ResearchProjects

People who inject drugs (PWID) experience disproportionate risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, yet due to stigma, fear of mistreatment, and other factors, PWID are far less likely to be vaccinated compared to other populations. This study will collaborate a prominent community based organization serving African American and Latino PWID. The study will explore baseline hesitancy to vaccinate among PWID, identify barriers to vaccination, and then develop and evaluate messaging designed to increase COVID-19 vaccination among our target population of PWID through a clinical trial.

Abstract on NIH RePORTER

Aronson ID, Bennett AS, Ardouin-Guerrier MA, Rivera-Castellar GJ, Gibson BE, Vargas-Estrella B (2022).
Using the participatory education and research into lived experience (PEARLE) methodology to localize content and target specific populations
Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, 992519. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.992519. PMCID: PMC9634163.

Aronson ID, Bennett AS, Ardouin-Guerrier MA, Rivera-Castellar G, Gibson B, Santoscoy S, Vargas-Estrella B (2022).
How vaccine ambivalence can lead people who inject drugs to decline COVID-19 vaccination, and ways this can be addressed: A qualitative study
JMIR Formative Research, 6 (3), e35066. doi: 10.2196/35066. PMCID: PMC8945077.