Session Description
In the past decade, HIV outbreaks among people who inject drugs have occurred with increasing frequency in rural areas and southern states, including Kentucky, yet access to HIV testing services remains inadequate. This ongoing pilot study enabled the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team to launch an innovative sentinel surveillance platform for HIV, hepatitis C and drug contaminants among people who inject drugs in Appalachian Kentucky, through community partnerships that support the systematic collection and testing of injection equipment returned to health department-based syringe services programs. Syringe testing data provides timely information to detect signals of disease outbreak and/or novel drug contaminants to inform rapid community response. We describe the progress and interim results to date, discuss the challenges encountered in seeking sensitive and efficient testing solutions, and report successful translational steps for this unmet population health need. Collaborations with community partners and people with lived experience have been essential in shaping the research effort and achieving translational progress.
Presented by:
- Hilary L. Surratt, PhD
Professor, Behavioral Science - Kristen McLaurin, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
