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HIVPESUNCT02833441

The Peer Support Intervention - Supporting HIV Positive Adolescents in Zimbabwe to Improve HIV Care Continuum Outcomes

A study testing Peer Support in people with HIV, run by University of Zimbabwe at 1 site in Zimbabwe.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Youth with evidence of virologic failure defined as an HIV VL>400 copies/mL on two consecutive occasions at least 1 month apart will be eligible for enrollment. Youth will be randomized to a community based peer counseling support group or clinic based standard of care, with viral load, and drug monitoring evaluations… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 10 to 24 years
Conditions the study is for
HIV
What is being tested?
Peer Support
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
214 participants
Where
1 siteZimbabwe
Study dates
Jul 2016to Mar 2018
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 10 to 24 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Documented HIV positive
  • Age > 10 years and ≤ 24 years
  • Two consecutive HIV VL>400 copies/mL, at least one month apart
  • Residence within 50 km of Harare
  • Able to provide written informed consent (age 18 or older) or assent (age <18 years)

Who cannot join

  • Inability to provide informed consent or assent
  • Past or current involvement in the Zvandiri Intervention Program

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Zimbabwe1 site
  • Parirenyatwa Hospital

    Harare, 00263

Other trials in Zimbabwe

About this study

Youth with evidence of virologic failure defined as an HIV VL>400 copies/mL on two consecutive occasions at least 1 month apart will be eligible for enrollment. Youth will be randomized to a community based peer counseling support group or clinic based standard of care, with viral load, and drug monitoring evaluations at 3 month intervals to determine the efficacy of the intervention in improving adherence and virologic suppression.

Read the detailed description

Title The Peer Support Intervention - supporting HIV positive adolescents in Zimbabwe to improve HIV care continuum outcomes

Short Title The Peer Support Intervention

Study Design Prospective randomized study

Study Duration 2 years

Study Population 250 Youth (ages 10-24 years) with virologic failure

Study Outcomes Primary Outcomes

  1. Virologic suppression rate in the The Peer Support Intervention group compared with the standard of care group following 48 weeks in the Peer Support Intervention.

Secondary Outcomes

  1. Frequency of acquired drug resistance mutations among youth failing ART.
  2. Baseline prevalence of psychological distress among adolescents and young adults failing first line therapy
  3. Prevalence of psychological distress (measured using PHQ-A and SSQ) after 48 weeks of enrolment in the Peer Support Intervention compared with the standard of care
  4. Association between self-reported adherence, pill counts and objective surrogate markers of adherence obtained from plasma (viral load), DBS and hair (tenofovir concentrations).
  5. Effectiveness of point mutation assays for the detection of drug resistance as compared with standard sequencing techniques.

Description of Intervention Youth with evidence of virologic failure defined as an HIV VL>400 copies/mL on two consecutive occasions at least 1 month apart will be eligible for enrollment. Youth will be randomized to a community based peer counseling support group or clinic based standard of care, with viral load, and drug monitoring evaluations at 3 month intervals to determine the efficacy of the intervention in improving adherence and virologic suppression.

Study Sites Parirenyatwa Hospital Family Care Centre

Conditions
HIV
Being tested
Peer Support

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Peer SupportBehavioural

Study groups in NCT02833441
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Peer Support InterventionExperimentalAdolescents/young adults in the Peer Support Intervention arm will be referred to a Peer Support Intervention support group within their own or nearby community. This support group will meet monthly and will be facilitated by a professional HIV counsellor together with a Peer Support Intervention counselor. The Peer Support Intervention counsellors will provide regular counselling to their allocated participants through home visits and SMS messages. Each participant will be visited once a week in their home. Whatsapp messages will be delivered daily to each participant by the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters. The agreed messages will briefly enquire about the participant's well-being without specifically making reference to HIV or ARVs. In addition, participants' caregivers will be invited to a 3-session intervention to build knowledge, skills and confidence to better support their adolescents.
Receives: Behavioral: Peer Support
Standard of Care PracticeNo interventionParticipants in the standard of care group will receive adherence evaluations and counseling at the clinic as per the current standard of care. Current procedures involve a group counseling session given on Monday morning during which topics are discussed that are relevant to adolescents. In general children aged between 13-19 years attend these sessions. After the group counseling, adolescents also receive an individual counseling session before being evaluated by the clinic doctor. Youth are also encouraged to complete a self reported adherence questionnaire and may periodically undergo pill counts by the clinic counselors. The adolescents may belong to peer support groups in their communities, however these activities are not part of the clinic program. No interventions are typically targeted at their caregivers.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Virologic suppression rate in the Peer Support Intervention i group compared with the standard of care group following 48 weeks in the Peer Support Intervention.

    Virologic suppression

    Measured: 2 years

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Frequency of acquired drug resistance mutations among youth failing ART.

    drug resistance mutations

    Measured: 2 years

  2. Baseline prevalence of psychological distress among adolescents and young adults failing first line therapy

    psychological distress

    Measured: 2 years

  3. Prevalence of psychological distress (measured using PHQ-A and SSQ) after 48 weeks of enrolment in the Peer Support Intervention compared with the standard of care

    psychological distress

    Measured: 2 years

  4. Association between self-reported adherence, pill counts and objective surrogate markers of adherence obtained from plasma (viral load), DBS and hair (tenofovir concentrations).

    (viral load), DBS and hair (tenofovir concentrations).

    Measured: 2 years

  5. Effectiveness of point mutation assays for the detection of drug resistance as compared with standard sequencing techniques.

    detection of drug resistance

    Measured: 2 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted14 Jul 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study startJul 2016
  3. Primary completionMar 2018
  4. Study completionMar 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Investigator
Enrolment
214 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02833441
Sponsor's protocol ID
Peer Support Intervention
Other IDs
No. AID-OAA-A-14-00046
Acronym
PESU
Status last verified
Oct 2018
First submitted
11 Jul 2016
Last updated
17 Oct 2018
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No: Data is readily available and can be obtained following review by MRCZ as required in the consent forms.

Publications

  • Mtisi TJ, Kouamou V, Morse GD, Dzinamarira T, Ndhlovu CE. Comparing pill counts and patient self-reports versus DBS tenofovir concentrations as ART adherence measurements with virologic outcomes and HIV drug resistance in a cohort of adolescents and young adults failing ART in Harare, Zimbabwe. J Infect Public Health. 2024 Sep;17(9):102500. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.102500. Epub 2024 Jul 17.

    PubMed 39173560
  • Ndhlovu CE, Kouamou V, Nyamayaro P, Dougherty L, Willis N, Ojikutu BO, Makadzange AT. The transient effect of a peer support intervention to improve adherence among adolescents and young adults failing antiretroviral therapy in Harare, Zimbabwe: a randomized control trial. AIDS Res Ther. 2021 Jun 16;18(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s12981-021-00356-w.

    PubMed 34134738

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Peer Support in people with HIV, run by University of Zimbabwe at 1 site in Zimbabwe.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Oct 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Zimbabwe. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Virologic suppression rate in the Peer Support Intervention i group compared with the standard of care group following 48 weeks in the Peer Support Intervention. (time frame: 2 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02833441, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Oct 2018.

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