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Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for People Who Use Drugs

Guest Editors:

Angela R. Bazzi, MPH, PhD, University of California, San Diego, United States of America
Tyler Bartholomew, PhD,  University of Miami, United States of America
Hansel Tookes III, MD, MPH, University of Miami, United States of America

This collection is no longer accepting submissions.


Addiction Science & Clinical Practice is calling for submissions to our Collection on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for People Who Use Drugs. People who use drugs experience increased risk of HIV acquisition from injection drug use and sexual exposures. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) involves safe and effective medications for preventing HIV acquisition and is recommended for people with elevated injection or sexual risk. However, efforts are needed to improve PrEP delivery to people who use drugs and specific outcomes along the PrEP care continuum. 

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Image credit: Drew Neujahr

About the collection

Addiction Science & Clinical Practice is calling for submissions to our Collection on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for People Who Use Drugs. People who use drugs experience increased risk of HIV acquisition from injection drug use and sexual exposures. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) involves safe and effective medications for preventing HIV acquisition and is recommended for people with elevated injection or sexual risk. However, efforts are needed to improve PrEP delivery to people who use drugs and specific outcomes along the PrEP care continuum.

Addiction Science & Clinical Practice (ASCP) seeks manuscripts that address barriers and facilitators of PrEP access among people who use drugs, multilevel interventions and implementation science approaches, and novel models for improving quality of PrEP care for diverse populations impacted by substance use. The overall goal of this special series is to advance scientific understanding of PrEP for people who use drugs. Submissions may include original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, commentaries, and study protocols. Submissions are desired between now and September 1, 2023, and will be published in the special series upon acceptance.

Funding for the publication of a limited number of articles is available thanks to the generosity of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This is subject to editorial acceptance and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis while funds are available. For further information, please contact co-series editors, Angela Bazzi, PhD, Tyler Bartholomew, PhD, and Hansel Tookes, MD, at editorial@ascpjournal.org. 

  1. Unhealthy alcohol use is an independent, modifiable risk factor for HIV, but limited research addresses alcohol use and HIV prevention synergistically. Groups that experience chronic stigma, discrimination, an...

    Authors: Olivia V. Fletcher, Kristine Beaver, Elizabeth J. Austin, Jenna van Draanen, E. Jennifer Edelman and Emily C. Williams
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2025 20:5
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Women involved in the criminal legal system have elevated rates of opioid use disorder, which is treatable, and HIV, which is preventable with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). There are significant social and ...

    Authors: Jaimie P. Meyer, Stacey Brunson, Carolina R. Price, Morgan Mulrain, Julie Nguyen, Frederick L. Altice, Tassos C. Kyriakides, Karen Cropsey and Ellen Eaton
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2025 20:4
    Content type: Study Protocol Published on:

  3. Contingency management (CM), an incentive-based intervention to encourage target behaviors, effectively promotes medication adherence. However, efforts to extend CM to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have ...

    Authors: Eleanor Pickering, Adam Viera, Minhee L. Sung, Daniel Davidson, Genie Bailey, Marianne Buchelli, Mark Jenkins, Jennifer Kolakowski, Leah Maier, E. Jennifer Edelman and Carla J. Rash
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:97
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Oral Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective in preventing HIV transmission. However, despite high rates of HIV risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID), this population remains underserved by ...

    Authors: Amaya Perez-Brumer, Rose Schmidt, Rebecca Kennedy, Jordan E. Lake, Yolanda R. Villarreal, Sydney Bornstein, Irene Kuo, Omar Nieto, Julie Franks, Cecile Denis, Nabila El-Bassel, Steve Shoptaw, Peter Davidson and Laramie R. Smith
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:92
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) holds promise for decreasing new HIV infections among people who inject drugs (PWID), yet daily oral PrEP use is low, and PrEP modality and delivery strategy preferences in this...

    Authors: William H. Eger, Angela R. Bazzi, Chad J. Valasek, Carlos F. Vera, Alicia Harvey-Vera, Steffanie A. Strathdee and Heather A. Pines
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:81
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. In the United States, most (~ 70%) annual newly diagnosed HIV infections are among substance-using sexual minority men (SMM) and gender minority transgender women (trans women). Trans women and SMM are more li...

    Authors: Cathy J. Reback, Raphael J. Landovitz, David Benkeser, Ali Jalali, Steven Shoptaw, Michael J. Li, Raymond P. Mata, Danielle Ryan, Philip J. Jeng and Sean M. Murphy
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:79
    Content type: Study Protocol Published on:

  7. Addiction medicine providers have a key role in HIV prevention amidst rising HIV incidence in persons who inject drugs (PWID). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are vastly und...

    Authors: Hallie Rozansky, Paul J. Christine, Morgan Younkin, Jason M. Fox, Zoe M. Weinstein, Sebastian Suarez, Jessica Stewart, Natalija Farrell and Jessica L. Taylor
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:77
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. In the U.S. there are significant racial and gender disparities in the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Black Americans represented 14% of PrEP users in 2022, but accounted for 42% of new HIV diagnos...

    Authors: Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Tara McCrimmon, Keosha Bond, Mingway Chang, Timothy Hunt, Jennifer Hall, Mary Russo, Vineha Ramesh, Karen A. Johnson, Dget L. Downey, Elwin Wu, Nabila El-Bassel and Louisa Gilbert
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:55
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Women who engage in sex work and use drugs (WSWUD) experience disproportionate HIV risks. Substance use treatment bridge clinics offer an opportunity to increase HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery to...

    Authors: Miriam TH Harris, Emma Weinberger, Christine O’Brien, Mary Althoff, Samantha Paltrow-Krulwich, Jessica L. Taylor, Abigail Judge, Jeffrey H. Samet, Alexander Y. Walley and Christine M. Gunn
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:47
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV transmission is suboptimal in the United States, particularly among people who use drugs (PWUD). PrEP research among PWUD is scarce, and the fac...

    Authors: James L. Merle, Juan P. Zapata, Artur Quieroz, Alithia Zamantakis, Olutobi Sanuade, Brian Mustanski and Justin D. Smith
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:46
    Content type: Review Published on:

  11. Hospitalization is a “reachable moment” for people who inject drugs (PWID), but preventive care including HIV testing, prevention and treatment is rarely offered within inpatient settings.

    Authors: William Bradford, Hana Akselrod, John Bassler, Kelly W. Gagnon, Greer Burkholder, Joseph Edward Carpenter, Alaina Steck, Jillian Catalanotti, Irene Kuo, Keanan McGonigle, William Mai, Melissa Notis, Christopher Brokus, Sarah Kattakuzhy, Elana Rosenthal and Ellen F. Eaton
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:22
    Content type: Letter to the Editor Published on:

  12. People who inject drugs (PWID) remain a high priority population under the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative with 11% of new HIV infections attributable to injection drug use. There is a critical need...

    Authors: Tyler S. Bartholomew, Marina Plesons, David P. Serota, Elizabeth Alonso, Lisa R. Metsch, Daniel J. Feaster, Jessica Ucha, Edward Suarez Jr., David W. Forrest, Teresa A. Chueng, Katrina Ciraldo, Jimmie Brooks, Justin D. Smith, Joshua A. Barocas and Hansel E. Tookes
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:21
    Content type: Study Protocol Published on:

  13. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk of HIV acquisition and often encounter barriers to accessing healthcare services. Uganda has high HIV prevalence among PWID and lacks integrated pre-exposur...

    Authors: Brenda Kamusiime, Kristin Beima-Sofie, Nok Chhun, Alisaati Nalumansi, Grace Kakoola Nalukwago, Vicent Kasiita, Chris Collins Twesige, Ritah Kansiime, Timothy R. Muwonge, Peter Kyambadde, Herbert Kadama, Peter Mudiope, Sara Glick, Barrot Lambdin, Andrew Mujugira and Renee Heffron
    Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2024 19:13
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles, Data Notes, Case Reports, Study Protocols, and Database Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Editorial Manager. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select “PrEP for People Who Use Drugs” from the dropdown menu. 

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.