Pilot Study of an Adapted Partner Navigation Intervention Booster Session for Sustained Healthcare Engagement Among People Who Inject Drugs

Summary

This study builds upon an ongoing NIH-funded randomized controlled trial (R01DA053325) evaluating a Partner Navigation Intervention to increase hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment initiation among young adult people who inject drugs (PWID) and their injecting partners in San Francisco. The proposed research includes secondary analyses of existing trial data, additional survey measures, qualitative interviews, and a pilot intervention adaptation.

The study has two primary objectives. First, it examines how racialized discrimination (structural, interpersonal, and internalized) affects HCV treatment initiation and dyadic partner support processes within injecting partnerships. Second, it evaluates whether a brief, adapted "booster" partner navigation session delivered at HCV treatment completion can improve engagement in ongoing healthcare.

Participants include adults (≥18 years) who inject drugs and have been diagnosed with HCV, along with their primary injecting partners. Study activities include longitudinal surveys, qualitative interviews with a subset of participants, and a pilot intervention session with follow-up evaluation.

This research addresses critical gaps in understanding how social relationships and structural inequities influence healthcare engagement among PWID. Findings will inform culturally responsive adaptations to dyadic interventions and improve continuity of care in a population disproportionately affected by HCV and systemic barriers to healthcare.

Conditions

• HEPATITIS C (HCV)
• Opioid Use Disorder
• Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
• Drug Use Disorders
• Healthcare Access
• Harm Reduction

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Partner navigation intervention booster session

A single adapted dyadic session delivered to PWID and their primary injecting partner at the point of HCV treatment completion. The session builds on the original two-session Partner Navigation Intervention (PNI) developed in the YETI study (R01DA053325) and is adapted to target partnership-based support for broader post-treatment healthcare access, including primary care, mental health, and harm reduction services. Session content includes collaborative goal-setting, barrier identification, and partner communication skills.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• University of California, San Francisco

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Meghan Morris, PhD, MPH · University of California, San Francisco

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-01

Primary Completion

2027-03-01

Completion

2027-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations