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A Peer-Educator Network HIV Prevention Intervention Among Injection Drug Users: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial in St. Petersburg, Russia

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Abstract

We evaluated the efficacy of a peer-educator network intervention as a strategy to reduce HIV acquisition among injection drug users (IDUs) and their drug and/or sexual networks. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in St. Petersburg, Russia among IDU index participants and their risk network participants. Network units were randomized to the control or experimental intervention. Only the experimental index participants received training sessions to communicate risk reduction techniques to their network members. Analysis includes 76 index and 84 network participants who were HIV uninfected. The main outcome measure was HIV sero-conversion. The incidence rates in the control and experimental groups were 19.57 (95 % CI 10.74–35.65) and 7.76 (95 % CI 3.51–17.19) cases per 100 p/y, respectively. The IRR was 0.41 (95 % CI 0.15–1.08) without a statistically significant difference between the two groups (log rank test statistic X2 = 2.73, permutation p value = 0.16). Retention rate was 67 % with a third of the loss due to incarceration or death. The results show a promising trend that this strategy would be successful in reducing the acquisition of HIV among IDUs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the sponsors of the study: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (R01 DA016142, Latkin PI), the University of North Carolina Center for AIDS Research (UNC CFAR) (NIH P30 AI50410); and our collaborators the John’s Hopkins School of Public Health, the Biomedical Center and St. Petersburg State University, Russia. We would also like to acknowledge the implementing and clinical staff at the Biomedical Center and all the participants.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier of this trial is NCT00218673.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, UNC Hospitals, University of North Carolina, CB # 7030, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Irving F. Hoffman

  2. Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Carl A. Latkin

  3. Biomedical Center, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Polina V. Kukhareva, Julia V. Batluk, Alla V. Shaboltas, Roman V. Skochilov, Nicolay V. Sokolov, Sergei V. Verevochkin & Andrei P. Kozlov

  4. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Polina V. Kukhareva & Michael G. Hudgens

  5. St. Petersburg St. University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Sergey V. Malov, Julia V. Batluk, Alla V. Shaboltas, Roman V. Skochilov, Nicolay V. Sokolov & Andrei P. Kozlov

Authors
  1. Irving F. Hoffman
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  2. Carl A. Latkin
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  3. Polina V. Kukhareva
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  4. Sergey V. Malov
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  5. Julia V. Batluk
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  6. Alla V. Shaboltas
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  7. Roman V. Skochilov
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  8. Nicolay V. Sokolov
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  9. Sergei V. Verevochkin
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  10. Michael G. Hudgens
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  11. Andrei P. Kozlov
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irving F. Hoffman.

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Hoffman, I.F., Latkin, C.A., Kukhareva, P.V. et al. A Peer-Educator Network HIV Prevention Intervention Among Injection Drug Users: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial in St. Petersburg, Russia. AIDS Behav 17, 2510–2520 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0563-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0563-4

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