Staying Safe Intervention: Preventing HCV Among Youth Opioid Injectors
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Project dates: July 2016 - May 2023
Principal Investigator: Mateu-Gelabert, PedroProject dates: July 2016 - May 2023
Principal Investigator: Guarino, Honoria
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Young people who inject drugs are at extremely high risk for HCV infection through the use of contaminated injection equipment. To date, no behavioral intervention has been sufficiently potent to produce significant reductions in HCV incidence among PWID. To address this need, the project developed Staying Safe (Ssafe), an innovative, strengths-based, socio-behavioral HCV prevention intervention. This study assessed the effectiveness of the Ssafe intervention in reducing both injection-related HCV and HIV risk behavior and HCV incidence among young adults (ages 18-29) who inject opioids (heroin and/or prescription opioids).
Abstract on NIH RePORTERRelated Publications
Mateu-Gelabert P, Pratt S, Guarino H, Hallack R, Fong C, Eckhardt B (2024). HCV prevalence and phylogenetic characteristics in a cross-sectional, community study of young people who inject drugs in New York City: Opportunity for and threats to HCV elimination
Health Science Reports, 7 (7), e2211. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.2211. PMCID: PMC11217018.
Guarino H, Frank D, Quinn K, Kim D, Gile K, Ruggles K, Friedman SR, Mateu-Gelabert P (2023).
Syndemic factors associated with non-fatal overdose among young opioid users in New York City
Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1195657. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1195657. PMCID: PMC10332320.
Mateu-Gelabert P, Sabounchi NS, Guarino H, Ciervo C, Joseph K, Eckhardt BJ, Fong C, Kapadia SN, Huang TTK (2022).
Hepatitis C virus risk among young people who inject drugs
Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 835836. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.835836. PMCID: PMC9372473.
Kapadia SN, Katzman C, Fong C, Eckhardt BJ, Guarino H, Mateu-Gelabert P (2021).
Hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake among young people who use opioids in New York City: A cross-sectional study
Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 28 (2), 326-333. doi: 10.1111/jvh.13437. PMCID: PMC8207521.
Mateu-Gelabert P, Guarino H, Zibbell JE, Teubl J, Fong C, Goodbody E, Edlin B, Salvati C, Friedman SR (2020).
Prescription opioid injection among young people who inject drugs in New York City: A mixed-methods description and associations with hepatitis C virus infection and overdose
Harm Reduction Journal, 17, 22. doi: 10.1186/s12954-020-00367-2. PMCID: PMC7106794.
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