Leveraging Science to Improve Hepatitis C, HIV, and Other Substance Use-Related Outcomes in Rural Populations of People Who Use Drugs

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Location: International Ballroom Section E OMNI

Presenter(s)

April M. Young, PhD, MPH

Professor
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Hilary L. Surratt, PhD

Associate Professor
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Jennifer R. Havens, PhD, MPH

Professor
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Lexington, Kentucky
Sharon L. Walsh, PhD

Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of Center on Drug and Alcohol Research
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY

Moderator(s)

Sharon L. Walsh, PhD

Professor of Behavioral Science, and Director of Center on Drug and Alcohol Research
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY

Kentucky has one of the highest drug overdose rates and significant rural HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) burdens. Rural areas suffer from a lack of infrastructure, including substance use treatment and access to other medical specialty services. This session will review three prospective trials enrolling people who use drugs (PWUD) in rural communities:

Dr. Havens will present the Kentucky Viral Hepatitis Treatment Project that aims to increase HCV access and delivery by removing barriers associated with accessing direct-acting antivirals. In the active treatment group, individuals receive sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, a 12-week, once daily, pan-genotypic DAA through a novel mid-level provider model coupled with telehealth support from a physician specialist.
Dr. Surratt will present a study that leverages the syringe service program (SSP) infrastructure to expand Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. This study integrated a novel PrEP initiation intervention at two rural SSPs using strengths-based case management approaches to elicit and address structural, environmental, and psychosocial barriers to PrEP care and will compare Strengths-Based Case Management-PrEP intervention versus standard CDC PrEP counseling for PrEP initiation.
Dr. Young will present on the community engagement strategies used in the Communities and Researchers Engaging to Halt the Opioid Epidemic (CARE2HOPE) project, a study that employed a community-driven approach to understand harms associated with substance use in Appalachian Kentucky and to design an intervention to reduce the frequency of substance use among those with substance use histories and involvement in the criminal legal system.

Lessons learned and study outcomes will be presented for these novel and innovative studies that focus on improving health outcomes for rural PWUD.

Learning Objectives:

Describe strategies that can be used in community settings to reduce the harms of substance use
Identify strategies that can be used to produce rigorous controlled outcomes in community-based study designs
Discuss appropriate contemporary treatment approaches for preventing HIV and treating HCV