Social Networks of Youth who Misuse Prescription Opioids and Risk for HIV/HCV

描述：K01指导研究科学家发展奖将为候选人Alia Al-Tayyi博士提供高级培训和结构化指导，以促进她向研究独立的过渡。候选人的目标是成为一名独立调查员，拥有了解艾滋病毒和丙型肝炎病毒相关风险的网络方法方面的专业知识，重点是在年轻人中过渡到注射吸毒。拟议的工作范围将填补现有文献中的一个明显空白，从社交网络的角度研究正在出现的药物使用模式。处方药的非医疗用途是美国增长最快的毒品问题，每年导致的死亡人数超过海洛因和可卡因的总和。阿片类止痛药是最常见的滥用处方药，年轻人滥用的比率令人震惊。此外，青少年中注射吸毒的人口流行率正在上升。这种新出现的药物滥用模式，即从滥用处方阿片类止痛药过渡到注射海洛因使用，在很大程度上没有得到研究。考虑到注射吸毒对感染艾滋病毒和/或丙型肝炎病毒构成的风险，了解促进或抑制年轻人从口服处方阿片类药物向注射吸毒过渡的因素至关重要。社交网络影响着注射毒品的途径，年轻人特别容易受到社交网络的影响。这个 候选人将使用两步法来检查影响从处方阿片类药物滥用过渡到注射药物使用的因素。在物质治疗方案中对青年进行标准化的终生时间表评估之后，将招募120名目前滥用处方阿片类药物或已过渡到注射的15至24岁参与者。参与者将使用受访者驱动抽样(RDS)进行招募，并将通过对其社交网络的深入跟踪进行指导。该项目分为 三个连续的阶段，每个培训目标都与一个研究目标相匹配，研究人员将在其中应用她的新技能。应聘者将接受(1)物质使用和 (2)社会网络方法与分析；(3)纵向分析。以下是指导三个阶段的具体目标。目标1：阐明与过渡到注射有关的复杂风险环境和共生疾病，目标2：检查滥用处方阿片类药物或过渡到注射的青少年的社会网络的结构属性和暴露于其中的风险，目标3：确定RDS与社会网络追踪相结合进行纵向研究的可行性。K01奖项将为候选人提供受保护的时间，以发展建立研究独立性所需的专业知识、试点数据和出版记录，并将她定位为少数几位具有社交网络专业知识的博士培训的流行病学家之一。此外，K01将定位于研究未来新出现的药物使用模式及其与注射开始和其他风险的关系的候选者。

DESCRIPTION: This K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award will provide the candidate, Alia Al-Tayyib, PhD with advanced training and structured mentoring to facilitate her transition to research independence. The candidate's goal is to become an independent investigator with expertise in network approaches to understand risk related to HIV and hepatitis C virus with an emphasis on transition to injection drug use among youth. The proposed scope of work will fill a marked gap in the existing literature by examining an emerging pattern of drug use, from a social networks perspective. The nonmedical use of prescription drugs is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States, resulting in more deaths per year than heroin and cocaine combined. Opioid pain relievers are the most commonly misused prescription drug and young people misuse them at alarming rates. Furthermore, the population prevalence of injection drug use among youth is on the rise. This emerging drug abuse pattern, i.e., the transition from misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers to injection heroin use, is largely under-studied. Understanding the factors that accelerate or inhibit transition from oral ingestion of prescription opioids to injection drug use among young people is critical given the risk injection drug use poses for acquiring HIV and/or HCV. Social networks influence pathways into drug injecting and youth are particularly vulnerable to the influence of their social networks. The candidate will use a two-step approach to examine factors that influence the transition from prescription opioid misuse to injection drug use. Observations of standardized lifetime timeline assessments with youth in substance treatment programs will be followed by the recruitment of 120 participants between 15 and 24 years who currently misuse prescription opioids or have transitioned to injection. Participants will be recruited using respondent driven sampling (RDS) and will be guided through an in-depth tracing of their social network. The project is divided into three sequential stages, where each training goal is matched with a research aim in which the investigator will apply her new skills. The candidate will pursue training in (1) substance use and co-occurring mental health issues among youth and young adults, (2) social network methodology and analysis, and (3) longitudinal analysis. The following specific aims guide the three stages. Aim 1: elucidate the complex risk environment and co-occurring disorders associated with transition to injection, Aim 2: examine the structural attributes of, and exposure to risk within, the social networks of youth who misuse prescription opioids or have transitioned to injection, and Aim 3: determine the feasibility of RDS augmented with social network tracing for longitudinal study. The K01 award will provide the candidate with protected time to develop the expertise, pilot data, and publication record necessary to establish research independence and position her as one of a handful of doctoral-trained epidemiologists with social network expertise. Furthermore, the K01 will situate the candidate to study future emerging patterns of drug use and their relationships to injection initiation and to other risks.