Smartphone app aims to curb HIV in emergency rooms
NCT ID NCT06331767
First seen Jul 09, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a mobile health app called mSYNC designed to help prevent HIV in people who use drugs and visit the emergency department. The app provides counseling and support for risk behaviors, mental health, and access to care. Researchers want to see if the app is acceptable and easy to use for participants while they wait in the ER and at home over 90 days.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mSYNC mobile health app
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this app could offer a new way to deliver HIV prevention support to high-risk individuals in emergency settings.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study focused on whether the app is acceptable, not on whether it prevents HIV. It may not show a clear health benefit.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * At least 18 years old * No HIV positive test in electronic medical record or self-reported * Past month HIV risk behavior (condomless sex or needle sharing not protected by adherent PrEP \[pre-exposure prophylaxis\]) * Past month use of illicit drugs (excluding marijuana) * Belong to at least one of key HIV risk group (transgender woman, MSM, Black/Latinx/Indigenous) * Own a smartphone * Able to read and understand English Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to provide informed consent * Medical or psychiatric condition that would interfere with ability to participate in study procedures * Presented to the emergency department (ED) for a psychiatric issue * Expected to be admitted to ED for more than 48 hours
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a phone app help young adults with HIV stay on track?