# Combination primary care and prevention services for women who inject drugs and exchange sex in Seattle, Washington

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $233,250

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Women account for nearly 20% of new HIV cases in the United States but experience significant barriers to
accessing HIV prevention, addiction, and sexual health services. Women who inject drugs (WWID) are
particularly vulnerable to HIV due to a combination of social, biologic, and structural risk factors, and women
comprise many of the new HIV diagnoses in recent outbreaks among people who inject drugs (PWID). Similarly,
WWID are disproportionately impacted by major medical issues requiring hospitalization and leading to
premature death, especially when injection drug use is compounded by transactional sex and unstable housing.
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medications for opiate use disorder (MOUD), and treatment of sexually
transmitted infections (STIs) are proven strategies for HIV prevention and addiction treatment among WWID;
however, uptake remains low. Our preliminary data suggests that a co-located neighborhood clinic offeringwalk-
in appointments dramatically improves uptake of HIV prevention and addiction treatment but does not result in
sustained use of these evidenced-based interventions. Globally, delivery of HIV prevention and sexual
healthcare at venues for exchange sex is an effectivetool for engaging marginalized populations, such as female
sex workers; however, this strategy has not yet been implemented in the U.S. In direct contrast to traditional
models of healthcare, an evening, drop-in clinic, co-located at a venue for exchange sex and drug use provides
increased opportunity to access care in a client-centered environment. Leveraging a global to local approach,
we propose a pilot venue-based pop-up primary and preventative care clinic for WWID. Formative, qualitative
research and a bi-directional community engagement plan will inform the adoption of global models for HIV
prevention and addiction services (e.g. PrEP, MOUD, STI screening, etc.), with the goal of supporting sustained
us of evidence-based interventions. We hypothesize that venue-based care will be acceptable to WWID and
improve uptake of preventive care. We also hypothesize that implementation of participant designed support
strategies will improve adherence to PrEP, MOUD, and STI treatment. Aim 1 will assess barriers and facilitators
to uptake and sustained use of PrEP and MOUD and inform conversations with our community advisory board
to adapt a global to local venue-based care model, tested in Aim 2. In Aim 2, we will pilot a venue-based model
of care for 50 WWID. Using novel rigorous laboratory science methods, we will measure the impact of venue-
based care on sustained use of PrEP and MOUD (Aim 2a), and we will similarly measure the acceptability and
feasibility associated with venue-based care for WWID. If successful, our study will provide data on a feasible
model of care for reducing HIV acquisition among WWID, which can be assessed for cost-effectiveness and
further tested at scale.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10466114
- **Project number:** 1R34DA054588-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Ann Corcorran
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $233,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10466114

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10466114, Combination primary care and prevention services for women who inject drugs and exchange sex in Seattle, Washington (1R34DA054588-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10466114. Licensed CC0.

---

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