Health Technology/clinical-trials

Pilot Trial Tests TelePrEP vs Standard Referral for HIV Prevention in Rural People Who Inject Drugs — Addressing Critical Access Barriers

247 Health News Editorial

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23 May 2026

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4 min read

·clinical-trials

New pilot trial tests whether telehealth PrEP delivery through rural health departments improves HIV prevention uptake among people who inject drugs compared to standard referral approaches. Study addresses critical access barriers in underserved Appalachian communities.

Originally reported by ClinicalTrials.gov

References

  1. 1.Surratt, H. L. (2024). Optimizing Low Threshold TelePrEP Care for People Who Inject Drugs in Appalachia. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06845774
  2. 2.Degenhardt, L., Peacock, A., Colledge, S., Leung, J., Grebely, J., Vickerman, P., Stone, J., Cunningham, E. B., Trickey, A., Dumchev, K., Lynskey, M., Griffiths, P., Mattick, R. P., Hickman, M., & Larney, S. (2017). Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: a multistage systematic review. The Lancet Global Health, 5(12), e1192-e1207. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30375-3
  3. 3.Patel, R. R., Crane, J. S., Dorrell, L., Daskalakis, D., Fauci, A. S., & Hart, C. (2019). Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention in people who inject drugs: clinical considerations and challenges. AIDS, 33(15), 2349-2357. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000002392
  4. 4.Calabrese, S. K., Earnshaw, V. A., Krakower, D. S., Underhill, K., Vincent, W., Magnus, M., Hansen, N. B., Kershaw, T. S., Blackstock, O. J., & Dovidio, J. F. (2017). A closer look at racism and heterosexism in medical students' clinical decision-making related to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): implications for PrEP education. AIDS and Behavior, 22(4), 1122-1138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1979-6
  5. 5.Ford, I., & Norrie, J. (2016). Pragmatic trials. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(5), 454-463. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1510059
  6. 6.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Preexposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection in the United States—2021 Update: a clinical practice guideline. US Public Health Service. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/risk/prep/cdc-hiv-prep-guidelines-2021.pdf
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247 Health News Editorial

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