Exploring the consequences of food insecurity and harnessing the power of peer navigation and mHealth to reduce food insecurity and cardiometabolic comorbidities among persons with HIV

Up to 50% of people with HIV (PWH) in the US are food insecure. PWH who are food insecure are
more likely to have lower antiretroviral adherence, decreased viral suppression, and increased incidence of
serious illness. Increasing research suggests that HIV also leads to the development of cardiometabolic
comorbidities, but little is known about how food insecurity (FI) affects the development of these comorbidities
among PWH.
The objectives of this study are to better understand how FI contributes to the development of
cardiometabolic comorbidities among PWH and to test a novel bilingual FI intervention designed to reduce
these comorbidities among food insecure PWH. We will conduct this study in partnership with the Wake Forest
Infectious Diseases Specialty Clinic, one of the largest Ryan White-funded clinics in North Carolina, which
serves more than 2,000 PWH annually from a predominantly rural catchment area that includes South Central
Appalachia. This area has high rates of both FI and HIV.
In Aim 1, we will collect longitudinal data from each patient yearly for up to 3 years during their routine
HIV care visits. Using these data, we will compare the prevalence and incidence of cardiometabolic
comorbidities between food secure and insecure PWH. We hypothesize that food insecure PWH will be more
likely to have cardiometabolic comorbidities, including prediabetes and T2DM than food secure PWH at
baseline. We also hypothesize that those who are FI will have a higher incidence of prediabetes and T2DM
than those who are food secure over time. In Aim 2, using a randomized controlled trial design, we will test
weCare/Secure, a refined version of a bilingual evidence-based intervention that integrates peer navigation
and mHealth, to determine the impact of the intervention on insulin sensitivity among food insecure PWH with
prediabetes or T2DM. In Aim 3, we will explore intervention effects though semi-structured individual in-depth
interviews.
The proposed research complements the RFA’s focus by advancing our understanding of how “FI
impacts the development of comorbidities” among PWH and testing “how interventions for FI alleviate NIDDK-
relevant comorbidities.” This will be one of the first studies to evaluate how FI leads to the development of
cardiometabolic comorbidities among PWH. Additionally, we will test a novel bilingual intervention to improve
insulin sensitivity among PWH by reducing FI. Given the growing interest among health systems in addressing
FI as a routine part of clinical practice, if the intervention is found to be efficacious, it could be broadly
disseminated across HIV clinical care settings. Our team of established investigators has a proven record of
success conducting randomized trials among PWH, has successfully used methods proposed in this
application, and has the full support of the clinical site where the study will occur.