BIG Chicago: A Trial of Basic Income Guarantee for Young People Living With HIV

Recruiting

Who can join

Ages 18 to 35 · All sexes

Full eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Living with HIV for 24 months or longer;
* Ages 18-35;
* English-speaking;
* One or both of the following:

  1. Experienced a gap in HIV provider care of 6 or greater months during the prior 12-month period;
  2. Had an unsuppressed viral load at any point within the prior 12-month period (unsuppressed meaning a viral load of 200 copies/mL or higher);
* Household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level; and
* Experiencing financial distress, as based on a financial well-being score of 1-4 (high financial distress).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Unwilling/unable to provide informed consent
* Unable to confirm HIV status
* Unable to conduct the study in English

About the study

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two interventions - Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) + Treatment as Usual and Treatment as Usual among individuals living with HIV who have experienced financial hardships.

The main question it aims to answer is:

Compared with the Treatment as Usual group, will participants in the BIG + Treatment as Usual group be more likely to improve care engagement and viral suppression?

Participants on the study will be:

* Randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to participate in either BIG + Treatment as Usual or Treatment as Usual. Participants will have an equal chance of being placed in either group. * Complete 9 surveys over a 36 month period. * Complete a release of information so electronic medical record data can be accessed for the 18 months prior to treatment engagement and for 36 months from program enrollment. * Participants in the Treatment as Usual group will not receive any intervention. * HIV viral load testing will be confirmed at 3 timepoints (baseline, 12 months, and 18 months). * Participants in the BIG + Treatment as Usual group will receive $500 monthly income for 18 months. * Participants in the BIG + Treatment as Usual group will complete 3 social network surveys to assess how receiving BIG impacts their social networks. * A subset of participants in the BIG + Treatment as Usual group (30 participants) will complete 5 individual interviews over the course of receiving BIG and the 18 months after.

What is being tested

Treatment As Usual (behavioral)
BIG + Treatment As Usual (behavioral)

Sponsor: University of Chicago · Participants: 304 · Started: Jul 29, 2026

Contact the study team

Jordan Victorian · Phone: 773-702-5915

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07502365

Locations in the U.S.

Illinois

University of Chicago, Chicago

Conditions

Financial Stress

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.