Acceptability of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine in Papua New Guinea: a qualitative study.

Background: In moderate-to-high malaria transmission regions, the World Health Organization recommends intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) alongside insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce the adverse consequences of pregnancy-associated malaria. Due to high-grade Plasmodium falciparum resistance to SP, novel treatment regimens need to be evaluated for IPTp, but these increase pill burden and treatment days. The present qualitative study assessed the acceptability of IPTp-SP plus dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) in Papua New Guinea, where IPTp-SP was implemented in 2009.

Behaviourally-informed two-way text messaging to improve return to HIV care in South Africa: evidence from a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: One-way text messaging to re-engage people in HIV care has shown promise, but little is known about two-way messaging where the recipient is asked to respond. We evaluated a two-way text messaging intervention, informed by behavioural science, to increase re-engagement in care following missed antiretroviral therapy (ART) visits.

Methods: We conducted an individual-level randomised controlled trial between February and March 2023 in Capricorn District, South Africa.

Integrative, high-resolution analysis of single cells across experimental conditions with PARAFAC2.

Effective tools for exploration and analysis are needed to extract insights from large-scale single-cell measurement data. However, current techniques for handling single-cell studies performed across experimental conditions (e.g.

Applying behavioural economics principles to increase demand for free HIV testing services at private doctor-led clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa: A randomised controlled trial.

Expanding free HIV testing service (HTS) access to include private clinics could increase testing rates. A donor funded programme, GP Care Cell, offered free HIV testing at selected private doctor-led clinics but uptake was low. We investigated whether HTS demand creation materials that used behavioural economics principles could increase demand for HIV testing at these clinics.

A randomized trial of 'fresh start' text messaging to improve return to care in people with HIV who missed appointments in South Africa.

Objective: Treatment interruptions are a barrier to successful antiretroviral therapy (ART). 'Fresh start messages', which leverage significant days on the calendar (e.g.

Satisfaction with service delivery among HIV treatment clients enrolled in differentiated and conventional models of care in South Africa: a baseline survey.

Introduction: Differentiated service delivery (DSD) models aim to increase the responsiveness of HIV treatment programmes to the individual needs of antiretroviral therapy (ART) clients to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life. Little is known about how DSD client experiences differ from conventional care.

Methods: From May to November 2021, we interviewed adult (≥18) ART clients at 21 primary clinics in four districts of South Africa.

"Emotional stress is more detrimental than the virus itself": A qualitative study to understand HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among internal migrant men in South Africa.

Introduction: South Africa has one of the highest rates of internal migration on the continent, largely comprised of men seeking labour in urban centres. South African men who move within the country (internal migrants) are at higher risk than non-migrant men of acquiring HIV yet are less likely to test or use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). However, little is known about the mechanisms that link internal migration and challenges engaging in HIV services.

Developing an integrated clinical decision support system for the early identification and management of kidney disease-building cross-sectoral partnerships.

Background: The burden of chronic conditions is growing in Australia with people in remote areas experiencing high rates of disease, especially kidney disease. Health care in remote areas of the Northern Territory (NT) is complicated by a mobile population, high staff turnover, poor communication between health services and complex comorbid health conditions requiring multidisciplinary care.

Aim: This paper aims to describe the collaborative process between research, government and non-government health services to develop an integrated clinical decision support system to improve patient care.

Patterns of engagement in care during clients' first 12 months after HIV treatment initiation in South Africa: A retrospective cohort analysis using routinely collected data.

Retention on antiretroviral therapy (ART) during the early treatment period is one of the most serious challenges facing HIV programs, but the timing and patterns of early disengagement from care remain poorly understood. We describe patterns of engagement in HIV care during the first year after treatment initiation. We analysed retrospective datasets of routinely collected electronic medical register (EMR) data for ≥18-year-old clients who initiated ART at public sector clinics in South Africa after 01/01/2018 and had ≥14 months of potential follow-up.

Migrant men and HIV care engagement in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: South Africa (SA) has one of the highest rates of migration on the continent, largely comprised of men seeking labor opportunities in urban centers. Migrant men are at risk for challenges engaging in HIV care. However, rates of HIV and patterns of healthcare engagement among migrant men in urban Johannesburg are poorly understood.

"I want one nurse who is friendly to talk to me properly like a friend": Learner preferences for HIV and contraceptive service provision in Gauteng, South Africa.

Background: Research with adolescents indicates that youth aged 15-24 years, especially females, are at high risk for HIV infection. The overall HIV prevalence among youth in this age group was 6.2% estimated in 2022.

Understanding school-going adolescent's preferences for accessing HIV and contraceptive care: findings from a discrete choice experiment among learners in Gauteng, South Africa.

Background: Many Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa do not access HIV and reproductive health services optimally. To improve uptake of these services, it is important to understand the Learners' preferences for how services are delivered so that implementation strategies can reflect this.

Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to elicit preferences.

Relational and physical aggression in preschool-age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality.

Early childhood relationships with teachers, parents, siblings, and peers are foundational factors for later social functioning. High rates of childhood aggression have been associated with negative developmental consequences, however, the associations between child aggression on the quality of these formative relationships have not been studied extensively. In a sample of young children attending preschool (N = 114, Mage = 46.

The SENTINEL study of differentiated service delivery models for HIV treatment in Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia: research protocol for a prospective cohort study.

Background: Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are rapidly scaling up "differentiated service delivery" (DSD) models for HIV treatment to improve the quality of care, increase access, reduce costs, and support the continued expansion and sustainability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs. Although there is some published evidence about the health outcomes of patients in DSD models, little is known about their impacts on healthcare providers' job satisfaction, patients' quality of life, costs to providers or patients, or how DSD models affect resource allocation at the facility level.

Methods: SENTINEL is a multi-year observational study that will collect detailed data about DSD models for ART delivery and related services from 12 healthcare facilities in Malawi, 24 in South Africa, and 12 in Zambia.

Applying behavioural economics principles to increase demand for free HIV testing services at private doctor-led clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa: A randomised controlled trial.

Background: Expanding free HIV testing service (HTS) access to include private clinics could increase testing rates. A donor funded programme, GP Care Cell, offered free HIV testing at selected private doctor-led clinics but uptake was low. We investigated whether HTS demand creation materials that used behavioural economics principles could increase demand for HIV testing at these clinics.

A modelling framework for translating discrete choice experiment results into cost-effectiveness estimates: an application to designing tailored and scalable HIV and contraceptive services for adolescents in Gauteng, South Africa.

Introduction: South African youth and adolescents face a high burden of (Sexually Transmitted Infections) STIs, HIV and unintended pregnancies, but uptake of services remains low. To address this, tailored and scalable interventions are urgently needed. We developed a framework to fill the gap and translate the impact of facility-level attributes into a cost-effectiveness analysis for increasing HIV/contraceptive service uptake in adolescents using a discrete choice experiment (DCE).

Assessment of facility-level antiretroviral treatment patient status utilizing a national-level laboratory cohort: Toward an understanding of system-level tracking and clinic switching in South Africa.

Background: Most estimates of HIV retention are derived at the clinic level through antiretroviral (ART) patient management systems, which capture ART clinic visit data, yet these cannot account for silent transfers across HIV treatment sites. Patient laboratory monitoring visits may also be observed in routinely collected laboratory data, which include ART monitoring tests such as CD4 count and HIV viral load, key to our work here.

Methods: In this analysis, we utilized the NHLS National HIV Cohort (a system-wide viewpoint) to investigate the accuracy of facility-level estimates of retention in care for adult patients accessing care (defined using clinic visit data on patients under ART recorded in an electronic patient management system) at Themba Lethu Clinic (TLC).

Study protocol: A randomised trial of the effectiveness of the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) for improving HIV treatment outcomes among women experiencing intimate partner violence in South Africa.

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a barrier to consistent HIV treatment in South Africa. Previous trials have established that the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), a cognitive-behavioural-based intervention, is effective in reducing mental and behavioural health problems but has not been trialled for effectiveness in improving HIV outcomes. This paper describes the protocol for a randomised trial that is testing the effectiveness of CETA in improving HIV treatment outcomes among women experiencing IPV in South Africa.

Quasi-experimental evaluation of a financial incentive for first-dose COVID-19 vaccination among adults aged ≥60 years in South Africa.

Introduction: COVID-19 vaccination coverage in South Africa (RSA) remains low despite increased access to vaccines. On 1 November 2021, RSA introduced the Vooma Voucher programme which provided a small guaranteed financial incentive, a Vooma Voucher redeemable at grocery stores, for COVID-19 vaccination among older adults, a population most vulnerable to serious illness, hospitalisation and death. However, the association of financial incentives with vaccination coverage remains unclear.

Leveraging routine data in impact evaluation: Understanding data systems in primary healthcare prior to a matched cluster-randomised evaluation of adherence guidelines in South Africa.

Background: An essential part of providing high-quality patient care and a means of efficiently conducting research studies relies upon high-quality routinely collected medical information.

Objectives: To describe the registers, paper records and databases used in a sample of primary healthcare clinics in South Africa (SA) with the view to conduct an impact evaluation using routine data.

Methods: Between October 2015 and December 2015, we collected information on the presence, quality and completeness of registers, clinical stationery and databases at 24 public health facilities in SA.

Proposing six criteria to improve reproducibility of "usual care" interventions in back pain trials: a systematic review.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine how usual care is defined in clinical trials for low back pain and the components of care that inform its definition. Six components were proposed and assessed for inclusion: type of practitioner providing care, type of self-management education, addressing physical activity, type of medication, dose of the intervention, and reporting whether care was consistent with current guidelines.

Study Design And Setting: Systematic review of clinical trials published between January 1993 and June 2020.