DOI: 10.3886/icpsr39059
title: Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP), Athens, Greece Site, 2013-2015
title: Archival Version

description: Half or more of HIV transmission events may occur within the period of high infectivity (and often high risk behavior) that can last 11 months or more after a person is initially infected. The study sought to develop effective intervention techniques against HIV transmission during the recent infection period using a combination of injection-, sexual- and social-network-based contact tracing methods; community alerts in the networks and venues of recent infectees; and the logic of going "up" and "down" infection chains. The investigators' first aim was to develop and evaluate ways to locate "seeds", defined as drug users and other people who have recently been infected. The investigators' second aim targeted members of seeds' networks and people who attend their venues. The investigators tested them for acute and for recent infection, and alerted them to the probability that their networks contain highly-infectious members so they should reduce their risk and transmission behaviors for the next several months to minimize their chances of getting infected. This may also reduce transmission by untested people with recent infection. Community, network and venue education about the need and value of supporting those with recent infection should reduce stigma. The investigators' third aim was to reduce HIV transmission and to develop new ways to evaluate "prevention for positives" generally as well as the investigators own success in reducing transmission. The investigators did this using a combination of follow-up interviews and testing, including of viral loads; phylogenetic techniques; and discrete event simulation modeling to assess the investigators effectiveness.
description: The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) used risk network-based contact tracing to target people who had recently been infected by HIV (i.e., in the past six months).
Eligible TRIP participants were those aged 18 years or older; able to answer the project questionnaire; and qualified for one of the project arms. TRIP participants were either seeds or network members. The term "seed" refers to a primary participant (index person) recruited by TRIP whose risk network members were subsequently traced. Network contacts were recruited for two steps from each seed, unless a new recent infection was found in the networks, in which case network tracing continued for two more steps.
The field staff consisted of 4 persons (a social worker, a person with a degree in psychology, an experienced interviewer, and a physician). The personnel received training in theory behind the project. The TRIP office was located in a building of the Greek Organization against Drugs in downtown Athens, near primary drug scenes and drug treatment facilities.
The project office included separate rooms for participants' reception, interviews, and blood sample collection thus allowing for privacy and confidentiality. A member of the staff managed the daily flow of participants. The intervention (interview, nomination of risk contacts, counseling, and referral) was implemented on a one-on-one basis.
People with recent HIV infection identified in TRIP were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, both at baseline and at follow-up (six months after enrollment).
description: Response Rates: The full sample size was n = 356. All 356 completed the baseline visit and 291 (82%) attended the 6-month follow-up visit.
description: The Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) is a network-based contact tracing HIV intervention focusing on those who are recently HIV-infected (in the past six months).
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Public Edges Data
DS2: Public Nodes Public-Use Data
DS3: Public Nodes Restricted-Use Data
description: Participants that were aged 18 years or older and able to answer the questionnaire as well as their HIV risk network members (sexual and injection drug use transmission routes) in Athens, Greece. Smallest Geographic Unit: City
description: coded on-site observation; face-to-face interview; on-site questionnaire