A stakeholder-driven approach to designing a peer recovery coach role for implementation in community-oriented primary care teams in South Africa.

Introduction: In South Africa (SA), community-oriented primary care (COPC) teams work to re-engage out-of-care people with HIV (PWH) in treatment, many of whom have substance use (SU) concerns. SU stigma is high among these teams, limiting care engagement efforts. Integrating peer recovery coaches (PRCs) into COPC teams could shift SU stigma and improve patients' engagement in care.

Piloting Siyakhana: A community health worker training to reduce substance use and depression stigma in South African HIV and TB care.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/tuberculosis (TB) co-infection, and poor engagement in HIV/TB care contributes to morbidity and mortality. In South Africa, community health workers (CHWs) are tasked with re-engaging patients who have dropped out of HIV/TB care. CHWs have described substantial challenges with substance use (SU) and depression among their patients, while patients have described CHW stigma towards SU and depression as barriers to re-engagement in care.

Gut microbiome association with brain imaging markers, APOE genotype, calcium and vegetable intakes, and obesity in healthy aging adults.

Introduction: Advanced age is a significant factor in changes to brain physiology and cognitive functions. Recent research has highlighted the critical role of the gut microbiome in modulating brain functions during aging, which can be influenced by various factors such as apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic variance, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, and dietary intake. However, the associations between the gut microbiome and these factors, as well as brain structural, vascular, and metabolic imaging markers, have not been well explored.

Patient and stakeholder perspectives on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV and mental health care delivery in South Africa.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a global impact on health systems and the delivery of health services, including for chronic conditions such as HIV. In South Africa, impacts on HIV services have widely been quantitatively described. Across different health settings, patients have also qualitatively described numerous negative impacts to their HIV care.

Project ASPIRE: A feasibility randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention for reducing risk of depression and alcohol-related harms among South African adolescents.

Objective: Brief interventions could reduce adolescents' risk of depression and alcohol-related harms, but evidence of their feasibility and acceptability for low-and middle-income countries is lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a feasibility trial of the ASPIRE intervention, a four-session multi-component counselling intervention for South African adolescents.

Method: We recruited 117 adolescents who met our inclusion criteria.