# Technology Enhanced Substance Use and HIV Service Navigation for Justice-Involved Young Adults

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $175,501

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
There is a strong scientific premise for the study of integrated substance use disorders (SUDs) and HIV-
prevention interventions for criminal justice-involved (CJI) populations. SUDs lead to increased rates of justice
involvement as well as increased risk for HIV-acquisition. Estimates of the proportion of the CJI-population with a
SUD reach 72%, and ~150,000 persons with HIV pass through a correctional facility annually. Although pre-
exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is a proven effective intervention for HIV-prevention, its maximal impact depends
on uptake, and adherence among those at high risk. To date, few published studies have examined PrEP uptake
among CJI populations. Our ongoing work with CJI women (San Francisco, CA) has identified high rates of risk
behaviors (including substance use), low levels of PrEP awareness, and high levels of interest in PrEP once
learning of it. Participants reported a strong interest in participating in a navigator-led intervention to screen and
link them to PrEP-related services; younger participants (i.e., those aged 18 to 29 years) were eager to
incorporate electronic health (eHealth) into navigation services. Navigator models use a one-on-one relationship
to promote the timely movement of an individual through a health care continuum by eliminating barriers and
have successfully increased healthcare access for CJI HIV-positive adults and individuals with SUDs. eHealth
approaches to SUD and HIV prevention also hold promise because they improve access to effective intervention
services, particularly for younger people. As a multidisciplinary team with expertise in behavioral health
(substance use and HIV prevention) among justice-involved populations, and eHealth supported and navigator-
led healthcare access and engagement interventions, we propose to develop and test an eHealth enhanced,
navigator-led substance use and HIV-prevention referral and linkage intervention for CJI-young adults. Study
aims are to: 1) Adapt an existing evidence-based navigator model (The Navigation Project) to incorporate
codeveloped eHealth technology, to refer and link CJI young adults (aged 18 to 29 years) to substance use
treatment and HIV-prevention services; 2) Refine and test the adapted, eHealth enhanced, navigator-led
substance use treatment and HIV prevention intervention for CJI-young adults for fidelity, satisfaction, and
appropriateness; 3) Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of the adapted eHealth enhanced, navigator
program to refer and link CJI-young adults substance use treatment and HIV-prevention services. The proposed
study has the potential to: 1) reduce HIV-acquisition and improve access to substance use treatment among a
high-risk, underserved group of young adults in the US; 2) test the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, effectiveness,
appropriateness, and satisfaction of implementing an eHealth enhanced, navigator-led substance use and HIV-
prevention intervention, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10327137
- **Project number:** 1R34DA054853-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily F Dauria
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $175,501
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10327137

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10327137, Technology Enhanced Substance Use and HIV Service Navigation for Justice-Involved Young Adults (1R34DA054853-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10327137. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*