowledge gaps. Drawing upon past experiences of implementing active case-finding and care programmes in settings with a high tuberculosis burden, we discuss challenges and opportunities for improving the tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment cascade in these settings. We argue that improved transparency in reporting of tuberculosis notifications and outcomes in prisons and renewed focus and resourcing from WHO and other stakeholders will be crucial for building the commitment and investments needed from countries to address the continued crisis of tuberculosis in prisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salome Charalambous
- The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa; Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | | | - Zulma Rueda
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MT, Canada; School of Medicine, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Julio Croda
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Departamento de Clínica Médica, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil; Fiocruz Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grade, Brazil
| | - Michael E Herce
- Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Sheela V Shenoi
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Section of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; University of Malaya, Centre of Excellence on Research in AIDS, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Section of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; University of Malaya, Centre of Excellence on Research in AIDS, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Monde Muyoyeta
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Lily Telisinghe
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Louis Grandjean
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK
| | - Salmaan Keshavjee
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Global Health Equity, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jason R Andrews
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Stone J, Trickey A, Walker JG, Bivegete S, Semchuk N, Sazonova Y, Varetska O, Altice FL, Saliuk T, Vickerman P. Modelling the impact and cost-effectiveness of non-governmental organizations on HIV and HCV transmission among people who inject drugs in Ukraine. J Int AIDS Soc 2023; 26:e26073. [PMID: 37012669 PMCID: PMC10070931 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION People who inject drugs (PWID) in Ukraine have high prevalences of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide PWID with needles/syringes, condoms, HIV/HCV testing and linkage to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) and antiretroviral therapy (ART). We estimated their impact and cost-effectiveness among PWID. METHODS A dynamic HIV and HCV transmission model among PWID was calibrated using data from four national PWID surveys (2011-2017). The model assumed 37-49% coverage of NGOs among community PWID, with NGO contact reducing injecting risk and increasing condom use and recruitment onto OAT and ART. We estimated the historic (1997-2021) and future (2022-2030, compared to no NGO activities from 2022) impact of NGOs in terms of the proportion of HIV/HCV infections averted and changes in HIV/HCV incidence. We estimated the future impact of scaling-up NGOs to 80% coverage with/without scale-up in OAT (5-20%) and ART (64-81%). We estimated the cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted of current NGO provision over 2022-2041 compared to NGO activities stopping over 2022-2026, but restarting after that till 2041. We assumed average unit costs of US$80-90 per person-year of NGO contact for PWID. RESULTS With existing coverage levels of NGOs, the model projects that NGOs have averted 20.0% (95% credibility interval: 13.3-26.1) and 9.6% (5.1-14.1) of new HIV and HCV infections among PWID over 1997-2021, respectively, and will avert 31.8% (19.6-39.9) and 13.7% (7.5-18.1) of HIV and HCV infections over 2022-2030. With NGO scale-up, HIV and HCV incidence will decrease by 54.2% (43.3-63.8) and 30.2% (20.5-36.2) over 2022-2030, or 86.7% (82.9-89.3) and 39.8% (31.4-44.8) if OAT and ART are also scaled-up. Without NGOs, HIV and HCV incidence will increase by 51.6% (23.6-76.3) and 13.4% (4.8-21.9) over 2022-2030. Current NGO provision over 2022-2026 will avert 102,736 (77,611-137,512) DALYs when tracked until 2041 (discounted 3% annually), and cost US$912 (702-1222) per DALY averted; cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of US$1548/DALY averted (0.5xGDP). CONCLUSIONS NGO activities have a crucial preventative impact among PWID in Ukraine which should be scaled-up to help achieve HIV and HCV elimination. Disruptions could have a substantial detrimental impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Stone
- Population Health SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Adam Trickey
- Population Health SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
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Bromberg DJ, Madden LM, Meteliuk A, Ivasiy R, Galvez de Leon SJ, Klyucharyov K, Altice FL. "Medications for opioid use disorder during the war in Ukraine: a more comprehensive view on the government response-Authors' reply". Lancet Reg Health Eur 2023; 26:100583. [PMID: 36747509 PMCID: PMC9898775 DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Bromberg
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Anna Meteliuk
- International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health”, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Roman Ivasiy
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Samy J. Galvez de Leon
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Corresponding author.
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Davis A, Mergenova G, Landers SE, Sun Y, Rozental E, Gulyaev V, Gulyaev P, Nurkatova M, Terlikbayeva A, Primbetova S, Altice FL, Remien RH. Implementation of a Dyad-Based Intervention to Improve Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among HIV-Positive People Who Inject Drugs in Kazakhstan: A Randomized Trial. Res Soc Work Pract 2023; 33:313-324. [PMID: 37576461 PMCID: PMC10421639 DOI: 10.1177/10497315221117543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Purpose HIV-positive people who inject drugs (PWID) in Kazakhstan face many challenges to antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. Interventions that leverage social support from an intimate partner, family member, or friend may be effective in improving ART adherence among this population. The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation process of a dyad-based intervention among HIV-positive PWID and their treatment support partners. Method Sixty-six HIV-positive PWID and 66 of their treatment support partners will be enrolled in this pilot randomized controlled trial in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and randomized as dyads to receive an adapted version of the SMART Couples intervention or standard of care. Results Several implementation strategies were used to facilitate intervention delivery, including remote delivery, training of staff, supervision, technical assistance, quality assurance, and collection of assessments through diverse sources. Discussion This trial responds to a need for dyad-based ART adherence interventions adapted specifically for HIV-positive PWID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa Davis
- School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | | | - Sara E. Landers
- School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Yihang Sun
- School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Elena Rozental
- Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Valera Gulyaev
- Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Pavel Gulyaev
- Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Mira Nurkatova
- Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | | | | | - Frederick L. Altice
- School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Robert H. Remien
- HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
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Shrestha R, Altice FL, Khati A, Azwa I, Gautam K, Gupta S, Sullivan PS, Ni Z, Kamarulzaman A, Phiphatkunarnon P, Wickersham JA. Clinic-Integrated Smartphone App (JomPrEP) to Improve Uptake of HIV Testing and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Mixed Methods Evaluation of Usability and Acceptability. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2023; 11:e44468. [PMID: 36795465 PMCID: PMC9982718 DOI: 10.2196/44468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, where stigma and discrimination toward MSM are high, including in health care settings, mobile health (mHealth) platforms have the potential to open new frontiers in HIV prevention. OBJECTIVE We developed an innovative, clinic-integrated smartphone app called JomPrEP, which provides a virtual platform for Malaysian MSM to engage in HIV prevention services. In collaboration with the local clinics in Malaysia, JomPrEP offers a range of HIV prevention (ie, HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP]) and other support services (eg, referral to mental health support) without having to interface face to face with clinicians. This study evaluated the usability and acceptability of JomPrEP to deliver HIV prevention services for MSM in Malaysia. METHODS In total, 50 PrEP-naive MSM without HIV in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were recruited between March and April 2022. Participants used JomPrEP for a month and completed a postuse survey. The usability of the app and its features were assessed using self-report and objective measures (eg, app analytics, clinic dashboard). Acceptability was evaluated using the System Usability Scale (SUS). RESULTS The participants' mean age was 27.9 (SD 5.3) years. Participants used JomPrEP for an average of 8 (SD 5.0) times during 30 days of testing, with each session lasting an average of 28 (SD 38.9) minutes. Of the 50 participants, 42 (84%) ordered an HIV self-testing (HIVST) kit using the app, of whom 18 (42%) ordered an HIVST more than once. Almost all participants (46/50, 92%) initiated PrEP using the app (same-day PrEP initiation: 30/46, 65%); of these, 16/46 (35%) participants chose PrEP e-consultation via the app (vs in-person consultation). Regarding PrEP dispensing, 18/46 (39%) participants chose to receive their PrEP via mail delivery (vs pharmacy pickup). The app was rated as having high acceptability with a mean score of 73.8 (SD 10.1) on the SUS. CONCLUSIONS JomPrEP was found to be a highly feasible and acceptable tool for MSM in Malaysia to access HIV prevention services quickly and conveniently. A broader, randomized controlled trial is warranted to evaluate its efficacy on HIV prevention outcomes among MSM in Malaysia. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05052411; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05052411. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/43318.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Shrestha
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Antoine Khati
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Kamal Gautam
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Sana Gupta
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Patrick Sean Sullivan
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Zhao Ni
- Yale School of Nursing, West Haven, CT, United States
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Ni Z, Shrestha R, Earnshaw VA, Tee YC, Altice FL, Azwa I, Kamarulzaman A, Zhou X, Wickersham JA. Exploring Malaysian Physicians' Intention to Discriminate Against Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men Patients. LGBT Health 2023; 10:169-175. [PMID: 36251945 PMCID: PMC9986015 DOI: 10.1089/lgbt.2021.0452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) experience high levels of stigma and discrimination. Minimizing the stigma and discrimination is critical to fostering an inclusive environment for care and optimizing health outcomes. This study aimed at exploring the factors related to physicians' intention to discriminate against MSM in Malaysia. Methods: Physicians (N = 542) from two university-affiliated hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed an online cross-sectional survey between January and March 2016. Measures included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, intention to discriminate against MSM, and several stigma-related constructs. Bivariate and multivariable linear regressions were used to evaluate independent correlates of discrimination intent against MSM. Results: Physicians' intention to discriminate against MSM was low (mean [M] = 1.9, standard deviation [SD] = 0.7), but most physicians (70.6%) had a mean score greater than 1.0, indicating that most physicians expressed some degree of intention to discriminate against MSM. A minority of physicians (10.7%), however, had a score of 3.0 or higher, revealing some physicians holding a moderate to high level of discrimination intent toward MSM. The multivariable model demonstrated that physicians who expressed greater prejudice (B = 0.30, p < 0.01), had more MSM-related shame (B = 0.19, p < 0.01), and fear about MSM (B = 0.31, p < 0.01) were more likely to have the intention to discriminate against MSM. Conclusion: Stigma-related constructs including prejudice, MSM-related shame, and fear were independently correlated with increases in a physician's intention to discriminate against MSM. Therefore, implementing interventions to reduce physicians' stigma toward MSM may promote equitable and stigma-free access to health care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao Ni
- School of Nursing, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Valerie A. Earnshaw
- Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Ying Chew Tee
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Xin Zhou
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Wickersham
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Address correspondence to: Jeffrey A. Wickersham, PhD, Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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Ivasiy R, Galvez de Leon SJ, Meteliuk A, Fomenko T, Pykalo I, Bromberg DJ, Madden LM, Farnum SO, Islam Z, Altice FL. Responding to health policy recommendations on managing opioid use disorder during Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Divergent responses from the frontline to the west. Front Public Health 2023; 10:1044677. [PMID: 36711398 PMCID: PMC9880308 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1044677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, followed by Ukraine's Martial law, has disrupted the routine delivery of healthcare services, including opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs. Directors (chief addiction treatment physicians) of these programs in each region had flexibility with implementing a series of adaptations to their practice to respond to war disruptions like mass internal displacement and legislation updates allowing more flexibility with OAT distribution policies and take-home dosing regulations. We conducted 8 in-depth interviews with directors from seven regions of Ukraine to describe their experiences providing OAT during a specific time during the war and the local crisis-response approach under the emergency policy updates. We categorized their experiences according to the level of exposure to conflict in each region and displacement of patients across the country, which may provide future guidance for OAT provision during the conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Ivasiy
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Anna Meteliuk
- International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Tetiana Fomenko
- International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Iryna Pykalo
- Ukrainian Institute of Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine,*Correspondence: Iryna Pykalo ✉
| | - Daniel J. Bromberg
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States,Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States,APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Zahedul Islam
- International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States,Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States,APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, United States,Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
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Al-Darraji H, Hill P, Sharples K, Altice FL, Kamarulzaman A. Intensified pulmonary tuberculosis case finding among HIV-infected new entrants of a prison in Malaysia: implications for a holistic approach to control tuberculosis in prisons. Int J Prison Health 2023; 19:501-511. [PMID: 36622107 DOI: 10.1108/ijph-01-2022-0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This intensified case finding study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) disease among people with HIV entering the largest prison in Malaysia. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The study was conducted in Kajang prison, starting in July 2013 in the men's prison and June 2015 in the women's prison. Individuals tested positive for HIV infection, during the mandatory HIV testing at the prison entry, were consecutively recruited over five months at each prison. Consented participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and asked to submit two sputum samples that were assessed using GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and culture, irrespective of clinical presentation. Factors associated with active TB (defined as a positive result on either Xpert or culture) were assessed using regression analyses. FINDINGS Overall, 214 incarcerated people with HIV were recruited. Most were men (84.6%), Malaysians (84.1%) and people who inject drugs (67.8%). The mean age was 37.5 (SD 8.2) years, and median CD4 lymphocyte count was 376 cells/mL (IQR 232-526). Overall, 27 (12.6%) TB cases were identified, which was independently associated with scores of five or more on the World Health Organization clinical scoring system for prisons (ARR 2.90 [95% CI 1.48-5.68]). ORIGINALITY/VALUE Limited data exists about the prevalence of TB disease at prison entry, globally and none from Malaysia. The reported high prevalence of TB disease in the study adds an important and highly needed information to design comprehensive TB control programmes in prisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haider Al-Darraji
- The Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Centre for International Health, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Philip Hill
- The Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Centre for International Health, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Katrina Sharples
- The Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Centre for International Health, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Frederick L Altice
- The Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Centre for International Health, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and The Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Cyrus E, Lama JR, Sanchez J, Sullivan DS, Leon S, Villaran MV, Vagenas P, Vu D, Coudray M, Altice FL. Substance use and other correlates of HIV infection among transwomen and men who have sex with men in Perú: Implications for targeted HIV prevention strategies for transwomen. PLOS Glob Public Health 2023; 3:e0001464. [PMID: 36962933 PMCID: PMC10022005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Characterization of HIV risk factors among transwomen and men who have sex with men (MSM) should be assessed separately and independently. However, due to several constraints, these populations continue to be conflated in clinical research and data. There are limited datasets globally powered to make such comparisons. The study aimed to use one of the largest surveys of transwomen and MSM in Latin America to determine differences in HIV risk and related correlates between the two populations. Secondary data analysis was completed using a cross-sectional biobehavioral survey of 4413 MSM and 714 transwomen living in Perú. Chi Square analysis of selected HIV correlates was conducted to examine differences between transwomen and MSM. Additionally, stratified binary logistic regression was used to split data for further comparative analyses of correlates associated with transwomen and MSM separately. HIV prevalence among transwomen was two-fold greater than among MSM (14.9% vs. 7.0%, p<0.001). Transwomen had a higher prevalence of most HIV risk factors assessed, including presence of alcohol dependence (16.4% vs. 19.0%; p < .001) and drug use in the past 3 months (17.0% vs. 14.9%). MSM were more likely to use marijuana (68.0% vs. 50.0%, p < .001), and transwomen were more likely to engage in inhaled cocaine use (70.0% vs. 51.1%, p < .001). The regression exposed differences in correlates driving sub-epidemics in transwomen vs. MSM, with a trend of substance use increasing HIV risk for transwomen only. Transwomen were more likely to be HIV-infected and had different risk factors from MSM. Targeted prevention strategies are needed for transwomen that are at highest risk. Additionally, further research is needed to determine if these observations in Perú regarding substance use patterns and the role of substance use in HIV risk relate to other trans populations globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Cyrus
- Department of Population Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
- Department of Global Health, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Javier R Lama
- Associación Civil Impacta Salud y Educación (IMPACTA), Lima, Perú
| | - Jorge Sanchez
- Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
| | - Daniell S Sullivan
- College of Medicine, Univeristy of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
| | | | - Manuel V Villaran
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Panagiotis Vagenas
- Berkeley Research Development Office, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
| | - David Vu
- College of Medicine, Univeristy of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
| | - Makella Coudray
- Department of Population Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Global Health, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
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Shrestha RK, Fanfair RN, Randall LM, Lucas C, Nichols L, Camp N, Brady KA, Jenkins H, Altice FL, DeMaria A, Villanueva M, Weidle PJ. Costs and cost-effectiveness of a collaborative data-to-care intervention for HIV treatment and care in the United States. J Int AIDS Soc 2023; 26:e26040. [PMID: 36682053 PMCID: PMC9867888 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Data-to-care programmes utilize surveillance data to identify persons who are out of HIV care, re-engage them in care and improve HIV care outcomes. We assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of re-engagement in an HIV care intervention in the United States. METHODS The Cooperative Re-engagement Control Trial (CoRECT) employed a data-to-care collaborative model between health departments and HIV care providers, August 2016-July 2018. The health departments in Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA) and Philadelphia (PHL) collaborated with HIV clinics to identify newly out-of-care patients and randomize them to receive usual linkage and engagement in care services (standard-of-care control arm) or health department-initiated active re-engagement services (intervention arm). We used a microcosting approach to identify the activities and resources involved in the CoRECT intervention, separate from the standard-of-care, and quantified the costs. The cost data were collected at the start-up and recurrent phases of the trial to incorporate potential variation in the intervention costs. The costs were estimated from the healthcare provider perspective. RESULTS The CoRECT trial in CT, MA and PHL randomly assigned on average 327, 316 and 305 participants per year either to the intervention arm (n = 166, 159 and 155) or the standard-of-care arm (n = 161, 157 and 150), respectively. Of those randomized, the number of participants re-engaged in care within 90 days in the intervention and standard-of-care arms was 85 and 70 in CT, 84 and 70 in MA, and 98 and 67 in PHL. The additional number of participants re-engaged in care in the intervention arm compared with those in the standard-of-care arm was 15 (CT), 14 (MA) and 31 (PHL). We estimated the annual total cost of the CoRECT intervention at $490,040 in CT, $473,297 in MA and $439,237 in PHL. The average cost per participant enrolled was $2952, $2977 and $2834 and the average cost per participant re-engaged in care was $5765, $5634 and $4482. We estimated an incremental cost per participant re-engaged in care at $32,669 (CT), $33,807 (MA) and $14,169 (PHL). CONCLUSIONS The costs of the CoRECT intervention that identified newly out-of-care patients and re-engaged them in HIV care are comparable with other similar interventions, suggesting a potential for its cost-effectiveness in the US context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ram K Shrestha
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Robyn Neblett Fanfair
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Liisa M Randall
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Crystal Lucas
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lisa Nichols
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Nasima Camp
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Kathleen A Brady
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Heidi Jenkins
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
| | | | - Alfred DeMaria
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Paul J Weidle
- Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Shrestha R, Wickersham JA, Khati A, Azwa I, Ni Z, Kamarulzaman A, Sullivan PS, Jadkarim L, Eger WH, Gautam K, Altice FL. Clinic-Integrated Mobile Health Intervention ("JomPrEP" App) to Improve Uptake of HIV Testing and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Protocol for an Intervention Development and Multiphase Trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2022; 11:e43318. [PMID: 36542425 PMCID: PMC9813821 DOI: 10.2196/43318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in Malaysia and globally. Cross-cutting prevention strategies such as mobile health (mHealth), particularly smartphone apps, hold great promise for HIV prevention efforts among Malaysian MSM, especially when linked to HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). OBJECTIVE This study aims to adapt an existing app to create and test a clinic-integrated app (JomPrEP), a virtual platform to deliver HIV testing and PrEP services for MSM in Malaysia. METHODS The JomPrEP project involves developing and testing an app-based platform for HIV prevention among Malaysian MSM and will be conducted in 2 phases. In phase I (development phase), we will adapt an existing mHealth app (HealthMindr) to create a new clinic-integrated app called "JomPrEP" to deliver holistic HIV prevention services (eg, HIV testing, PrEP, support services for mental health and substance use) among MSM in Malaysia. During phase II (testing phase), we will use a type I hybrid implementation science trial design to test the efficacy of JomPrEP while gathering information on implementation factors to guide future scale-up in real-world settings. RESULTS As of September 2022, we have completed phase I of the proposed study. Based on a series of formative work completed during phase I, we developed a fully functional, clinic-integrated JomPrEP app, which provides a virtual platform for MSM in Malaysia to facilitate their engagement in HIV prevention in a fast and convenient manner. Based on participant feedback provided during phase I, we are currently optimizing JomPrEP and the research protocols for a large-scale efficacy trial (phase II), which will commence in January 2023. CONCLUSIONS Scant HIV prevention resources coupled with entrenched stigma, discrimination, and criminalization of same-sex sexual behavior and substance use hamper access to HIV prevention services in Malaysia. If found efficacious, JomPrEP can be easily adapted for a range of health outcomes and health care delivery services for MSM, including adaptation to other low- and middle-income countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05325476; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05325476. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/43318.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Shrestha
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | | | - Antoine Khati
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zhao Ni
- School of Nursing, Yale University, West Haven, CT, United States
| | | | | | - Luzan Jadkarim
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - William H Eger
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.,College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Kamal Gautam
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
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Rozanova J, Rich KM, Altice FL, Shenoi SV, Zaviryukha I, Kiriazova T, Mamedova E, Shipunov O, Yariy V, Deac A, Zeziulin O. The Initial Response to COVID-19 Disruptions for Older People with HIV in Ukraine. Geriatrics (Basel) 2022; 7:geriatrics7060138. [PMID: 36547274 PMCID: PMC9777936 DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics7060138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ukraine imposed a COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. From April to June 2020, we surveyed 123 older people with HIV (OPWH) by phone to assess their mental health, engagement in HIV and other healthcare, and substance use using standardised scales. Variables of key interest were symptoms of depression and symptoms of anxiety. Univariate and multivariable Firth logistic regression models were built to assess factors associated with: (1) symptoms of depression, and (2) symptoms of anxiety. Findings indicated high suicidal ideation (10.6%); 45.5% met the screening criteria for moderate to severe depression; and 35.0% met the criteria for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Independent correlates of having moderate to severe depression included being female (AOR: 2.83, 95%CI = 1.19-7.05), having concerns about potential barriers to HIV treatment (AOR: 8.90, 95%CI = 1.31-104.94), and active drug use (AOR: 34.53, 95%CI = 3.02-4885.85). Being female (AOR: 5.30, 95%CI = 2.16-14.30) and having concerns about potential barriers to HIV treatment (AOR: 5.33, 95%CI = 1.22-28.45) were independently correlated with GAD, and over half (58.5%) were willing to provide peer support to other OPWH. These results highlight the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions in Ukraine on mental health for OPWH and support the need to screen for psychiatric and substance use disorders, potentially using telehealth strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Rozanova
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Department of Health Service and Population Research, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-203-824-81-30
| | | | - Frederick L. Altice
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre of Excellence of Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 59990, Malaysia
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Sheela V. Shenoi
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Volodymyr Yariy
- Kyiv Sociotherapy Addiction Treatment Clinic, 03039 Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Alexandra Deac
- Department of Health Service and Population Research, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
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Earnshaw VA, Cox J, Wong PL, Saifi R, Walters S, Azwa I, Omar SFS, Collier ZK, Hassan AA, Lim SH, Wickersham J, Haddad MS, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL. Acceptability and Feasibility of Online, Asynchronous Photovoice with Key Populations and People Living with HIV. AIDS Behav 2022; 27:2055-2069. [PMID: 36463390 PMCID: PMC9734619 DOI: 10.1007/s10461-022-03938-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Abstract
Photovoice is an action-oriented qualitative method involving photography and story-telling. Although photovoice yields a powerful form of data that can be leveraged for research, intervention, and advocacy, it has arguably been underutilized within HIV research. Online, asynchronous photovoice methods represent a promising alternative to traditional in-person methods, yet their acceptability and feasibility with key populations and people living with HIV (PLWH) have yet to be explored. The current study describes the methods and evaluation of an online, asynchronous photovoice project conducted with 34 members of key populations and PLWH in Malaysia in 2021. A HIPAA-compliant website incorporating a series of instructional videos was created to facilitate participant engagement and data collection. Quantitative and qualitative indicators suggest that participants found the project to be highly acceptable and feasible. Online, asynchronous photovoice methods hold potential for increasing the scale of this powerful and versatile qualitative research method with key populations and PLWH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie A Earnshaw
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, 111 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.
| | - Jon Cox
- Department of Art and Design, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Pui Li Wong
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rumana Saifi
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Suzan Walters
- School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | | | - Asfarina Amir Hassan
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Sin How Lim
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | - Marwan S Haddad
- Center for Key Populations, Community Health Center, Inc., New Britain, CT, USA
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Eller AJ, DiDomizio EE, Madden LM, Oliva JD, Altice FL, Johnson KA. Strengthening systems of care for people with or at risk for HIV, HCV and opioid use disorder: a call for enhanced data collection. Ann Med 2022; 54:1714-1724. [PMID: 35775786 PMCID: PMC9377256 DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2084154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The syndemic between opioid use disorder (OUD), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in excessive burdens on the healthcare system. Integrating these siloed systems of care is critical to address all three conditions adequately. In this implementation project, we assessed the data capacity of the health system to measure a cascade of care (COC) across HIV, HCV and OUD services in five states to help guide public health planning. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data for this study were gathered from publicly available datasets and reports from government (SAMSHA, CMS, HRSA and CDC) sites. We created, where possible, COCs for HIV, HCV, and OUD spanning population estimate, diagnosis, treatment initiation, treatment retention, and patient outcomes for each of five states in the study. RESULTS The process of data collection showed that baseline COCs examining the intersections of OUD, HIV, and HCV cannot be produced and that there are missing data in all states examined. Collection of specific data points is not consistent across all states. States are better at reporting HIV cascades due to federal requirements. Only gross estimates could be made for OUD cascades in all states because data are separated by payer source, leaving no central point of data collection from all sources. Data for HCV were not publicly available. CONCLUSION It is difficult to assess the strategies needed or the progress made towards increasing treatment access and decreasing the burden of disease without the ability to construct an accurate baseline. Using integrated COCs with relevant benchmarks can not only guide public health planning, but also provide meaningful targets for intervention.KEY MESSAGESWhile HIV COCs are available for most states at least annually, they are not disaggregated for populations with co-occurring OUD or HCV.Data to calculate HCV COC are not available and data to calculate OUD COC are partially available, but only for specific payers.States do not have systems in place to measure the scope of the syndemic or to identify targets for quality improvement activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J. Eller
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- CONTACT Anthony J. Eller Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Elizabeth E. DiDomizio
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lynn M. Madden
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jennifer D. Oliva
- Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kimberly A. Johnson
- Center for Health & Pharmaceutical Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, NJ, USA
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Madden LM, Farnum SO, Bromberg DJ, Barry DT, Mazhnaya A, Fomenko T, Meteliuk A, Marcus R, Rozanova J, Poklad I, Dvoriak S, Altice FL. The development and initial validation of the Russian version of the BASIS-24. Addict Sci Clin Pract 2022; 17:65. [PMID: 36435811 PMCID: PMC9701377 DOI: 10.1186/s13722-022-00343-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Efficient and linguistically appropriate instruments are needed to assess response to addiction treatment, including severity of addiction/mental health status. This is critical for Russian-speaking persons in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) where Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) remain underscaled to address expanding and intertwined opioid, HIV, HCV and tuberculosis epidemics. We developed and conducted a pilot validation of a Russian version of the 24-item Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-24), an addiction/mental health severity instrument with six subscales, previously validated in English. METHODS Using the Mapi approach, we reviewed, translated, and back-translated the content to Russian, pilot-tested the Russian-version (BASIS-24-R) among new MOUD patients in Ukraine (N = 283). For a subset of patients (n = 44), test-rest was performed 48 h after admission to reassess reliability of BASIS-24-R. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) assessed underlying structure of BASIS-24-R. RESULTS Cronbach alpha coefficients for overall BASIS-24-R and 5 subscales exceeded 0.65; coefficient for Relationship subscale was 0.42. The Pearson correlation coefficients for overall score and all subscales on the BASIS-24-R exceeded 0.8. Each item loaded onto factors that corresponded with English BASIS-24 subscales ≥ 0.4 in PCA. CONCLUSION Initial version of BASIS-24-R appears statistically valid in Russian. Use of the BASIS-24-R has potential to guide MOUD treatment delivery in the EECA region and help to align addiction treatment with HIV prevention goals in a region where HIV is concentrated in people who inject opioids and where healthcare professionals have not traditionally perceived MOUD as effective treatment, particularly for those with mental health co-morbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn M. Madden
- grid.422797.d0000 0004 0558 5300APT Foundation, Inc, 1 Long Wharf Drive, Suite 321, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
| | - Scott O. Farnum
- grid.422797.d0000 0004 0558 5300APT Foundation, Inc, 1 Long Wharf Drive, Suite 321, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
| | - Daniel J. Bromberg
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale School of Public Health, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
| | - Declan T. Barry
- grid.422797.d0000 0004 0558 5300APT Foundation, Inc, 1 Long Wharf Drive, Suite 321, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 S Frontage Road, New Haven, CT 06519 USA
| | - Alyona Mazhnaya
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
- grid.77971.3f0000 0001 1012 5630School of Public Health, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Hryhoriya Skovorody Street, Kiev, 2 04655 Ukraine
| | - Tetiana Fomenko
- grid.511905.9ICF Alliance for Public Health, 24 Bulvarno-Kudriavska Street, Kyiv, 01601 Ukraine
| | - Anna Meteliuk
- grid.511905.9ICF Alliance for Public Health, 24 Bulvarno-Kudriavska Street, Kyiv, 01601 Ukraine
| | - Ruthanne Marcus
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
| | - Julia Rozanova
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
| | - Iurii Poklad
- Chernihiv Regional Narcological Dispensary, 3 Shchorsa Street, Chernihiv, 14005 Ukraine
| | - Sergii Dvoriak
- European Institute of Public Health Policy, 1 Malopidvalna Street, Office 10, Kiev, 01054 Ukraine
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- grid.422797.d0000 0004 0558 5300APT Foundation, Inc, 1 Long Wharf Drive, Suite 321, New Haven, CT 06511 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale School of Public Health, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
- grid.10347.310000 0001 2308 5949Centre of Excellence On Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Malaysia Level 17, Wisma R&DJalan Pantai Baharu, 59990 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Bazazi AR, Culbert GJ, Wegman MP, Heimer R, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL. Impact of prerelease methadone on mortality among people with HIV and opioid use disorder after prison release: results from a randomized and participant choice open-label trial in Malaysia. BMC Infect Dis 2022; 22:837. [PMID: 36368939 PMCID: PMC9652918 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07804-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mortality is elevated after prison release and may be higher in people with HIV and opioid use disorder (OUD). Maintenance with opioid agonist therapy (OAT) like methadone or buprenorphine reduces mortality in people with OUD and may confer benefits to people with OUD and HIV leaving prison. Survival benefits of OAT, however, have not been evaluated prospectively in people with OUD and HIV leaving prison. METHODS This study prospectively evaluated mortality after prison release and whether methadone initiated before release increased survival after release in a sample of men with HIV and OUD (n = 291). We linked national death records to data from a controlled trial of prerelease methadone initiation conducted from 2010 to 2014 with men with HIV and OUD imprisoned in Malaysia. Vital statistics were collected through 2015. Allocation to prerelease methadone was by randomization (n = 64) and participant choice (n = 246). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate treatment effects of prerelease methadone on postrelease survival. RESULTS Overall, 62 deaths occurred over 872.5 person-years (PY) of postrelease follow-up, a crude mortality rate of 71.1 deaths per 1000 PY (95% confidence interval [CI] 54.5-89.4). Most deaths were of infectious etiology, mostly related to HIV. In a modified intention-to-treat analysis, the impact of prerelease methadone on postrelease mortality was consistent with a null effect in unadjusted (hazard ratio [HR] 1.3, 95% CI 0.6-3.1) and covariate-adjusted (HR 1.2, 95% CI 0.5-2.8) models. Predictors of mortality were educational level (HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.8), pre-incarceration alcohol use (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.9), and lower CD4+ T-lymphocyte count (HR 0.8 per 100-cell/mL increase, 95% CI 0.7-1.0). CONCLUSIONS Postrelease mortality in this sample of men with HIV and OUD was extraordinarily high, and most deaths were likely of infectious etiology. No effect of prerelease methadone on postrelease mortality was observed, which may be due to study limitations or an epidemiological context in which inadequately treated HIV, and not inadequately treated OUD, is the main cause of death after prison release. TRIAL REGISTRATION NCT02396979. Retrospectively registered 24/03/2015.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander R. Bazazi
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510-228 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT USA
- grid.266102.10000 0001 2297 6811Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA USA
| | - Gabriel J. Culbert
- grid.185648.60000 0001 2175 0319Population Health Nursing Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Martin P. Wegman
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510-228 USA
| | - Robert Heimer
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510-228 USA
- grid.10347.310000 0001 2308 5949Faculty of Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510-228 USA
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT USA
- grid.10347.310000 0001 2308 5949Faculty of Medicine, Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Altice FL, Bromberg DJ, Klepikov A, Barzilay EJ, Islam Z, Dvoriak S, Farnum SO, Madden LM. Collaborative learning and response to opioid misuse and HIV prevention in Ukraine during war. Lancet Psychiatry 2022; 9:852-854. [PMID: 36244353 PMCID: PMC9806953 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(22)00318-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Frederick L Altice
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Division of Epidemiology and Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA; APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Daniel J Bromberg
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Division of Epidemiology and Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Adriy Klepikov
- International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Ezra J Barzilay
- Division of Global HIV and TB, Center for Global Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Zahedul Islam
- International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Sergii Dvoriak
- Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Lynn M Madden
- Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; APT Foundation, New Haven, CT, USA
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Eger WH, Altice FL, Lee J, Vlahov D, Khati A, Osborne S, Wickersham JA, Bohonnon T, Powell L, Shrestha R. Using nominal group technique to identify barriers and facilitators to preventing HIV using combination same-day pre-exposure prophylaxis and medications for opioid use disorder. Harm Reduct J 2022; 19:120. [PMID: 36307817 PMCID: PMC9616614 DOI: 10.1186/s12954-022-00703-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preventing HIV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) is a key element of the US Ending the HIV Epidemic strategy and includes both pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). While both lead to decreases in HIV transmission, MOUD has other social and health benefits; meanwhile, PrEP has additional HIV prevention advantages from sexual risk and the injection of stimulants. However, these medications are often prescribed in different settings and require multiple visits before initiation. Strategies to integrate these services (i.e., co-prescription) and offer same-day prescriptions may reduce demands on patients who could benefit from them. METHODS Nominal group technique, a consensus method that rapidly generates and ranks responses, was used to ascertain barriers and solutions for same-day delivery of PrEP and MOUD as an integrated approach among PWID (n = 14) and clinical (n = 9) stakeholders. The qualitative portion of the discussion generated themes for analysis, and the ranks of the proposed barriers and solutions to the program are presented. RESULTS The top three barriers among PWID to getting a same-day prescription for both PrEP and MOUD were (1) instability of insurance (e.g., insurance lapses); (2) access to a local prescriber; and (3) client-level implementation factors, such as lack of personal motivation. Among clinical stakeholders, the three greatest challenges were (1) time constraints on providers; (2) logistics (e.g., coordination between providers and labs); and (3) availability of providers who can prescribe both medications. Potential solutions identified by both stakeholders included pharmacy delivery of the medications, coordinated care between providers and health care systems (e.g., case management), and efficiencies in clinical care (e.g., clinical checklists), among others. CONCLUSIONS Implementing and sustaining a combined PrEP and MOUD strategy will require co-training providers on both medications while creating efficiencies in systems of care and innovations that encourage and retain PWID in care. Pilot testing the co-prescribing of PrEP and MOUD with quality performance improvement is a step toward new practice models.
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Affiliation(s)
- William H Eger
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jessica Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Antoine Khati
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Sydney Osborne
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Wickersham
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Terry Bohonnon
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Roman Shrestha
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
- Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP), University of Connecticut, 358 Mansfield Rd, Unit 1101, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
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Liberman AR, Bromberg DJ, Litz T, Kurmanalieva A, Galvez S, Rozanova J, Azbel L, Meyer JP, Altice FL. Interest without uptake: A mixed-methods analysis of methadone utilization in Kyrgyz prisons. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276723. [PMID: 36282864 PMCID: PMC9595522 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV incidence continues to increase in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), in large part due to non-sterile injection drug use, especially within prisons. Therefore, medication-assisted therapy with opioid agonists is an evidence-based HIV-prevention strategy. The Kyrgyz Republic offers methadone within its prison system, but uptake remains low. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a framework for identifying people who would potentially benefit from methadone, intervening to identify OUD as a problem and methadone as a potential solution, and providing referral to methadone treatment. Using an SBIRT framework, we screened for OUD in Kyrgyz prisons among people who were within six months of returning to the community (n = 1118). We enrolled 125 people with OUD in this study, 102 of whom were not already engaged in methadone treatment. We conducted a pre-release survey followed by a brief intervention (BI) to address barriers to methadone engagement. Follow-up surveys immediately after the intervention and at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after prison release assessed methadone attitudes and uptake. In-depth qualitative interviews with 12 participants explored factors influencing methadone utilization during and after incarceration. Nearly all participants indicated favorable attitudes toward methadone both before and after intervention in surveys; however, interest in initiating methadone treatment remained very low both before and after the BI. Qualitative findings identified five factors that negatively influence methadone uptake, despite expressed positive attitudes toward methadone: (1) interpersonal relationships, (2) interactions with the criminal justice system, (3) logistical concerns, (4) criminal subculture, and (5) health-related concerns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R. Liberman
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Daniel J. Bromberg
- Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Taylor Litz
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Ainura Kurmanalieva
- AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) in the Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
| | - Samy Galvez
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Julia Rozanova
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Lyu Azbel
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Jaimie P. Meyer
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Frederick L. Altice
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, New Haven, CT, United States of America
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Khati A, Altice FL, Vlahov D, Eger WH, Lee J, Bohonnon T, Wickersham JA, Maviglia F, Copenhaver N, Shrestha R. Nurse Practitioner-Led Integrated Rapid Access to HIV Prevention for People Who Inject Drugs (iRaPID): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2022; 11:e42585. [PMID: 36222826 PMCID: PMC9597427 DOI: 10.2196/42585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ongoing volatile opioid epidemic remains a significant public health concern, alongside continued outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs. The limited access to and scale-up of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among people who inject drugs, coupled with multilevel barriers to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake, makes it imperative to integrate evidence-based risk reduction and HIV prevention strategies in innovative ways. To address this need, we developed an integrated rapid access to HIV prevention program for people who inject drugs (iRaPID) that incorporates same-day PrEP and MOUD for this population. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program and evaluate its preliminary efficacy on PrEP and MOUD uptake for a future randomized controlled trial (RCT). We also aim to explore information on the implementation of the program in a real-world setting using a type I hybrid implementation trial design. METHODS Using a type I hybrid implementation trial design, we are pilot testing the nurse practitioner-led iRaPID program while exploring information on its implementation in a real-world setting. Specifically, we will assess the feasibility and acceptability of the iRaPID program and evaluate its preliminary efficacy on PrEP and MOUD uptake in a pilot RCT. The enrolled 50 people who inject drugs will be randomized (1:1) to either iRaPID or treatment as usual (TAU). Behavioral assessments will occur at baseline, and at 1, 3, and 6 months. Additionally, we will conduct a process evaluation of the delivery and implementation of the iRaPID program to collect information for future implementation. RESULTS Recruitment began in July 2021 and was completed in August 2022. Data collection is planned through February 2023. The Institutional Review Boards at Yale University and the University of Connecticut approved this study (2000028740). CONCLUSIONS This prospective pilot study will test a nurse practitioner-led, integrated HIV prevention program that incorporates same-day PrEP and MOUD for people who inject drugs. This low-threshold protocol delivers integrated prevention via one-stop shopping under the direction of nurse practitioners. iRaPID seeks to overcome barriers to delayed PrEP and MOUD initiation, which is crucial for people who inject drugs who have had minimal access to evidence-based prevention. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04531670; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04531670. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/42585.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Khati
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | | | - David Vlahov
- Yale School of Nursing, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - William H Eger
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Jessica Lee
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Terry Bohonnon
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | | | - Nicholas Copenhaver
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
- AIDS Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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Peng ML, Wickersham JA, Altice FL, Shrestha R, Azwa I, Zhou X, Halim MAA, Ikhtiaruddin WM, Tee V, Kamarulzaman A, Ni Z. Formative Evaluation of the Acceptance of HIV Prevention Artificial Intelligence Chatbots By Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Focus Group Study. JMIR Form Res 2022; 6:e42055. [PMID: 36201390 PMCID: PMC9585446 DOI: 10.2196/42055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mobile technologies are being increasingly developed to support the practice of medicine, nursing, and public health, including HIV testing and prevention. Chatbots using artificial intelligence (AI) are novel mobile health strategies that can promote HIV testing and prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malaysia, a hard-to-reach population at elevated risk of HIV, yet little is known about the features that are important to this key population. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify the barriers to and facilitators of Malaysian MSM's acceptance of an AI chatbot designed to assist in HIV testing and prevention in relation to its perceived benefits, limitations, and preferred features among potential users. METHODS We conducted 5 structured web-based focus group interviews with 31 MSM in Malaysia between July 2021 and September 2021. The interviews were first recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed using NVivo (version 9; QSR International). Subsequently, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology was used to guide data analysis to map emerging themes related to the barriers to and facilitators of chatbot acceptance onto its 4 domains: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence. RESULTS Multiple barriers and facilitators influencing MSM's acceptance of an AI chatbot were identified for each domain. Performance expectancy (ie, the perceived usefulness of the AI chatbot) was influenced by MSM's concerns about the AI chatbot's ability to deliver accurate information, its effectiveness in information dissemination and problem-solving, and its ability to provide emotional support and raise health awareness. Convenience, cost, and technical errors influenced the AI chatbot's effort expectancy (ie, the perceived ease of use). Efficient linkage to health care professionals and HIV self-testing was reported as a facilitating condition of MSM's receptiveness to using an AI chatbot to access HIV testing. Participants stated that social influence (ie, sociopolitical climate) factors influencing the acceptance of mobile technology that addressed HIV in Malaysia included privacy concerns, pervasive stigma against homosexuality, and the criminalization of same-sex sexual behaviors. Key design strategies that could enhance MSM's acceptance of an HIV prevention AI chatbot included an anonymous user setting; embedding the chatbot in MSM-friendly web-based platforms; and providing user-guiding questions and options related to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study provides important insights into key features and potential implementation strategies central to designing an AI chatbot as a culturally sensitive digital health tool to prevent stigmatized health conditions in vulnerable and systematically marginalized populations. Such features not only are crucial to designing effective user-centered and culturally situated mobile health interventions for MSM in Malaysia but also illuminate the importance of incorporating social stigma considerations into health technology implementation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary L Peng
- Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Jeffrey A Wickersham
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Frederick L Altice
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Roman Shrestha
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Iskandar Azwa
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Xin Zhou
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Mohd Akbar Ab Halim
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Wan Mohd Ikhtiaruddin
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Vincent Tee
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Adeeba Kamarulzaman
- Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zhao Ni
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- School of Nursing, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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