Engagement and Retention
Prevention (PREV)
This study will expand highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) coverage among injection drug users (IDUs) in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, BC. Over a six-year period, researchers will study if expanded HAART among IDUs will lead to a reduction in the number of new HIV infections and a decrease in adverse HIV/AIDS health outcomes among the target population.
The study seeks to enroll 2000 HIV-infected IDU adults who are medically eligible for antiretroviral therapy (based on current guidelines), but are not accessing therapy or are unaware of their HIV infection status.
In recent years, researchers have expressed growing interest in using HAART to directly prevent HIV transmission. Strong evidence has become available indicating that HAART can impact transmission of HIV. HAART has the ability to effectively render HIV undetectable in blood and genital secretions and this is associated with decreased risk of transmission.
Knowledge gained from this study should assist in the development of a public health policy for the expansion of HAART, as well as enhance the effectiveness of traditional prevention efforts aimed to reduce HIV incidenc
All HAART-naïve HIV-positive adult IDUs of BC who are eligible for antiretroviral therapy under the current Treatment Guidelines established by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.
If you would like more information on this clinical study, please refer to a participating site.
.