Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support for People Leaving Jail (MEPS)

May 19, 2026 updated by: Nina T. Harawa, MPH, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
This study will provide HIV prevention and related support services to men who have sex with men and transgender women who have substance use disorders and are either leaving jail or recently released from jail. The researchers will compare the utilization of HIV prevention and other support services between individuals who receive routine case management provided following enrollment to those who have access to GeoPassport, a global position service (GPS)-based mobile app, incentives, and peer mentor support.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators will enroll 200 people in jail or within 12 months post-release from incarceration. During the trial, half of participants will be randomized into a control group that will receive usual care consistent with the setting in which they live, along with referrals customized to their needs and preferences to share with a case manager. They will be compared to the other half of participants randomized to the intervention group that, in addition to receiving customized referral sources, will also receive the GeoPassport App, incentives, and the support of a trained Peer Mentor for six months. The GeoPassport App will provide participants with tools for tracking goals and progress toward meeting them, assistance in locating services, appointment and medication reminders, opportunities to provide feedback on service providers, and built-in tracking and distribution of rewards (incentives) for service utilization. GeoPassport will assist Peer Mentors in monitoring participants' service utilization. The Peer Mentors will provide encouragement, role modeling, accompaniment to appointments, and assistance with goal setting, problem-solving, and reducing logistical and psychosocial barriers to service engagement. The intervention can be delivered in person or remotely in order to comply with necessary social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in both groups will be followed to assess whether those offered the intervention are more likely to meet the specific prevention targets described in the Specific Aims. The intervention lasts 6 months from the start of participation. Participants are interviewed at 3, 6, and 9 months from the same point as the intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

233

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90003
        • God's Property
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90012
        • Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail
      • Santa Fe Springs, California, United States, 90670
        • Los Angeles Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 49 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. housed in K6G unit or within 12 months post-release from incarceration
  2. ages 18-49 years
  3. screens positive for Substance Use Disorder (SUD), or has sought or received SUD treatment at any time starting 12 months before the most recent incarceration until the present day.
  4. reports sexual intercourse with a male or a male-to-female transgender woman in the six months prior to jail entry
  5. if recruited in jail, is likely to be remain either in custody for at least four more days, but less than three more months based on scheduled court dates, current sentence, treatment plan, etc.
  6. has not received an HIV diagnosis (based on self-report)
  7. plans to reside in Los Angeles County for the 12 months following enrollment

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. does not have a smartphone and is not willing to obtain one post-release,
  2. is not able to speak and understand English, and
  3. does not have sufficient reading skills to operate a mobile app

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard of Care
A client-centered assessment of priorities and needs and customized prevention and testing referrals.
Behavioral: Usual Care plus Customized Referrals
Participants in the control arm will continue to receive services they would normally receive consistent with the setting in which they were recruited. This includes substance use treatment in jail, substance use treatment at a residential recovery facility, and/or supportive housing services. The study will provide referrals customized to their needs and preferences.
Experimental: Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support
Standard of Care in addition to a client-centered assessment of priorities and needs and customized prevention and testing referrals, and the Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support Program
Behavioral: Usual Care plus Customized Referrals
Participants in the control arm will continue to receive services they would normally receive consistent with the setting in which they were recruited. This includes substance use treatment in jail, substance use treatment at a residential recovery facility, and/or supportive housing services. The study will provide referrals customized to their needs and preferences.
Behavioral: Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support
Access to the newly developed GeoPassport App, incentives for accessing identified services, and a trained Peer Mentor.
Other Names:
  • MEPS

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Establishing a Primary Care Provider Who Can Prescribe PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)
Time Frame: 9 months
Defined as the participant identifying and completing an appointment with a primary care provider who is willing and able to prescribe HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.
9 months
Number of Participants Who Initiate PrEP Regimen
Time Frame: 9 months
Defined as the participant obtaining a prescription for PrEP, providing documentation, reporting taking the medication
9 months
Number of Participants Who Demonstrate Minimal Adherence to PrEP
Time Frame: 3, 6, or 9 months
Defined as the participant self-reporting taking prescribed PrEP at least 4 days per week at first instance of reporting taking PrEP
3, 6, or 9 months
Number of Participants Who Remain on PrEP for at Least 3 Months.
Time Frame: 9 months
The outcomes is defined by self-reported PrEP use for 3 or more months
9 months
Number of Participants Who Report an HIV Test Within 3 Months of a Follow-up
Time Frame: 3, 6, and 9 months
Defined as the participant self-reporting having obtained HIV testing within 3 months of the follow-up
3, 6, and 9 months
Number of Participants Who Undergo a Test for Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Chlamydia Within 6 Months of a Follow-up
Time Frame: 6 and 9 months
Defined by the participant self-reporting having obtained testing for these sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) within the 6 months prior to a follow-up over the 9 month follow-up period
6 and 9 months
Number of Participants Who Undergo a Test for Hepatitis C
Time Frame: 9 months
Defined by the participant self-reporting having obtained at least one test for Hepatitis C
9 months
Number of Participants Obtaining Treatment for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in the Community
Time Frame: 3 months
Defined by the participant self-report of completing SUD appointments within the 3 months following enrollment
3 months
Number of Participants Who Remain Engaged in Treatment for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in the Community,
Time Frame: 9 months
Defined by the participant self-reporting remaining engaged in treatment (i.e., continuing to attend meetings, counseling or other treatment activities) in the 3 months prior to the final follow-up interview.
9 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants in Each Arm Receiving Care and Treatment for Newly Diagnosed HIV or HCV Infections.
Time Frame: 3, 6, or 9 months
Self-report of whether or not participants received follow-up care and treatment for HIV or hepatitis C infections diagnosed during study follow-up (n=200)
3, 6, or 9 months
Number of Participants Who Recidivate
Time Frame: 9 months
Measure the comparative effectiveness of each intervention arm on reducing recidivism (n=200), quantified as the number of respondents who are reincarcerated.
9 months
Number of Reincarcerations Among Those Who Recidivate
Time Frame: 9 months
Measure the comparative effectiveness of the intervention reducing recidivism (n=200), quantified as total number of reincarcerations over the study period among those who recidivate.
9 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

California HIV/AIDS Research Program
Friends Research Institute, Inc.
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science
Los Angeles Centers For Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Nina T Harawa, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 14, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 11, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

March 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 29, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 19-000165
  • OS17-LA-003 (Other Grant/Funding Number: California HIV/AIDS Research Program)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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