Open research questions in HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
356 gap statements mined from HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,777 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
Limited evidence from Latin America on the practice of chemsex among PrEP users. Limited understanding of the association between chemsex and STIs diagnosis among PrEP users in Latin America.
It also notes the challenge of linking PWID to care, particularly those who have been out of care for extended periods. The paper highlights the need for targeted interventions to address these challenges.
Previous tools have not accounted for the intersectional and provider-specific experiences of people who inject drugs. There is a need for a measure of anticipated stigma that addresses the unique experiences of people who inject drugs in healthcare and SSP settings.
Development and Validation of a Provider-Specific Anticipated Stigma Scale for People Who Inject Drugs · 2026 · DOIOlder PWID are often overlooked in HIV prevention programs and research despite their experience of elevated risk. Little is known about HIV risk behavior in this population.
HIV Risk Behaviors Among Community-Recruited Older People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) Prescreening for HPTN 094 in Washington, DC · 2026 · DOILimited knowledge of the implications of this interaction for HIV and hepatitis C transmission. Need for characterization of individuals with mixed geography PWID networks.
Characterizing the Geography of Drug Use Networks and Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region · 2026 · DOIIn this regard, its applicability and robustness should be explored in future research, particularly in empirical studies that include diverse populations and care settings. However, no studies were identified that explored the perspectives of healthcare professionals on chemsex or their care practices directed at this population.
Healthcare Access in Chemsex Contexts in Brazil: A Scoping Review and the VIP-Chemsex Model · 2026 · DOILimited understanding of trends in stimulant use, particularly methamphetamine and cocaine. Lack of studies characterizing long-term trends in relative frequencies of injection and non-injection use of opioids and stimulants. Need for research on the implications of changes in drug consumption routes for public health programming.
Shift from Injection to Non-injection Drug Use Among People who Use Opioids and Stimulants in Seattle, WA, 2005–2024 · 2026 · DOIDespite these limitations, this review provides a structured synthesis of an emerging and underexplored field, highlighting critical gaps and informing future research and nursing practice.
The Invisible Barrier: A Scoping Review of Stigma and Nursing Attitudes in Chemsex Care · 2026 · DOIHowever, there is a gap in the literature that articulates the perspectives of HPs who deliver care to this population.
Analysis of hospital-based healthcare provision for people living with HIV who use drugs in Ontario, Canada: “Beyond my Scope!” · 2024 · DOICommunity Safety Response (CSR) programs increasingly provide non-police alternatives to behavioral health crises, but their role in addressing substance use calls remains poorly understood.
Access to non-police crisis response for people who use drugs: lessons from community safety response programs in two U.S. cities · 2026 · DOIThe need to consider the spatial distribution of events when developing crime prevention strategies.
Participants had concerns about the effects of PrEP on their body and potential interactions with other drugs. Participants worried that taking PrEP would impact illicit drug use or result in an increase in needle sharing. Participants had low personal HIV risk perception, which contributed to their hesitation to take PrEP.
What, how, and when matters: acceptability and preferences for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among people who inject drugs in New Delhi, India · 2026 · DOINotably, although stigma consistently emerged as a relevant barrier to care, it was rarely examined as an explicit construct, restricting a more comprehensive understanding of how stigma-related dynamics may influence professional interactions, communication, and patient engagement.
The Invisible Barrier: A Scoping Review of Stigma and Nursing Attitudes in Chemsex Care · 2026 · DOISmall sample size, - Limited to individuals in treatment for OUD, - No longitudinal…
HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Awareness among Individuals in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOIExamine barriers and facilitators for implementing PrEP inside methadone clinics, - Investigate the effectiveness of increased education and outreach…
HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Awareness among Individuals in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study · 2026 · DOILimited to people who inject drugs in New Delhi, India, - No comparison to other populations at high risk for HIV, - Study was nested within an ongoing cohort…
What, how, and when matters: acceptability and preferences for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among people who inject drugs in New Delhi, India · 2026 · DOISmall sample size, - Limited to participants recruited through two syringe service programs in Massachusetts, - Limited to HIV-uninfected participants, - Limited to participants who self-reported extra-medical…
Persistent HIV Transmission Misconceptions Among People Who Inject Drugs in Massachusetts, USA · 2026 · DOIInvestigate the effectiveness of educational campaigns in reducing HIV transmission misconceptions, - Examine the relationship between HIV transmission knowledge and risk behaviors, - Explore the impact of harm reduction and HIV prevention services on HIV transmission…
Persistent HIV Transmission Misconceptions Among People Who Inject Drugs in Massachusetts, USA · 2026 · DOIFurther research is needed to understand the factors associated with HIV risk behaviors among older PWID, - Studies should investigate the effectiveness of age-specific substance use treatment and HIV prevention programs, - Research should examine the impact of benzodiazepine use on HIV risk…
HIV Risk Behaviors Among Community-Recruited Older People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) Prescreening for HPTN 094 in Washington, DC · 2026 · DOIUnderstanding how network composition in non-urban populations may be further impacting HIV exposure, - Examining the effects of network-based interventions on HCV transmission and HIV…
Characterizing the Geography of Drug Use Networks and Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region · 2026 · DOIBy integrating empirical evidence, theoretical contributions, and implications for practice, this study reaffirms SDU/chemsex as an emerging public health issue in Brazil and highlights that expanding access to care is not limited to the provision of biomedical technologies but requires institutional, policy, and educational transformations capable of addressing invisibility, stigma, and fragmentation of care…
Healthcare Access in Chemsex Contexts in Brazil: A Scoping Review and the VIP-Chemsex Model · 2026 · DOISome variables were not explored in our mixed methods study and warrant further investigation - Years of experience with PWUD was not significantly associated with HR acceptability in the multivariable model - Relying on individual motivation or career longevity to drive the adoption of HR care - High turnover and structural…
Personal Trauma and Professional Exposure: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Factors Influencing HIV Healthcare Workers’ Harm Reduction Acceptability · 2026 · DOINo explicit future research directions stated, - Learning from HCWs who endorse and practice HR offers an opportunity to elucidate the relational aspect…
Personal Trauma and Professional Exposure: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Factors Influencing HIV Healthcare Workers’ Harm Reduction Acceptability · 2026 · DOIThe analysis was limited by only reporting preferred routes of opioid consumption, rather than relative frequencies of injection and non-injection routes, - Previous studies have focused on changes in opioid consumption, while trends in routes of methamphetamine and cocaine consumption remain largely unstudied, - The study did not report the frequency of smoking, snorting, and ingestion separately for non-injection…
Shift from Injection to Non-injection Drug Use Among People who Use Opioids and Stimulants in Seattle, WA, 2005–2024 · 2026 · DOIFuture work with larger samples and the full item set, - Explicitly model item-level method effects, - Test the scale with different…
Development and Validation of a Provider-Specific Anticipated Stigma Scale for People Who Inject Drugs · 2026 · DOI
Most-cited papers in HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Psychiatric Disorders and Drug Use Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Adults in the United States · Archives of General Psychiatry · 2001 · 1,025 citations
- Global epidemiology of injecting drug use and HIV among people who inject drugs: a systematic review · The Lancet · 2008 · 1,016 citations
- Self-report among injecting drug users: A review · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 1998 · 975 citations
- The social structural production of HIV risk among injecting drug users · Social Science & Medicine · 2005 · 766 citations
- Stigma, discrimination and the health of illicit drug users · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2006 · 608 citations
- CONCEPTS OF INTERACTION · American Journal of Epidemiology · 1980 · 516 citations
- Neighborhood Disadvantage, Stress, and Drug Use among Adults · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · 2001 · 485 citations
- Strategies used by people who inject drugs to avoid stigma in healthcare settings · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2019 · 482 citations
- Supervised injection services: What has been demonstrated? A systematic literature review · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2014 · 435 citations
- Validity of self-reported drug use among injection drug users and crack cocaine users recruited through street outreach · Evaluation and Program Planning · 1994 · 386 citations
Most recent work
- What anabolic–androgenic steroids reveal about the limits of current harm reduction models · Addiction · 2026
- Healthcare utilization and mortality after overdose prevention site closure: A linked cohort analysis using segmented difference‐in‐differences time series · Addiction · 2026
- Health Benefits, Costs, and Cost-Effectiveness of Jail-Based Hepatitis C Elimination Strategies · JAMA Internal Medicine · 2026
- Theorizing causality: A qualitative study of xylazine‐related wound diversity and perceived etiology among people who inject drugs · Addiction · 2026
- Sociodemographic, behavioral, and geospatial factors associated with syringe services program use in San Francisco, California · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2026
- ‘A fine line between euphoria and death’: a qualitative study exploring gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use among people who identify as heterosexual living in Australia · Harm Reduction Journal · 2026
- Real time, on-site drug checking in low-threshold housing communities · Harm Reduction Journal · 2026
- Dynamic shifts in crystal methamphetamine and heroin price and purity in metropolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria, Australia, 2009-2020 · International Journal of Drug Policy · 2026
- “I Know So Many Women That Have the Same Story as Mine”: Exploring How the Increase of Benzodiazepines in the Unregulated Drug Supply Shapes Experiences of Gender-Based Violence Among Women and Gender Minorities in Vancouver, BC · Contemporary Drug Problems · 2026
- Shifting views on decriminalization in British Columbia: insights from public opinion polling, 2024–2025 · The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse · 2026
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