This community-engaged project aims to improve the accessibility of rapid tests through a supported employment program for people who inject drugs (PWID). The overall goal is to develop a transformative community-driven intervention in partnership with a community partner to promote widespread access to rapid testing among PWID.
The program is called Peer Connect2Test (PeerC2T). PWID will be recruited by a community partner who provides syringe exchange services. The community partner will train PWID to become peer health workers (PHW) to distribute SARS-CoV-2 rapid tests to other PWID. Investigators expect that PeerC2T will improve knowledge, self-efficacy, and health behaviors among PHWs.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
102
PeerC2T is part of a supported employment program where PWID are trained and supported to provide PWID with job skills to be able to act as Peer Health Workers to facilitate the distribution of rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing to other PWID. The effect of the training on the Peer Health Worker themself will be evaluated.
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon, United States
Participant Peer Well-Being (Flourishing Scale)
Participant well-being was computed as the mean of eight items with a 7-point response option (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). The internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha (α), was .90, scores could range from 1 to 7, and higher scores indicated greater levels of well-being.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Health Communication Self-Efficacy
Health communication self-efficacy was computed as the mean score of 14 items with a 5-point response option (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha (α), was .97; scores could range from 1 to 5, and higher scores indicated greater self-efficacy.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Peer Support Self-Efficacy
Peer support self-efficacy, an Aim 1 measure, was computed as the mean score of 18 items with a 5-point response option (1 = not at all confident, 5 = very confident). The internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha (α), was .96; scores could range from 1 to 5, and higher scores indicated greater self-efficacy.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
COVID-19 Knowledge
COVID-19 knowledge was computed as the number of correctly endorsed items. Five items were presented to test knowledge of COVID-19. Scores could range from 0 to 5, and higher scores indicate greater levels of COVID-19 knowledge.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
HIV Knowledge
HIV knowledge was computed as the number of correctly endorsed items. Four items were presented to test understanding of HIV. Scores could range from 0 to 4, and higher scores indicate greater levels of HIV knowledge.
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Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Hepatitis C Knowledge
Hepatitis C knowledge was computed as the number of correctly endorsed items. Five items were presented to test understanding of HIV. Scores could range from 0 to 5, and higher scores indicate greater levels of hepatitis C knowledge.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Syphilis Knowledge
Syphilis knowledge was computed as the number of correctly endorsed items. Five items were presented to test understanding of HIV. Scores could range from 0 to 5, and higher scores indicate greater levels of Syphilis knowledge.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Naloxone Knowledge
Naloxone knowledge was computed as the number of correctly endorsed items. Five items were presented to test understanding of HIV. Scores could range from 0 to 5, and higher scores indicate greater levels of naloxone knowledge.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Harm Reduction Risk Behaviors - Number of Times a Person Injected Drugs
Harm reduction risk behaviors included behaviors that occurred in the past month, and a higher score indicated greater levels of risky behavior. The injected drugs score was the total number of times a person reported they had injected drugs.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Harm Reduction Risk Behaviors - Number of Times a Person Used Needles
Harm reduction risk behaviors included behaviors that occurred in the past month. The needle use score was a count of number of times they used a needle after someone else had used it (0 = none, 5 = more than 10 times), number of different people who used a needle before they had (0 = none, 5 = more than 10 times), number of times someone used a needle after they had (0 = none, 5 = more than 10 times), and before using needles how often they used bleach to clean the needles (0 = don't reuse, 5 = never). Scores could range from 0 to 20, and a higher score indicated a greater level of needle risky behaviors.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up
Harm Reduction Risk Behaviors - Number of Times Person Engaged in Risky Intercourse Behaviors
Harm reduction risk behaviors included behaviors that occurred in the past month. The intercourse score was a count of the number of people a person had sex within the last month (0 = none, 5 = more than 10 people), the number of times a person used condoms when having sex with regular partner(s) in the last month (0 = no regular partner, 6 = never), how often they used condoms when they paid for sex (0 = not paid sex, 5 = never), how often they used condoms when having sex with casual partners (0 = no casual partners, 5 = never), and how many times they had anal sex in the last month (0 = 0 times, 5 = more than 5 times). Scores could range from 0 to 26, and a higher score indicated a greater level of intercourse risky behaviors.
Time frame: Assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up