# An adaptive treatment intervention for depression and engagement in HIV care among Latinos living with HIV

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $197,059

## Abstract

6. PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will support the training of the Principal
Investigator and the conduct of original research in the area of mobile health, sequential multiple assignment
randomized trial designs (SMART), and implementation science. The goal of the training and research will be
to treat problems with depression in sample of Latinos living with HIV. The overall goal of this K01 is to use a
SMART to build an adaptive treatment strategy (ATS) that has a mobile health tool to improve adherence to
the treatments for depression that are being proposed, and then evaluate the SMART and ATS through an
implementation science model. The treatments being tested are a behavioral activation therapy (BAT), a
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and mobile health (mHealth) tool (i.e., text-messaging protocol). The
outcomes are to assess the feasibility of the SMART and ATS in the HIV care site and acceptability of the
SMART and ATS to patients and clinic staff. To achieve the overall goal, three specific aims are outlined. Aim
1 uses qualitative research methods for the conduct of focus groups and individual interviews with HIV+
Latinos in both English and Spanish. The goal of Aim 1 is to tailor the intervention to the cultural and linguistic
needs of Latinos and the organization needs of the HIV clinic study site, which informs Aim 2. Aim 1 is guided
by the CDCs Map of Adaptation tailoring framework, which consist of three Action Steps. Action Step 1-3 are to
better understand and document: 1) expressions for depression in Spanish and barriers to care, 2) language
issues in detecting and reporting depressive symptoms, 3) cultural perspectives of how depression presents as
a barrier to care, and 4) attitudes (i.e., cognitive and emotional evaluations) toward BAT and CBT, and text-
message preference and confidentiality concerns to promote adherence to the intervention activities. Aim 2 is
to build and test a pilot SMART. An ATS is a set of decision rules that uses detectable changes in patient
health status to inform the next course of treatment. Aim 3 is to determine an adoption, implementation, and
sustainability plan for adaptive depression treatment strategies into HIV care settings. Aim 3 is guided by the
Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation System (COM-B) system and related Behavioral Change Wheel. This
K01 attempts to maximize the clinical benefit of the BAT, CBT and mHealth programs by personalizing them to
the patient. Successful completion of the proposed study will yield pilot data on the feasibility and acceptability
of an ATS for depression integrated into HIV primary care, which will support the submission of an R01 full-
scale efficacy trial. The results of this K01 can lead to future studies to personalize treatment interventions to
enhance engagement with HIV care and mental health care for vulnerable populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10006847
- **Project number:** 5K01MH113475-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** John Andrew Sauceda
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $197,059
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10006847

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10006847, An adaptive treatment intervention for depression and engagement in HIV care among Latinos living with HIV (5K01MH113475-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-31 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10006847. Licensed CC0.

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