Adaptation and Evaluation of an Intersectional Stigma Reduction Intervention to Increase HIV Care Engagement Among Women Who Use Drugs (Light Inside)

August 4, 2026 updated by: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The goal of this study is to test whether a program reduce stigma will help women living HIV remain in HIV care.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a behavioral intervention designed to reduce intersectional HIV- and drug use-related stigma and improve HIV care engagement among women living with HIV who use drugs in Ukraine. A total of 100 eligible women will be randomized to either the intervention or a control condition. Participants in both groups will receive standard HIV care and a one-time consultation with a social worker, complete baseline, 3-month, and 6-month assessments, and have HIV care outcomes assessed. Participants assigned to the intervention will additionally attend five small-group sessions focused on stigma coping, cognitive-behavioral skills, communication, social support, and HIV care engagement, with an optional individual session involving a support person. The study will examine effects on HIV care engagement, antiretroviral therapy adherence, and stigma-related psychosocial outcomes to inform a future fully powered randomized controlled trial.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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 Contact

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Female; Age 18 years or older;
  • Registered in the national Medical Information System (MIS) as having received an HIV-positive diagnosis;
  • Registered in the MIS with injection drug use (IDU) as the probable mode of HIV transmission or with a documented history of injection drug use at any clinical visit.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Does not meet the inclusion criteria;
  • Unable to provide informed consent;
  • Unable to provide informed consent due to intoxication, the effects of drug use, or severe psychiatric impairment at the time of consent.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard of Care (Control)
Standard of Care (Control Arm): Participants randomized to the control arm will continue to receive standard HIV and substance use care available through the participant's usual healthcare providers. In addition, participants will receive a one-time consultation with a social worker (in person or remotely) and complete study assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. No stigma-reduction intervention sessions will be provided.
Behavioral: standard of care
Standard of Care: Participants will continue to receive standard HIV and substance use care available through their usual healthcare providers. In addition, they will receive a one-time consultation with a social worker, delivered either in person or remotely, to provide support and linkage to available services.
Experimental: Intervention Arm
Experimental Intervention Arm: Participants randomized to the intervention arm will continue to receive standard HIV and substance use care, a one-time consultation with a social worker, and complete study assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. In addition, they will participate in five in-person, small-group sessions delivered over approximately 2-3 weeks that focus on reducing HIV- and drug use-related stigma through cognitive-behavioral coping skills, communication and social support strategies, and HIV care engagement. Participants may also complete an optional individual session with a psychologist facilitator and a support person.
Behavioral: Light Inside
Adapted intersectional stigma reduction intervention consisting of five facilitator-led, small-group sessions delivered over approximately 2-3 weeks. The intervention uses cognitive-behavioral strategies to reduce HIV- and drug use-related stigma by strengthening adaptive coping, cognitive restructuring, communication skills, social support, and HIV care self-efficacy to improve HIV care engagement and antiretroviral therapy adherence. Participants may also complete an optional individual session with a psychologist facilitator and a support person.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HIV care engagement as assessed by the Number of participants who re-engage in HIV care
Time Frame: 6 months
Number of participants who re-engage in HIV care, defined as attending at least one HIV clinical care visit within 6 months after study enrollment, as documented in the Medical Information System (MIS).
6 months
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence as assessed by the percentage of days covered by dispensed antiretroviral medication
Time Frame: 6 months
ART adherence, measured as the percentage of days covered by dispensed antiretroviral medication during the 6 months after study enrollment, based on Medical Information System pharmacy records.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Collaborators

Fogarty International Center of the National Institute of Health

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jill Owczarzak, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

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 (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 4, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB00029819
  • 5R01TW012908 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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