项目INTEGRAgives former opioid user purpose on his road to recovery
弗兰克·威廉姆斯（Frank Williams）在教堂里长大了键盘，但到13岁时，他被介绍给非法物质，并开始在他的高中一年级开始出售大麻。十年后，威廉姆斯（Williams）出售海洛因，并通过他所谓的“摇动习惯”慢慢沉迷于这种物质 - 这是当物质渗入您的毛孔中，这么多接触它。
“我不知道was addicted until I didn’t have any more drugs to sell and I would begin to feel sick,” said the 35-year-old Williams, now in recovery from opioid use disorder. “Once I was able to get my hands on some more, literally, to sell, I realized I felt better, and after that, it was downhill.”
About 10 years into his heroin use disorder, Williams stumbled upon theUTHealth HoustonsProject Integra Van，一个移动研究部门，为beplay苹果手机能用吗阿片类药物使用障碍患者提供综合卫生服务。在休斯顿东南部的一家杂货店停车场见到这辆面包车后，威廉姆斯终于在与芬太尼接近电话后终于预约了四个月，并在黑色后摔断了脖子。
“I was just tired and depressed,” Williams said. “I remember not even wanting to wake up some days and I could see the walls closing in. If it wasn’t for my daughter, I would’ve easily given up.”
项目INTEGRAis a first-of-its-kind, vanguard research study being conducted in five cities in the United States. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, it provides free services to individuals struggling with substance misuse, primarily people who inject substances, through medication-assisted recovery for opioid use disorder, and antiretroviral therapy or pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV treatment and prevention.
“It may seem like common sense that if you bring compassionate, integrated health care services to people, you are removing barriers and they will be more likely to be able to engage in care. But providing care this way is actually fairly novel,” saidJordan E. Lake，医学博士，MSC，传染病副教授McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston在休斯顿的Uthealth和该研究的当地首席研究员。“休斯顿是过量服用和艾滋病毒的热点。Integra项目旨在证明我们可以使用移动单元吸引那些注入毒品的人，并有同情心有效地为他们提供服务，这些服务将减少药物过量和死亡，并减少艾滋病毒的传播以及通过性别或通过注射药物获得的其他感染利用。本质上，Integra项目的目标是挽救休斯顿的生命。”
Houston is the only Project INTEGRA site in the southern United States. The INTEGRA team meets people “where they are” by bringing integrated and judgment-free health services, supported by peer navigation, said詹姆斯·兰加贝尔（James Langabeer）, PhD, EdD, MBA, a co-investigator on the study and a professor of biomedical informatics, emergency medicine, and public health at UTHealth Houston.
Participants in the intervention group of the study receive mobile, integrated health care as well as peer navigation from medical and recovery experts for 26 weeks. These services include medication and harm reduction services for opioid use disorder, medications for HIV/STI treatment and prevention, and testing and referrals for other health care needs.
Following the first 26 weeks of the trial intervention, participants will be transitioned to other community-based services to address their health care needs, such as the university’s Houston Emergency Response Opioid Engagement System, or英雄，计划，由Langabeer领导。
“大休斯顿地区是一个广阔的地理社区融合，拥有数千平方英里。几乎所有这一领域共有的障碍是获得优质的医疗服务。”兰加贝尔说。“尤其是那些患有阿片类药物使用和免疫缺陷障碍的人，在这种情况下，运输，健康保险和财务资源限制了这些慢性疾病的持续护理。Integra Van使Uthealth Houston能够有效地满足最高需求的区域，因此我们可以为尽可能多的休斯顿人提供基于证据的护理。”
Williams met peer navigator coach Kristina Davis the moment he walked up to the Project INTEGRA van to seek services. Kristina has walked alongside Williams throughout his process of change, encouraging him, and connecting him to community services for ongoing care each step of the way.
“When Frank came to us, he was in a very tough area,” Davis said. “From day one, he had a strong mindset and once we removed him from that environment, he excelled so quickly.”
As a peer recovery coach, Davis has the advantage of understanding where patients are mentally, physically, and spiritually to provide them with the support they need. She said being persistent is critical in gaining the trust of people who inject substances.
戴维斯说：“我们确保我们就在他们旁边，与他们一起旅行，成为向导，导师，资源经纪人。”“从第一天到他们的整个旅程，我们都在那里，因为我们爱他们直到他们开始爱自己。这只是同伴的角色。”
Williams went to rehab in December 2021, and has been in recovery since. He says the love and support he has received is what keeps him going, along with his 10-year-old daughter, and with the help from Davis and the other peer coaches, Williams is back in church playing the keyboard.
“I needed to get back to what really stimulates me, what really helps me and that’s being in church,” Williams said. “I am making money playing the keyboard and as cliché as it sounds, my dreams are really coming true.”
Other UTHealth Houston INTEGRA study team members include Roberto Arduino, MD; Karen Vigil, MD; Qiana Allen, NP; Tom Fadial, MD; Shabana Walia, MD, MPH; Maria Martinez, PhD; Jonatan Gioia; Olga Popova, PhD; and Olatunde Oladipupo. The peer coaching team, led by Jessica Yeager, includes Davis and Yami Thomas. Study coordinator is Sebastian Guerrero, MD.
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