UCLA and APAIT/SSG partnership secure new research grant to study integration of universal basic income among housing insecure people living with HIV
(Pictured: Auntie Mele’s House, APAIT’s housing initiative for homeless LGBTQIA-2s Individuals)
Los Angeles, CA – On Monday, December 2, 2024, the UC Regents California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP) announced five million dollars of investment across sixteen newly funded HIV research grants focused on implementation science and policy research. One of the newly funded projects under the area of Economic Justice Interventions to Address HIV and HIV Syndemic Factors in California, is called Project CARE: Californians Access to Resources for Housing and Economic Security to Promote HIV Care.
Project Care is a collaboration between academic and community partners UCLA School of Nursing and Access to Prevention Advocacy Intervention and Treatment, a division of Special Service for Groups (APAIT/SSG). The research team includes Principal Investigator Dr. Wei-Ti Chen and Dr. Chengshi Shiu of UCLA School of Nursing and Jury Candelario, LCSW, of APAIT/SSG. The research team has a long, successful track record of collaboration including a recent Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) project funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
A partial snapshot of the implementation science-based project abstract is below:
Integrating housing services with universal basic income (UBI) is emerging as a promising approach for mitigating the adverse effects of homelessness and income insecurity on care engagement among people living with HIV (PLH). However, most current research examines the impacts of housing services or UBI separately, leaving a notable gap in our understanding of their combined effects. To address this gap, the aim of this study is to pilot test an economic intervention for its acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy in promoting healthcare engagement among 24 PLH experiencing housing instability in the LA metropolitan area. This intervention will consist of UBI, housing services, and the combination of UBI and housing service, allowing for a more accurate evaluation of their implementation outcomes and impacts on health care engagement, both as individual components and in combination. Comparative studies to better understand the potential synergies of these interventions in promoting care engagement among Californian PLH with housing instability are urgently needed.
ABOUT APAIT/SSG: Access to Prevention Advocacy Intervention & Treatment, a division of Special Service for Groups, is a community based organization serving Los Angeles and Orange counties. The organization’s mission is to positively impact the quality of life for vulnerable communities impacted by behavioral health, sexual health, housing insecurity, and justice involvement. Services include individual and group mental health counseling, substance use prevention and treatment, harm reduction and syringe exchange program, HIV/STI testing, prevention, and treatment, transitional and permanent supportive housing, forensic treatment, intensive case management, and research, evaluation, and development.
ABOUT UCLA SCHOOL OF NURSING: The UCLA School of Nursing is a leader in nursing education, research, and clinical practice, consistently ranked among the top nursing schools in the nation. With a strong emphasis on innovative research, interprofessional collaboration, and community engagement, the UCLA School of Nursing is dedicated to improving health outcomes locally and globally while advancing the nursing profession.
For more information, please contact:
Jimmy Sianipar, Media Coordinator
Phone: 213-375-3830 Email: Jimmys@apaitssg.org
