HIV Prevention and Adherence Among Priority Drug Using Populations

描述（由申请人提供）：在这份修订后的K02职业资助申请中，候选人要求5年的资金支持一系列活动，这些活动将共同改善针对国内和国际吸毒者的艾滋病毒预防和依从性干预方法的发展。通过疾病预防控制中心的有效行为干预推广项目（DEBI），许多基于证据的艾滋病毒预防方法现已广泛适用于艾滋病毒/艾滋病感染者。然而，培训、实施、监测和评估当前针对HIV+ DUs的ebi所需的大量资源，降低了这些ebi在普通临床环境（例如，药物治疗项目、HIV临床护理环境、矫正环境等）中被适当采用和维持的可能性。此外，适用于HIV+ DUs的ebi的采用相当有限，美国每年新增HIV感染人数（其中很大一部分直接或间接归因于HIV+ DUs）保持在56,300人左右。艾滋病毒+药物滥用者仍然是一个重要的优先人群，因为只有艾滋病毒+患者才能传播新的感染，而且药物滥用者通过与毒品和性有关的艾滋病毒风险行为继续大大加剧艾滋病毒的持续流行，而这些行为完全可以通过在临床环境中有效、具有成本效益和可持续的适当量身定制和战略性放置的干预措施加以预防。NIDA已经认识到这一转化差距，并为候选人的研究团队提供了资金，以适应和优化EBI方法，以便在药物治疗和矫正环境中的优先人群中实施。修订后的K02（独立科学家奖）中提出的活动为候选人提供了必要的框架和时间，以便为针对这一优先人群的下一代艾滋病毒预防和坚持方案做出贡献，最终目标是改善艾滋病毒的流行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this revised K02 career grant application, the candidate is requesting 5 years of funding to support a range of activities that will collectively improve the development of HIV prevention and adherence intervention approaches targeting drug users nationally and internationally. Through the CDC's Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) program, a number of evidence-based HIV prevention approaches are now widely available for use with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA). The substantial resources required for training, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of current EBIs targeting HIV+ DUs, however, reduces the likelihood that these EBIs can be properly adopted and sustained in common clinical settings (e.g., drug treatment programs, HIV clinical care settings, correctional settings, etc.). Moreover, the uptake of EBIs applicable to HIV+ DUs has been quite limited and the number of new annual HIV infections - a significant portion of which are directly and indirectly attributable to HIV+ DUs - has remained ~56,300 in the U.S. Thus, HIV+ DUs remain an important priority population since only HIV+ persons can transmit new infections and because DUs continue to contribute greatly to the persistent HIV epidemic via drug- and sex-related HIV risk behaviors that are entirely preventable through properly tailored and strategically placed interventions that are efficacious, cost-effective, and sustainable in clinica settings. NIDA has recognized this translational gap and has provided funding for the candidate's research team to adapt and optimize EBI approaches for implementation among priority populations in drug treatment and correctional settings. The activities proposed in this revised K02 (Independent Scientist Award) provide the essential framework and release time for the candidate to contribute to the next generation of HIV prevention and adherence programs targeting this priority population with the ultimate goal of improving the HIV pandemic.