Each year, one in six people with HIV are incarcerated, and two-thirds of incarcerated people have substance use disorders (SUDs). For formerly incarcerated people with and at risk for HIV, competing priorities (unstable housing, employment, and SUD, for example) can be barriers to adequate care for HIV treatment and prevention. To end the HIV epidemic in the U.S., those barriers must be overcome so that formerly incarcerated people living with and at risk for HIV can adhere to antiretroviral therapy, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and other measures to improve health outcomes and prevent spread of the virus.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Matthew Akiyama, M.D., and colleagues a one-year, $963,000 grant to evaluate a comprehensive model of post-incarceration care for people living with HIV or who are at risk for becoming infected with HIV. Dubbed the “DEST2nation model,” their proposed intervention uses peer support to help connect people with healthcare and SUD treatment following incarceration. The intervention also involves forming partnerships with community-based organizations that help address unmet social needs of newly released HIV patients and decentralized medical care that improves individuals’ overall access to appropriate HIV treatment and care.

Dr. Akiyama is associate professor of medicine at Einstein and an internist and infectious disease specialist at Montefiore. (1R61DA060627-01)