Using MOST to Optimize an HIV Care Continuum Intervention for Vulnerable Populations
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | HIV / AIDS |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Immunology / Infectious Diseases |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 18 - 65 |
| Updated: | 9/30/2018 |
| Start Date: | March 20, 2017 |
| End Date: | June 2021 |
| Contact: | Marya Gwadz, PhD |
| Email: | mg2890@nyu.edu |
| Phone: | 212-998-5965 |
The present study targets the large population of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in the
U.S. who are both insufficiently engaged in HIV primary care and not taking antiretroviral
therapy (ART), who are mainly African American/Black and Latino. NIH has emphasized the
urgent need for new research approaches to advance intervention science, and the proposed
project employs a new, potent, and innovative research methodology, the Multiphase
Optimization STrategy (MOST), a framework for developing highly efficacious, efficient,
scalable, and cost-effective interventions. The proposed study has the highest public health
significance: it addresses a vulnerable population of PLHA, including the critically
important subpopulations of men who have sex with men (MSM) and substance users; will develop
an efficient and cost effective intervention to increase engagement along the HIV care
continuum for these vulnerable groups; and addresses two areas highlighted in the August 2015
notice on research priorities from the NIH Office of AIDS Research (NOT-OD-15-137), namely,
engaging PLHA in prevention/treatment services, and reducing HIV/AIDS-related racial/ethnic
disparities.
U.S. who are both insufficiently engaged in HIV primary care and not taking antiretroviral
therapy (ART), who are mainly African American/Black and Latino. NIH has emphasized the
urgent need for new research approaches to advance intervention science, and the proposed
project employs a new, potent, and innovative research methodology, the Multiphase
Optimization STrategy (MOST), a framework for developing highly efficacious, efficient,
scalable, and cost-effective interventions. The proposed study has the highest public health
significance: it addresses a vulnerable population of PLHA, including the critically
important subpopulations of men who have sex with men (MSM) and substance users; will develop
an efficient and cost effective intervention to increase engagement along the HIV care
continuum for these vulnerable groups; and addresses two areas highlighted in the August 2015
notice on research priorities from the NIH Office of AIDS Research (NOT-OD-15-137), namely,
engaging PLHA in prevention/treatment services, and reducing HIV/AIDS-related racial/ethnic
disparities.
More than half of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in the U.S. are insufficiently engaged
in HIV primary care and not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), mainly African Americans and
Latinos. In the proposed project, two experienced and productive behavioral scientists will
employ a potent and innovative research methodology, the Multiphase Optimization STrategy
(MOST), to develop a highly efficacious, efficient, scalable, and cost-effective intervention
to increase engagement along the HIV care continuum. Whereas randomized controlled trials
(RCTs) are valuable for evaluating the efficacy of multi-component interventions as a
package, they are not designed to evaluate which specific components contribute to efficacy.
MOST, a pioneering, engineering-inspired framework, addresses this problem through highly
efficient randomized experimentation to assess the performance of individual intervention
components and their interactions. The investigators propose to use MOST to engineer an
intervention to increase engagement along the HIV care continuum for African American and
Latino PLHA not well engaged in care and not taking ART. Further, the intervention will be
optimized for cost-effectiveness. This efficiency and cost-effectiveness are critical in a
time of constrained resources, and will also increase the intervention's future scalability.
NIH has signaled its interest in MOST, and this is the first study to apply it in the field
of adult HIV treatment. A similar set of multi-level factors impede both HIV care and ART
initiation for African American and Latino PLHA, primary among them individual (e.g.,
substance use, distrust, fear), social (e.g., stigma), and structural-level barriers (e.g.,
difficulties accessing ancillary services). Guided by a multi-level social cognitive theory,
the study will evaluate 5 distinct intervention components (i.e., Motivational Interviewing
sessions, pre-adherence preparation, support groups, peer mentorship, and patient
navigation), each designed to address a specific barrier to HIV care and ART initiation.
These components are well-grounded in the empirical literature and were found acceptable,
feasible, and promising with respect to efficacy in a preliminary study. Study aims are: 1)
using a highly efficient experimental design, identify which of 5 components contribute
meaningfully to improvement in viral suppression, and secondary outcomes of ART adherence and
engagement in HIV primary care; 2) identify mediators and moderators of component efficacy;
and 3) using a mathematical modeling approach, build the most cost-effective and efficient
intervention package from the efficacious components. A heterogeneous sample of African
American and Latino PLHA (with respect to age, substance use, and sexual minority status)
will be recruited with a proven hybrid sampling method using targeted sampling in community
settings and peer recruitment (N=512). This highly innovative and significant study, which
addresses a high-priority research area (NIH NOT-OD-15-137), will produce an HIV care
continuum intervention for the nation's most vulnerable PLHA, optimized for
cost-effectiveness, and with exceptional levels of efficacy, efficiency, and scalability.
in HIV primary care and not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), mainly African Americans and
Latinos. In the proposed project, two experienced and productive behavioral scientists will
employ a potent and innovative research methodology, the Multiphase Optimization STrategy
(MOST), to develop a highly efficacious, efficient, scalable, and cost-effective intervention
to increase engagement along the HIV care continuum. Whereas randomized controlled trials
(RCTs) are valuable for evaluating the efficacy of multi-component interventions as a
package, they are not designed to evaluate which specific components contribute to efficacy.
MOST, a pioneering, engineering-inspired framework, addresses this problem through highly
efficient randomized experimentation to assess the performance of individual intervention
components and their interactions. The investigators propose to use MOST to engineer an
intervention to increase engagement along the HIV care continuum for African American and
Latino PLHA not well engaged in care and not taking ART. Further, the intervention will be
optimized for cost-effectiveness. This efficiency and cost-effectiveness are critical in a
time of constrained resources, and will also increase the intervention's future scalability.
NIH has signaled its interest in MOST, and this is the first study to apply it in the field
of adult HIV treatment. A similar set of multi-level factors impede both HIV care and ART
initiation for African American and Latino PLHA, primary among them individual (e.g.,
substance use, distrust, fear), social (e.g., stigma), and structural-level barriers (e.g.,
difficulties accessing ancillary services). Guided by a multi-level social cognitive theory,
the study will evaluate 5 distinct intervention components (i.e., Motivational Interviewing
sessions, pre-adherence preparation, support groups, peer mentorship, and patient
navigation), each designed to address a specific barrier to HIV care and ART initiation.
These components are well-grounded in the empirical literature and were found acceptable,
feasible, and promising with respect to efficacy in a preliminary study. Study aims are: 1)
using a highly efficient experimental design, identify which of 5 components contribute
meaningfully to improvement in viral suppression, and secondary outcomes of ART adherence and
engagement in HIV primary care; 2) identify mediators and moderators of component efficacy;
and 3) using a mathematical modeling approach, build the most cost-effective and efficient
intervention package from the efficacious components. A heterogeneous sample of African
American and Latino PLHA (with respect to age, substance use, and sexual minority status)
will be recruited with a proven hybrid sampling method using targeted sampling in community
settings and peer recruitment (N=512). This highly innovative and significant study, which
addresses a high-priority research area (NIH NOT-OD-15-137), will produce an HIV care
continuum intervention for the nation's most vulnerable PLHA, optimized for
cost-effectiveness, and with exceptional levels of efficacy, efficiency, and scalability.
Inclusion Criteria:
- African American/Black or Latino/Hispanic race/ethnicity
- HIV diagnosed for at least 6 months (HIV status confirmed with medical documentation)
- Has not taken antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the past 6 weeks (the period of time
assessed by hair assay, and a reasonable period of time not on ART for the present
study)
- Sub-optimal engagement in HIV care (assessed from the medical record, defined as less
than 1 visit in every 4-mo. period in the past year [two of them at least 90 days
apart], pro-rated for those diagnosed less than a year ago) or > 2 missed visits
(without prior cancellation) in the past year
- Reside in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area
- Not planning to leave the NYC metropolitan area in next year
- Not actively psychotic based on screening instrument
- Not a participant in the preliminary pilot HTH R34 study
- Able to conduct research activities in English or Spanish
- Willing to provide hair sample (if possible), blood samples (to assess CD4, VL), and
Medical Report Form ([MRF]; to assess health care attendance) at screening
- Willing to participate in a Core intervention session and be randomly assigned to 1-5
intervention components.
Exclusion Criteria:
NONE SEE ABOVE
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