Pact Inc. USAID «RESPOND»

The goal of this study is to evaluate the implementation in the Ukrainian context of the START intervention, which combines HIV/hepatitis/STI prevention case management, motivational interviewing and incremental risk reduction to aid soon-to-be-released prisoners to successfully re-integrate into the community and to protect them from HIV-related risks. The study has been conducted in the Mykolaiv, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, including Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rig cities, in collaboration with the local partners: local HIV-servicing NGOs and health care facilities.

Research has proven the effectiveness of interventions START in Ukraine. Results of the study have shown a significant reduction in risky sexual behavior, a higher level of seeking for harm reduction services and testing for HIV, and improvement of knowledge about HIV among men in the intervention group compared with the control group. The project results were presented at the International AIDS Conference 2016 in Durban (South Africa)

T. Kiriazova, Y. Sereda, O. Neduzhko, O. Postnov, R. Yorick, I. Shvab, S. Dvoriak. Project START intervention increases HIV testing uptake and decreases HIV risk behaviour among men released from prison: a randomized study in Ukraine. AIDS 2016 - Durban, SAR (EN)

T. Кірьязова, Ю. Середа, О. Недужко, О. Постнов, Р. Йорік, І. Шваб, С. Дворяк. Втручання START підвищує рівень охоплення тестуванням на ВІЛ і знижує рівень ризикованої щодо ВІЛ сексуальної поведінки серед колишніх ув’язнених чоловіків: рандомізоване контрольоване дослідження в Україні. Проект USAID “RESPOND”, 2016 р. (UA)