An acceptance-based, intersectional stigma coping intervention for people with HIV who inject drugs—a randomized clinical trial

Background: People with HIV who inject drugs experience intersecting forms of stigma that adversely impact care access. This RCT aimed to evaluate effects of a behavioral intersectional stigma coping intervention on stigma and care utilization. Methods: We recruited 100 participants with HIV and past-30-day injection drug use at a non-governmental harm reduction organization in St. Petersburg, Russia, and randomized them 1:2 to receive usual services only or an additional intervention of three weekly 2-h group sessions. Primary outcomes were change in HIV and substance use stigma scores at one month after randomization. Secondary outcomes were initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART), substance use care utilization, and changes in frequency of past-30-days drug injection at six months. The trial was registered as NCT03695393 at clinicaltrials.gov. Findings: Participant median age was 38.1 years, 49% were female. Comparing 67 intervention and 33 control group participants recruited October 2019–September 2020, the adjusted mean difference (AMD) in change in HIV and substance use stigma scores one month after baseline were 0.40, (95% CI: −0.14 to 0.93, p = 0.14) and −2.18 (95% CI: −4.87 to 0.52, p = 0.11), respectively. More intervention participants than control participants initiated ART (n = 13, 20% vs n = 1, 3%, proportion difference 0.17, 95% CI: 0.05–0.29, p = 0.01) and utilized substance use care (n = 15, 23% vs n = 2, 6%, proportion difference 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03–0.31, p = 0.02). The adjusted median difference in change in injecting drug use frequency 6 months after baseline was −3.33, 95% CI: −8.51 to 1.84, p = 0.21). Five not intervention-related serious adverse events (7.5%) occurred in the intervention group, one (3.0%) serious adverse event in the control group. Interpretation: This brief stigma-coping intervention did not change stigma manifestations or drug use behaviors in people with HIV and injection drug use. However, it seemed to reduce stigma's impact as an HIV and substance use care barrier. Funding: R00DA041245, K99DA041245, P30AI042853.