Integrated health service delivery through medical mobile units helped to reduce deaths among individuals at risk for HIV who also inject drugs.
An NIH-funded trial in five U.S. cities found that offering HIV prevention and addiction services together on mobile medical units was linked to 71% fewer deaths among people who inject drugs.
Results from a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggest that mobile medical units may help people who inject drugs stay alive. According to NIH, participants who received integrated HIV and substance use disorder services on a mobile unit, along with peer navigation, had 71% fewer deaths from all causes than participants who received peer navigation to community-based services alone.
The trial, called HIV Prevention Trials Network Study 094 (HPTN 094), enrolled 409 adults who did not have HIV. All injected drugs, had opioid use disorder, were not taking medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) at enrollment, and were willing to consider it. The study took place in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
One group received 26 weeks of peer navigation plus integrated preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), MOUD, and limited clinical and supportive services delivered on a mobile unit. The comparison group received 26 weeks of peer navigation that connected them to available non-mobile community services.
The lower death rate was a secondary outcome. The researchers found no difference between the groups in use of daily oral PrEP or MOUD. Verified PrEP use was low in both groups at 26 weeks, though NIH noted it compared favorably with self-reported use among people who inject drugs. About 14% of participants used MOUD at 26 and 52 weeks, which the release called clinically meaningful because none were taking it at the start.
Nora D. Volkow, director of NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the study, said "these findings suggest that delivering low threshold services through mobile units could save lives." Study co-chair Nabila El-Bassel of Columbia University said people who inject drugs often face fragmented systems, unstable housing and stigma, and called for models that connect prevention, addiction treatment and supportive care.
The researchers said the limited use of oral PrEP, even with structured peer navigation, points to the need to evaluate long-acting PrEP formulations in this population. NIH stated that replication of the findings is needed. The results were published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Note: The headline does not say that death was a secondary outcome. The page reports no difference between groups in PrEP or MOUD use, and says replication is needed.
At a Glance
- HPTN 094 enrolled 409 adults who injected drugs and had opioid use disorder, in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
- All-cause deaths were 71% lower with integrated mobile unit services than with peer navigation to community services alone.
- About 14% of participants used MOUD at 26 and 52 weeks, though none were taking it at enrollment.
- Both study groups received 26 weeks of peer navigation; one also received services on a mobile unit.
- The National Institute on Drug Abuse funded the trial, and results appeared in JAMA Psychiatry in 2026.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.