The Individualized Recovery with Integrated Supportive Elements (I-RISE) project will decrease the potential for HIV and Viral Hepatitis (VH) transmission for individuals assessed with SUD/COD among racial/ethnic, and gender and/or sexual minority individuals who are HIV positive or at risk of HIV, by providing HIV/VH testing and treatment, PrEP, evidence-based SUD treatment, peer support, care coordination, harm reduction, and medication-assisted treatment.
The I-RISE project will result in at least 700 unduplicated individuals screened and assessed for SUD/COD and HIV/VH (100 in the first 9-months and 150 in years 2-5) and at least 369 unduplicated individuals enrolled in SUD/COD treatment 50 in the first 9-months, 63 in year 2, 78 in year 3, 86 in year 4, and 92 in year 5).
I-RISE will follow a trauma-informed Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model, which strives to increase each individual's adherence to care. All of the required activities will occur on-site at each of PIHC's three locations in Decatur (DeKalb County), Duluth (Gwinnett County), and Marietta (Cobb County). The PIHC locations are located in three of the four counties with the highest incidences of HIV in the state of Georgia.
The I-RISE Care Coordinator will link 100% of the project participants and their significant others to on-site HIV testing (rapid and confirmatory) and, for those confirmed positive for HIV, will have rapid entry to primary care within 72 hours; VH testing, VH A/B vaccination series, and, for those confirmed as positive for VH, will receive treatment within one week; those confirmed as negative for HIV will be offered Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services within one week; and within 48 hours, participants can begin outpatient treatment, peer support services, and coordination of other recovery support services, including harm reduction (e.g., syringe exchange, etc.), medication-assisted treatment using oral and injectable naltrexone, transportation and recovery housing assistance, and comprehensive care coordination.
I-RISE will use the following evidence-based practices: Contingency Management (CM), a behavioral therapy, based on operant conditioning principles, that systematically reinforces desired behaviors with tangible reinforcers along with verbal praise and recognition and withholds punishment for undesired behaviors to promote behavior change and increase retention in treatment; Somatic Experiencing (SE), a resiliency-based approach to trauma treatment, focusing on working with one's innate or inner resilience by increasing capacity for regulation of excell automatic arousal often found in those with trauma histories, commonly reported amongst those living with SUD/COD; and the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), a manualized intervention for symptom management for people with SUD/COD, facilitated by trained and certified Peer Support Specialists, that assists in identifying and understanding personal wellness resources and helps develop a plan to use these resources.