A study using data from the Collaborating Consortium of Cohorts Producing NIDA Opportunities (C3PNO) cohorts demonstrates how data capturing similar depression constructs in HIV-risk populations can be linked to a common depression metric. Taking advantage of previous linking studies with multiple measures of depression measures, the study illustrates how to take these results, Item Response Theory (IRT) item parameters, and apply them in the service of data harmonization across C3PNO cohorts in HIV/substance use populations.
Results from this study suggest the potential health value of making mental health treatment more widely available to persons at risk for HIV. This inference is consistent with findings on the positive effects of mental health treatments, particularly those of longer duration, for people living with HIV.
The results and tools of this and previous linking studies can potentially be leveraged for use in new populations. This cross-cohort methodology could be extended to other key outcomes, such as pain, physical function, sexual risk behavior, and substance use scales.
The study is published in the May 19, 2020 issue of AIDS and Behavior. Soyeon Kim and Sue Siminski from Frontier Science worked on this study.
Benjamin D. Schalet, Patrick Janulis, Michele D. Kipke, Brian Mustanski, Steven Shoptaw, Richard Moore, Marianna Baum, Soyeon Kim, Suzanne Siminski, Amy Ragsdale & Pamina M. Gorbach AIDS Behav (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02883-5