Project EMPOWERING: Evidence-based PrEP for Justice-Involved Women and Their Risk Networks

Risk networks can be leveraged to maximally disseminate effective interventions to women, including PrEP, and thereby potentially avert some of the 50,000 annual incident HIV infections in the U.S. Few studies to date have capitalized on risk networks as a way to identify and engage high-risk individuals, like CJ-involved women, who could markedly benefit from PrEP. This study advances the field by: 1) Using an innovative network-based framework (a non-traditional model of care delivery) to engage a high risk population in PrEP dissemination as HIV prevention; 2) Incorporating a syndemic approach to PrEP that addresses HIV prevention in the context of substance use, psychiatric comorbidities, IPV, and stigma; and 3) Recruiting, enrolling, and retaining high risk networks of CJ-involved women who are difficult to reach by other means. In doing so, this proposal addresses key funding priorities of the Gilead Investigator Sponsored Research program, which includes research on PrEP implementation targeted to high risk populations and delivered in non-traditional clinical settings.

Inclusion criteria

• Index participants reside in, or planning to reside in New Haven or Hartford, Connecticut,.
• Criminal justice-involved (anticipate release or have been released from prison or jail within 6 months, and/or are under or anticipating transfer to correctional community supervision (i.e. probation or parole)).
• Self-reported HIV negative.

Eligible and enrolled women will then recruit risk network members through respondent driven sampling, using vouchers.

Risk network members must:

• have a unique and valid referral coupon (from Index participant).
• Reside or planning to reside in New Haven or Hartford, Connecticut.
• Self-reported HIV negative
• 18 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

• They are unable or unwilling to provide informed consent.
• Are threatening to staff.