Yuva Sath: A Peer-led Behavioral Intervention to Support Substance Use Treatment and HIV Prevention Among Young People Who Inject Drugs in India

The goal of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to learn if Yuva Sath, a youth-tailored peer-led behavioral intervention, can support substance use treatment engagement and HIV prevention among young people who inject drugs in India. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Is Yuva Sath feasible and is it acceptable to young people who inject drugs in India ?
• Can Yuva Sath improve engagement in substance use treatment, increase use of HIV prevention services and decrease substance use and risk behaviors among young people who inject drugs in India ?

Researchers will compare participants who receive the Yuva Sath behavioral intervention to participants who do not to see if the behavioral intervention improves substance use treatment engagement and HIV prevention.

Participants will:

• Receive a total of 6 one-on-one sessions, and weekly phone text check-ins from peer counselors over a course of 6 months.
• Complete monthly random urine drug screens
• Complete in-person study questionnaires every 3 months
• Report substance use and risk behaviors weekly to peer counselors through a brief phone text message survey

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Hiv; Substance Use Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Yuva Sath

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-29 years;
• Receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for at least 3 months and receipt frequency < 2 times a week

Exclusion Criteria:

• Receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for less than 3 months and receipt frequency >= 2 times a week
• Requiring urgent medical attention
• Inability to provide informed consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Yuva Sath Intervention; The Yuva Sath Intervention entails 6 one-on-one sessions delivered by peer counselors who will use an intervention manual consisting of modules and an intervention script. These sessions will occur over a period of 3 months. The intervention will also entail weekly check-in text messages from peer counselors. These weekly check-ins will occur over a period of 5 months.	Behavioral: Yuva Sath; The Yuva Sath Intervention comprises 6 one-on-one sessions with peer counselors who will use an intervention manual. The intervention also includes weekly phone text check-ins by peer counselors
No Intervention: Treatment as usual; The treatment as usual arm consists of a single motivational interviewing session that will be provided by existing counselors at the integrated care center where the trial will take place. Participants in this arm will not receive the Yuva Sath Intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of the Yuva Sath Intervention: Peer counselor fidelity	Feasibility of the Yuva Sath intervention as measured by peer counselor fidelity to the intervention protocol will be determined by independent observer fidelity checklists. The checklist will score content delivery on a 3-point ordinal scale (1=no key content covered to 3=all key content covered), and peer-navigator actions (i.e., identification of barriers; generation of solutions) on a 5-point Likert scale (1=not at all to 5=very much). The intervention will be deemed to be feasible if 80% of the sessions addressed key Life-Steps module content and employed flexible problem-solving	6 months.
Feasibility of the Yuva Sath Intervention: Attendance in the first four sessions	Feasibility of the Yuva Sath intervention as measured by attendance in the first four sessions will be calculated as a proportion: participants who completed the first four sessions of the total 6 sessions of the intervention/ All participants in the intervention arm. The intervention will be deemed to be feasible if at least 75% of participants completed the first four sessions	6 months
Feasibility of the Yuva Sath Intervention: Completion of the 3 month assessment	Feasibility of the Yuva Sath intervention as measured by completion of the 3 month session will be calculated as a proportion: participants who completed the 3 month assessment / All participants in the intervention arm. The intervention will be deemed feasible if at least 60% of participants completed the 3-month assessment	3 months
Acceptability of the Yuva Sath Intervention	Acceptability of the intervention as measured by the overall satisfaction of participants rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=not at all to 5=very much). The intervention will be deemed acceptable if at least 75% of the participants rate >=4 on overall satisfaction	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Substance use treatment engagement: the number of MOUD visits each month	Substance use treatment engagement as measured by the average number of MOUD visits each month over a 6 month period will be compared between the intervention and control arms.	6 months
Substance use treatment engagement: the number of weeks of MOUD receipt at >2 times a week	Substance use treatment engagement as measured by the the number of weeks of MOUD receipt at >2 times a week will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in each arm who on average received MOUD at a frequency of > 2 times a week.	6 months
Substance use treatment engagement: retention in MOUD at 6 months	Substance use treatment engagement as measured by retention in MOUD at 6 months will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion (%) of participants in each arm who were retained in MOUD at 6 months	6 months
HIV testing receipt	Receipt of regular HIV testing every 6 months will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion (%) of participants in each arm who received regular HIV testing	6 months
Substance use: Self report at 3-month assessment	Substance use as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in the intervention and control arms who report continued substance use by at the 3-month assessment	3 months
Substance use: Self report at 6-month assessment	Substance use as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion (%) of participants in the intervention and control arms who report continued substance use by at the 6-month assessment	6 months
Substance use: monthly random point-of-care urinalysis	Substance use as measured by monthly point-of-care urinalysis will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion (%) of participants in the intervention and control arms who had at least one positive point-of-care test for opioids (excluding buprenorphine) in each arm	6 months
Needle sharing: Self report at 3-month assessment	Needle sharing as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in the intervention and control arms who report needle sharing at the 3-month assessment	3 months
Needle sharing: self report at 6-month assessment	Needle sharing as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in the intervention and control arms who report needle sharing at the 6-month assessment	6 months
Condomless sex: self report at 3-month assessment.	Condomless sex as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in the intervention and control arms who report condomless sex at the 3-month assessment	3 months
Condomless sex: self report at 6-month assessment.	Condomless sex as measured by self report will be compared between the intervention and control arms. We will calculate the proportion of participants (%) in the intervention and control arms who report condomless sex at the 6-month assessment	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 4, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 22, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 21, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: India; Youth; People who inject drugs
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Blood-Borne Infections; Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Mental Disorders; Immune System Diseases; Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Communicable Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Lentivirus Infections; Retroviridae Infections; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Slow Virus Diseases; HIV Infections; Substance-Related Disorders; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024P000962; 1K23DA057151-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data will be made available to other researchers at reasonable request.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: The data will become available once study analysis is completed and will be available for at least 5 years after study completion
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No