Research progress

HPTN 094: mobile care and peer support offer a promising signal

HPTN 094 tested mobile care with peer support. A secondary mortality finding needs confirmation; primary differences were not significant.

Published November 6, 2026Source date November 4, 2026CareNews · CareVantage Medical Centers2 min estimated read

AI-assisted summary and sourcing. Official and research sources are linked below; this article is informational and is not personal medical advice.

AI-generated illustration of three adults talking beside a generic blue-and-white mobile health van; not a photograph from the study. — AI-generated editorial illustration of mobile community care, not a photograph or image from the trial and not a CareVantage mobile unit.

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Key takeaways

All 409 participants received peer support; the intervention added integrated services in medical mobile units.
At 26 weeks, neither confirmed PrEP use nor confirmed medication use for opioid use disorder differed significantly between groups.
At 52 weeks, deaths totaled 4 of 203 participants in the intervention group versus 13 of 206 in the control group.

Two ways to connect people with care

NIH announced the HPTN 094 findings on November 4, 2026, the same day the study appeared online in JAMA Psychiatry. The trial involved 409 adults in five U.S. cities. Participants were not taking medication for opioid use disorder at enrollment but were willing to consider it.

For 26 weeks, 203 participants received integrated HIV prevention, addiction care, and limited clinical and supportive services in mobile units, plus peer navigation. The other 206 received peer navigation to available community services. This was not a comparison with no support.

Sources for this section: NIH / NIDA — Integrated health service delivery through medical mobile units helped to reduce deaths among individuals at risk for HIV who also inject drugs, JAMA Psychiatry — Mobile Units for Integrated Addiction and HIV Prevention Services for People Who Inject Drugs: The HPTN 094 Randomized Clinical Trial

The primary goals were not significantly different

The two primary outcomes measured confirmed use of HIV preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and medication for opioid use disorder, or MOUD, at 26 weeks. Neither showed a statistically significant difference. That does not prove the approaches are equivalent or establish better medication uptake from mobile care.

Sources for this section: JAMA Psychiatry — Mobile Units for Integrated Addiction and HIV Prevention Services for People Who Inject Drugs: The HPTN 094 Randomized Clinical Trial

A promising finding that needs replication

By 52 weeks, there were 4 deaths from any cause in the mobile-care group and 13 in the control group. Researchers reported a statistically significant difference. However, mortality was a secondary outcome, and the small number of deaths makes replication important. The finding supports further investigation, not a guarantee of fewer deaths elsewhere.

Sources for this section: JAMA Psychiatry — Mobile Units for Integrated Addiction and HIV Prevention Services for People Who Inject Drugs: The HPTN 094 Randomized Clinical Trial

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