Low HIV testing among men, particularly highly mobile fishermen, is a persistent challenge. The Owete study (NCT#04772469) used social network-central men (Promoters) to promote testing and linkage to HIV services among social networks of fishermen in western Kenya. The Promoters and fishermen networks were randomised to intervention or control arms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Much of the latent tuberculosis (TB) reservoir is established in childhood and adolescence. Yet, age-specific data on prevalence and predictors of infection in this population are sparse and needed to guide prevention and case finding.
Methods: From December 2021 to June 2023, we measured TB infection in children 1-17 years in 25 villages in rural Southwestern Uganda.
Data on alcohol use and incident Tuberculosis (TB) infection are needed. In adults aged 15+ in rural Uganda (N=49,585), estimated risk of incident TB infection was 29.2% with alcohol use vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding risk perception and risk-taking among youth can inform targeted prevention efforts. Using a health beliefs model-informed framework, we analysed 8 semi-structured, gender-specific focus group discussions with 93 youth 15-24 years old (48% male, 52% female), drawn from the SEARCH trial in rural Kenya and Uganda in 2017-2018, coinciding with the widespread introduction of PrEP. Highly connected social networks and widespread uptake of antiretrovirals shaped youth HIV risk perception.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment reduces tuberculosis (TB) disease and mortality; however, the population-level impact of universal HIV-test-and-treat interventions on TB infection and transmission remain unclear.
Methods: In a sub-study nested in the SEARCH trial, a community cluster-randomized trial (NCT01864603), we assessed whether a universal HIV-test-and-treat intervention reduced population-level incident TB infection in rural Uganda. Intervention communities received annual, population-level HIV testing and patient-centered linkage.
Background: Persons with HIV (PWH) with high mobility face obstacles to HIV care engagement and viral suppression. We sought to understand whether a patient-centered intervention for mobile PWH would improve viral suppression and retention in care, and if so, which subgroups would benefit most.
Methods: In a randomized trial, we evaluated the effect of an intervention designed to address barriers to care among mobile (≥2 weeks out of community in previous year) PWH with viral nonsuppression or recent missed visits in Kenya and Uganda (NCT04810650).
Introduction: Human mobility is a critical aspect of existence and survival, but may compromise care engagement among people living with HIV (PLHIV). We examined the association between various forms of human mobility with retention in HIV care and antiretroviral treatment (ART) interruptions.
Methods: In a cohort of adult PLHIV in Kenya and Uganda, we collected surveys in 2016 about past 6-month travel and lifetime migration histories, including reasons and locations, and engagement in HIV care defined as (1) discontinuation of care, and (2) history of a treatment interruption among those who remained in care.
Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) assures major gains in health outcomes among people living with HIV, however, this benefit may not be realized by all due to care interruptions. Mobile populations comprise a subgroup that is likely to have sub-optimal care engagement, resulting in discontinuation of ART. We sought to evaluate the barriers to care engagement among highly mobile individuals living with HIV and explore options aimed at improving engagement in care for this group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social and cognitive developmental events can disrupt care and medication adherence among adolescents and young adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. We hypothesised that a dynamic multilevel health system intervention helping adolescents and young adults and their providers navigate life-stage related events would increase virological suppression compared with standard care.
Methods: We did a cluster randomised, open-label trial of young individuals aged 15-24 years with HIV and receiving care in eligible clinics (operated by the government and with ≥25 young people receiving care) in rural Kenya and Uganda.
Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) often enroll large numbers of participants; yet due to resource constraints, only a subset of participants may be selected for outcome assessment, and those sampled may not be representative of all cluster members. Missing data also present a challenge: if sampled individuals with measured outcomes are dissimilar from those with missing outcomes, unadjusted estimates of arm-specific endpoints and the intervention effect may be biased. Further, CRTs often enroll and randomize few clusters, limiting statistical power and raising concerns about finite sample performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
September 2023
Objectives: Determine whether patient-centered, streamlined HIV care achieves higher antiretroviral therapy (ART) uptake and viral suppression than the standard treatment model for people with HIV (PWH) reporting hazardous alcohol use.
Design: Community cluster-randomized trial.
Methods: The Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health trial (NCT01864603) compared an intervention of annual population HIV testing, universal ART, and patient-centered care with a control of baseline population testing with ART by country standard in 32 Kenyan and Ugandan communities.
Background: Interventions to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) are needed.
Methods: We conducted an open-label, randomized study involving MSM and transgender women who were taking preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (PrEP cohort) or living with HIV infection (persons living with HIV infection [PLWH] cohort) and who had had (gonorrhea), (chlamydia), or syphilis in the past year. Participants were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to take 200 mg of doxycycline within 72 hours after condomless sex (doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis) or receive standard care without doxycycline.
Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco County (SFC) had to shift many nonemergency health care resources to COVID-19, reducing HIV control resources. We sought to quantify COVID-19 effects on HIV burden among men who have sex with men (MSM) as SFC returns to pre-COVID service levels and progresses toward the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) goals.
Setting: Microsimulation model of MSM in SFC tracking HIV progression and treatment.
Background: Population mobility is prevalent and complex in sub-Saharan Africa, and can disrupt HIV care and fuel onward transmission. While differentiated care models show promise for meeting the needs of mobile populations by addressing care cascade gaps, the voices of mobile populations need to be included when designing care delivery models. We assessed the unmet needs of mobile populations and engaged mobile stakeholders in the design and implementation of service delivery to improve care outcomes for mobile people living with HIV (PLHIV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: There is a high burden of hypertension (HTN) among HIV-infected people in Uganda. However, capacity to prevent, diagnose and treat HTN is suboptimal. This study seeks to leverage the existing HIV-related infrastructure in primary care health facilities (HFs) using the integrated HIV/HTN care model to improve health outcomes of patients with HIV and HTN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPopulation mobility is associated with higher-risk sexual behaviors in sub-Saharan Africa and is a key driver of the HIV epidemic. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study to estimate associations between recent mobility (overnight travel away from home in past six months) or migration (changes of residence over defined geopolitical boundaries) and higher-risk sexual behavior among co-resident couples (240 couples aged ≥ 16) from 12 rural communities in Kenya and Uganda. Data on concurrent mobility and sexual risk behaviors were collected every 6-months between 2015 and 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation is underway across sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known about health care providers' experiences with PrEP provision in generalized epidemic settings, particularly outside of selected risk groups. In this study (NCT01864603), universal access to PrEP was offered to adolescents and adults at elevated risk during population-level HIV testing in rural Kenya and Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Mobility (international/internal migration, and localized mobility) is a key driver of the HIV epidemic. While mobility is associated with higher-risk sexual behavior in women, a possible association with condom, modern contraceptive, and dual method use among women living with HIV (WLHIV), is unknown. In addition, HIV status and sexual behaviors such as relationship concurrency may also affect condom, modern contraceptive, and dual method use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Extreme precipitation, including heavy rains and flooding, is associated with poor health outcomes mediated in part by decreases in income and food production. However, the association between heavy rains and HIV burden is unknown.
Objective: To investigate the association between heavy rainfall, HIV prevalence, and HIV transmission risk over a 12-year span in sub-Saharan Africa.
Droughts are associated with poor health outcomes and disruption of public health programming. Data on the association between drought and HIV testing and transmission risk behaviors are limited. We combined data from Demographic and Health Surveys from 10 high HIV prevalence sub-Saharan African countries with a high-resolution measure of drought.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH) trial was a universal test-and-treat (UTT) trial in rural Uganda and Kenya, aiming to lower regional HIV-1 incidence. Here, we quantify breakthrough HIV-1 transmissions occurring during the trial from population-based, dried blood spot samples. Between 2013 and 2017, we obtained 549 and 488 HIV-1 consensus sequences from 745 participants: 469 participants infected prior to trial commencement and 276 SEARCH-incident infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social network analysis can elucidate tuberculosis transmission dynamics outside the home and may inform novel network-based case-finding strategies.
Methods: We assessed the association between social network characteristics and prevalent tuberculosis infection among residents (aged ≥15 years) of 9 rural communities in Eastern Uganda. Social contacts named during a census were used to create community-specific nonhousehold social networks.
Introduction: Adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYAH) have the lowest rates of retention in HIV care and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, partly due to the demands of school associated with this life stage, to HIV-related stigma and to fears of serostatus disclosure. We explore the implications of school-based stigma and disclosure on the development of agency during a critical life stage in rural Kenya and Uganda.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in the baseline year of the SEARCH Youth study, a combination intervention using a life-stage approach among youth (15-24 years old) living with HIV in western Kenya and southwestern Uganda to improve viral load suppression and health outcomes.