Integrated Care (iCare) at Mount Sinai to Improve Substance Use Diagnosis and Treatment Practices in HIV Clinic Settings

Substance abuse and dependence is highly prevalent among people living with HIV and significantly exacerbates morbidity and mortality and accelerates HIV disease progression. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been the single most important treatment for slowing disease progression. ART adherence and HIV primary care are affected by a complex array of factors in the context of lives impacted by socioeconomic, psychological, and health challenges. Drugs and alcohol play a major role in non-adherence, engagement in care, and poor health outcomes among HIV-infected persons. While evidence is unequivocal that substance use treatment improves health outcomes, systems of care for the detection and treatment of substance abuse and dependence remain fragmented. Integrated approaches are key to the delivery of optimal care. Pragmatic or effectiveness trials can provide the best evidence about clinical practice to inform practitioners and policy makes about the most clinically and cost effective treatment to inform dissemination on a wider scale at the organizational and public health levels. The goal of this trial is to develop and test a comprehensive, integrated program to detect and reduce substance abuse and in turn, to improve ART adherence and HIV, substance use and associated health outcomes among HIV-infected patients. This trial will test the effectiveness of the intervention using a stepped wedge trial design to sequentially implement a screening tool and training of patient health navigators at HIV clinics in NYC.