# DAT 18-06 Feasibility and Acceptability of HIV, HCV, and Opioid Use Disorder Services in Syringe Service Programs

> **NIH NIH R01** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2021 · $790,403

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for serious but treatable and preventable medical consequences of
their drug use, including HIV and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infections and fatal overdose. The current opioid
crisis poses a threat for outbreaks of HIV among PWID, has resulted in increased incidence of HCV, and has
led to dramatic increases in opioid overdose mortality. PWID need accessible medical treatment services for
the consequences of their drug use. Syringe service programs (SSPs) are stigma-free settings that can provide
PWID with healthcare services onsite or through close partnerships with local medical providers. In December
2015, the ban on Federal funding for SSPs was lifted. Since then the number of SSPs in the US has almost
doubled, from 220 to approximately 430. Innovative models for delivering HIV and HCV care, HIV prevention
(PrEP), and OUD medication at SSPs can expand PWID healthcare access, uptake and engagement, but they
are not well described or evaluated systematically. Building on our previous studies of expanding HIV and HCV
testing in substance use treatment programs, we propose to describe healthcare models that provide varying
combinations of HIV, HCV, and opioid use disorder medication services onsite and off-site in the fast-growing
SSP sector, and evaluate the feasibility of sustainably implementing them in different settings from the
perspectives of the programs and their clients. Our specific aims in the next funding period include: 1)
describing current models and recent trends of HIV and HCV care, PrEP, and OUD medication services in
SSPs nationally; 2) assessing the feasibility of expanding SSP healthcare care models from SSP program
perspectives; and 3) identifying drivers of preferences for different SSP healthcare models from SSP client
perspectives. We will use a mixed-methods sequential approach by conducting two updated national SSP
surveys to collect quantitative data and qualitative interviews with SSP program directors and staff in diverse
settings, including SSPs that do and do not provide HIV, HCV, PrEP and OUD medication services onsite.
Qualitative interviews will explore onsite versus off-site delivery options, costs, sustainability of services
currently provided, and plans for future expansion in the context of local community needs and barriers. We will
also conduct an innovative discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey with a geographically diverse sample of
SSP clients to identify and quantify their relative preferences for attributes of HIV, HCV, PrEP and OUD
medication services. Results will be disseminated to state and local policy makers, public health practitioners,
and funding agencies. Simultaneously with completion of this research, we intend to contribute to and inform
the development and initial testing of interventions that will assist SSPs in expanding HIV, HCV, PrEP and
OUD medication services. Our findings about the feasibility of models and preferences for a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10218128
- **Project number:** 5R01DA027379-09
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Bruce R Schackman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $790,403
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-09-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10218128

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10218128, DAT 18-06 Feasibility and Acceptability of HIV, HCV, and Opioid Use Disorder Services in Syringe Service Programs (5R01DA027379-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10218128. Licensed CC0.

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