Feasibility of Internet-based HIV Prevention Research
Montefiore Medical Center
Summary
The study will use social media to recruit a diverse sample of people who self-report injecting drugs, assessing the feasibility of online assessments and participants' ability to perform at-home self-administered HIV testing. Participants will complete online questionnaires at baseline and will be mailed HIV testing kits that they will self-administer and mail to a central laboratory. Investigators will track completion of questionnaires and whether at-home self-administered HIV tests were completed and sent to the laboratory.
Description
In the past decade, injection drug use (IDU) has been linked to rural and urban HIV outbreaks, increased hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission, and skyrocketing overdose rates in the US. Internet-based mail delivery public health programs mail naloxone or other HIV prevention supplies where allowed by law. Recruiting people who inject drugs (PWID) for research has traditionally been done in person, and the feasibility of collecting data from those who are recruited via the internet is unknown. Thus, the study's objectives are to: (1) recruit a representative sample of people who inject drugs fo…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * 18 years or older * US residency * English or Spanish fluency * injection drug use (self-report, past 30 days) * basic reading comprehension Exclusion Criteria: * HIV status known to be positive
Interventions
- Diagnostic TestMail delivery of at-home self-administered HIV tests
Investigators will mail participants an OraSure HIV-1 Oral Specimen Collection Device. The kit will include a self-addressed and stamped envelope with the collection device. Participants will follow enclosed directions to collect oral-fluid samples and mail them to the study laboratory for analysis. Envelopes and samples will only be marked with a bar code and not with any other personal identifiers (e.g., name or address).
Location
- Montefiore Medical CenterThe Bronx, New York