# Mapping a behavioral economics-informed intervention to promote linkage to HIV prevention and behavioral health services for people releasing from jails and prisons in Washington State

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $311,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
People who are releasing from jail or prison are at disproportionately high risk of acquiring HIV. This population
also has high prevalence of mental health or substance use disorders, which can further increase HIV risk.
While robust services and targeted resources have improved outcomes for people living with HIV when they
release from jail or prison, the larger numbers of people at high risk for HIV upon release have fewer resources
available to support them. Consequently, there is a need for low-cost, scaleable ways to connect these
individuals with HIV prevention services including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Behavioral economics
approaches, including nudges (small processes or heuristics that encourage engagement in healthy behavior;
for example, auto-enrollment in services), may provide a low-cost and effective way to increase service
engagement. However, introducing nudges necessitates an in-depth understanding of the choice architecture
of incarcerated or recently released individuals. In addition, identifying high-risk individuals, linking them with
services, and implementing nudges requires knowledge of the complex and intersecting systems in which
individuals receive services. Accordingly, we propose to conduct formative work to map existing services,
service gaps, and key decision points for people at high risk for HIV upon release from prison or jail. Our
experienced, interdisciplinary project team includes two clinical researchers with expertise in HIV prevention
(Graham) and correctional health (Jack), a behavioral economist (Hauber), a qualitative research expert
(Starks), and an implementation scientist (Weiner). The core team will also include a Project Manager, a
person with lived experience accessing HIV prevention services who has worked for a community-based
organization serving this population. We will conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews with Washington jail
and prison staff and providers (n=15), community-based service providers (n=20), and recently released
people (n=15). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) will inform the provider
interview guide and analysis, facilitating systematic assessment of implementation opportunities and
challenges. Nudge theory will inform analyses of the decision-making processes of service users. We will focus
this formative work on services within and people releasing to King County, Washington State’s most populous
county and an EHE focus site. The formative work we propose is essential for understanding community needs
and strengthening relationships with service providers to enable robust community engagement with future
research or implementation. After this formative work, we will be well positioned to seek future funding to
develop and conduct discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to assess provider and service user preferences for
service package components and implementation strategies designed to nudge people toward PrEP uptake
an...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599420
- **Project number:** 3P30MH123248-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Jane M. Simoni
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $311,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599420

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599420, Mapping a behavioral economics-informed intervention to promote linkage to HIV prevention and behavioral health services for people releasing from jails and prisons in Washington State (3P30MH123248-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599420. Licensed CC0.

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