Impact of COVID-19 Criminal-Legal Practices on HIV Risk among Women Who Use Drugs: A Multi-Methods Qualitative Exploration

项目总结/摘要 这项R15学术研究增强奖（AREA）研究的目标是建立有关 COVID-19在刑事法律实践中的转变对涉及司法的妇女的艾滋病毒风险行为的影响， 使用药物（WWUD）。WWUD受艾滋病毒的影响尤为严重。监禁被认为是一种 无数的个人和结构因素，提高了WWUD的艾滋病毒风险。COVID-19期间 在大流行病期间，康涅狄格州被监禁的妇女人数大幅减少，以避免监狱拥挤。 刑事法律实践的这一变化创造了一个机会，使人们能够了解非犯罪行为的影响， 监禁对非法行为的反应对WWUD的艾滋病毒风险的影响。本研究的具体目标是：（1） 为南康涅狄格州立大学的本科生提供机会， 社区参与研究的经验;（2）确定COVID-19前的艾滋病毒风险行为和保护措施 （3）记录和评估COVID-19期间参与正义的WWUD的艾滋病毒风险 WWUD。本纵向定性研究将采用多种方法。第一，定性生活史 将在康涅狄格州纽黑文市对30名以前被监禁的成年WWUD进行访谈， 了解并描述他们在COVID-19之前的生活经历和艾滋病毒风险。这些数据将创建一个 对他们的社会心理状况和与刑事法律系统的互动的基本了解。接下来， 同样的妇女样本将参加单独的基于社区的访谈，以记录她们的 COVID-19期间的艾滋病毒风险以及与刑事法律系统的相互作用（2020年3月至2022年3月）。经过这些 访谈已经进行，10名研究参与者的子样本将参加为期8周的数字 讲故事节目在研究的这一阶段产生的数字故事将提供更多的数据， 参与者在COVID-19期间的生活，这将对日历数据进行三角测量，并提供一个创造性的共享工具 与社区的发现。快速定性调查方法将用于收集、管理和分析数据 以基于团队的工作、内部人员的观点和迭代实践为中心， 了解和传播调查结果。本研究的所有方面都将由 多元化的本科生团队与社区顾问合作，他们亲自 受到监禁和吸毒的影响学生将定期与PI和顾问会面，进行12 采访每个人，共同促进数字讲故事项目，分析数据，撰写论文，并传播 调查结果。将建立一个网站，分享初步调查结果和最终分析，研究小组将 在学术会议、社区论坛和同行评审期刊上展示研究结果。通过 多样化的研究队伍和分析WWUD的COVID时代的经验，该项目符合 美国国立卫生研究院致力于社会科学研究，解决艾滋病毒风险的结构性决定因素。

Project Summary/Abstract The goal of this R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) study is to build knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 shifts in criminal-legal practices on the HIV risk behaviors of justice-involved women who use drugs (WWUD). WWUD are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Incarceration has been identified as one of the myriad individual and structural factors that elevates the HIV risk of WWUD. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of women incarcerated in Connecticut was drastically reduced to avoid prison crowding. This change in criminal-legal practices created an opportunity to build knowledge about the impact of non- incarceration responses to illicit behavior on the HIV risk of WWUD. The specific aims of the study are to (1) Provide undergraduate students at Southern Connecticut State University the opportunity to gain significant experience with community engaged research; (2) Identify the pre-COVID-19 HIV risk behaviors and protective factors of justice-involved WWUD; (3) Document and assess HIV risk during COVID-19 among justice-involved WWUD. Multiple methods will be used in this longitudinal qualitative study. First, qualitative life history interviews will be conducted with 30 formerly incarcerated adult WWUD in New Haven, CT, in order to understand and describe their lived experiences and HIV risk prior to COVID-19. This data will create a baseline understanding about their psychosocial conditions and interactions with criminal-legal systems. Next, the same sample of women will participate in individual calendar-based interviews in order to document their HIV risk and interactions with criminal-legal systems during COVID-19 (March 2020 – March 2022). After these interviews have been conducted, a sub-sample of 10 study participants will participate in an 8-week digital storytelling program. The digital stories produced during this stage of the study will offer additional data about participants’ lives during COVID-19 that will triangulate the calendar data and offer a creative tool for sharing findings with community. Rapid Qualitative Inquiry methods will be used to collect, manage, and analyze data in ways that centers team-based work, insiders’ perspectives, and iterative practices that facilitate rapid understanding and dissemination of findings. All aspects of this study will be developed and conducted by a diverse team of undergraduates in partnership with community consultants who have been personally impacted by incarceration and drug use. Students will meet regularly with the PI and consultants, conduct 12 interviews each, co-facilitate the digital storytelling project, analyze data, author papers, and disseminate findings. A website will be developed to share preliminary findings and final analyses, and the study team will present findings at academic conferences, community forums, and through peer-reviewed journals. By diversifying the research workforce and analyzing the COVID-era experiences of WWUD, this project aligns with NIH’s commitment to social science research that addresses the structural determinants of HIV risk.