LinkUP: COVID-19 Intervention for Underserved Populations

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The goal of the present study is to evaluate a pilot intervention (LinkUP) to improve the uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination among PWID in San Diego County. Results will be shared with RADxUP consortium members, policymakers and program planners in California and across the US and used to estimate effect sizes for a future efficacy trial. Our study will inform efforts to leverage any of the 185 SSPs around the US as 'touchpoints' to reach marginalized communities, strengthening the nation's pandemic preparedness infrastructure to reduce COVID-19 health disparities.

Detailed Description: Together with our community partner, the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego's (HRCSD) OnPoint, a mobile safe syringe program (SSP), we will evaluate develop and evaluate an intervention to improve uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination. HRCSD's OnPoint will rely on UCSD's IRB review and approval for all aspects related to oversight of study and intervention implementation. Completion of primary endpoint data analyses was achieved on April 13, 2023. Study final completion date is January 31, 2024. Our Study Aims are :

1. To adapt an existing behavioral intervention incorporating motivational interviewing (MI) to improve uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among people who inject drugs (PWID), by replacing the educational content with information intended to improve uptake of COVID19 testing and COVID19 vaccination.

2. To pilot test the intervention in Aim 1 (called LinkUP) at OnPoint's 4 mobile SSP locations across San Diego County. We expect that the LinkUP intervention will be acceptable to PWID and considered feasible and sustainable by OnPoint staff and the project's Community Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
COVID-19 Testing	Day of the Intervention; The outcome for the last participant was ascertained on June 6th, 2022.	Number of participants who agreed to and received onsite a COVID test right after receiving the intervention (i.e., same day as the intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
COVID-19 Vaccination	6 months	Received ≥ one COVID shot within 6 months of intervention COVID-19 vaccination: Before trial started, SSP determined that limited staffing capacity to offer vaccination and addressing potential adverse events prevented this secondary outcome to be measured. Study participants were provided with referrals to community vaccine clinics throughout the County.