# Contextual risk factors for hepatitis C among young persons who inject drugs

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2020 · $615,121

## Abstract

7. PROJECT SUMMARY
Background: An emerging epidemic of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection exists among young persons who
inject drugs (PWID) from suburban and rural areas. HCV is primarily transmitted via risk practices associated
with injection drug use (IDU). In 2016, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) examined the feasibility of
HCV elimination in the U.S., defined as cessation of viral transmission in this country. In its phase-1 report,
NAS determined that young PWID are the people at greatest risk for HCV and are the primary drivers of HCV
incidence today in non-urban U.S. communities that previously had low to modest rates of HCV infection. To
date, no known study has fully elucidated why HCV incidence is increasing in this “new generation” of PWID
(NG-PWID), which is composed predominantly of non-Hispanic Whites from suburban and rural communities.
Our recent study suggests that what may have changed over the past decade are contextual and structural
factors that heighten suburban NG-PWID's risk of becoming HCV-infected. Objective: We propose a
longitudinal study among NG-PWID and their personal (egocentric) injection, sexual, and support networks.
We will collect data every 6 months for 36 months to assess over time the impact on HCV risk of (i) social
network factors, (ii) physical and social geographic factors, (iii) social norms of IDU, and (iv) perceived IDU and
HCV stigma. Methods: We will recruit 420 PWID (ages 18-30) and about 1,156 of their injection network
members (age 18 and over) from Chicago, Illinois, and surrounding suburban areas. Recruitment will occur at
two community field sites of a large syringe services program (SSP) and through direct outreach in large, open
drug market areas. Six types of data will be collected on both participants and their injection, sexual, and
support network members: (i) participant socio-demographic characteristics, drug use patterns and practices,
and sexual practices, (ii) network size, characteristics, and features of relationships among network members
(e.g., strength of tie), (iii) HIV and HCV infection status through testing, (iv) geographic data on the location and
characteristics of places where participants and their network members reside, purchase drugs, inject, and
meet sex and injection partners, (v) an assessment of social norms within both the participant's network and
specific behavioral settings, and (vi) an assessment of perceived IDU and HCV stigma. Public Health
Significance: The proposed research will (i) improve our understanding of the contextual and structural factors
driving HCV incidence among NG-PWID, (ii) inform the development of innovative strategies for NG-PWID
(e.g., network interventions, direct antiviral HCV treatment scale up) toward the goal of HCV elimination in the
U.S. set forth by DHHS, and (iii) provide crucial data needed to develop more realistic computational models
that address the complex interplay of individual, social, and structural level f...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9960465
- **Project number:** 5R01DA043484-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Basmattee Boodram
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $615,121
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9960465

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9960465, Contextual risk factors for hepatitis C among young persons who inject drugs (5R01DA043484-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9960465. Licensed CC0.

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