Pilot Intervention to Empower HIV Clients as Prevention Advocates in Uganda

May 27, 2020 updated by: RAND

Game Changers: Pilot Intervention to Empower HIV Clients as Prevention Advocates in Uganda

This randomized controlled pilot study of the "Game Changers" program will:

  1. Assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing an HIV prevention advocacy intervention with people living with HIV who are in HIV care, and who will be trained to be advocates of HIV protective behaviors within their social networks.
  2. Assess preliminary intervention effects on a) protective behavior of the HIV-positive clients (condom use, partner concurrency/number of partners, engagement in HIV care, ART adherence); and b) diffusion of prevention messages across the network, as assessed by the content and extent of communication with network members about protective behaviors (condom use, partner concurrency/number of partners, HIV testing, engagement in HIV care, circumcision), HIV disclosure, and HIV stigma.
  3. Explore characteristics of HIV-positive clients who more effectively engage in prevention advocacy (in terms of socio-demographics, network characteristics, and network position and type of alters receiving advocacy).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

People living with HIV (PLWH) have a critical role to play in HIV prevention, not only in the context of Prevention for Positives and Treatment as Prevention, but as powerful change agents for HIV protective behaviors among others. Our research suggests that as PLWH receive HIV treatment and restore their health and functioning, many are motivated to protect their loved ones and engage in prevention advocacy (i.e., to encourage friends and family to seek HIV testing and treatment, and to reduce risk behavior); however, the quality of this advocacy is hampered by challenges related to message content, style and timing of delivery, and selection of advocacy recipients. With effective advocacy training, mobilizing PLWH to be change agents within their social networks has the potential to be a "game changer" for HIV prevention, particularly in high prevalence settings such as Uganda, where virtually every family is touched by someone living with HIV. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks for network-based interventions, such as theories of social diffusion, cognitive consistency, and social influence, the proposed study will develop and pilot test "Game Changers"-- an intervention that aims to empower and mobilize PLWH to be agents for HIV prevention and behavioral change in their social networks. In Phase 1, separate focus groups of PLWH and members of their social networks (family and friends) were conducted to explore barriers to and facilitators of mobilizing clients to advocate for HIV prevention, perceptions on how advocacy could be most effective in motivating behavior change, and how to best structure the intervention and its content. In Phase 2 findings from Phase 1 and network-based intervention models were used to develop the structure and content of an intervention designed to help clients cope with stigma, manage their disease, live positively, and develop motivation and skills for HIV disclosure and prevention advocacy. In Phase 3 a pilot group intervention will be conducted in a controlled trial of 96 clients, with 48 randomly assigned to receive the intervention and 48 to the wait-list control. Assessments will be administered to all participants at baseline, 5 months later, and again 8 months after baseline, after which the control group will receive the intervention (but not the interviews). PLWH interviews and social network assessments will examine intervention effects on protective behaviors of the participant (condom use, HIV treatment adherence), and diffusion of prevention messages across the network, as assessed by the content and extent of communication with network members about protective behaviors (condom use, partner concurrency/number of partners, HIV testing, engagement in HIV care, circumcision), HIV disclosure, and HIV stigma. At the end of the intervention period a focus group with program participants will be conducted to get feedback on the intervention. To help understand how participation in the program might affect health, date of HIV diagnosis, last two CD4 counts and HIV viral loads, and prescribed HIV medications will be obtained from PLWH participant medical charts. Participants (about 15/arm) will be asked to recruit up to 3 alters each, who know the participant's serostatus, to be interviewed to assess their HIV protective behaviors (e.g., condom use) and receipt of prevention advocacy from the intervention participant.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
99

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Uganda
      • Kampala, Uganda
        • Infectious Diseases Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria (People living with HIV):

  • 18+ years old
  • In HIV care for > 1 year
  • Having disclosed serostatus to at least one person

Inclusion Criteria (Social network members):

  • 18+ years old
  • Referred by a patient participant because they are family members, friends, or other people in patients' social network
  • knows patient participant's serostatus

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who meet the inclusion criteria above will be eligible to participate, and no other exclusion criteria apply.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Game Changers Intervention
Game Changers is an intervention that aims to empower and mobilize people living with HIV to be agents for HIV prevention and behavioral change in their social networks.
Behavioral: Game Changers
Game Changers is an intervention that aims to empower and mobilize PLHA to be agents for HIV prevention and behavioral change in their social networks.
No Intervention: Control
The control group will receive standard of care during the intervention assessment period. All control participants will be offered the Game Changers program once all assessments for the primary study outcomes have been completed.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Engagement HIV Prevention Advocacy
Time Frame: Past 3 months, measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Self-reported communication with social network members about protective behaviors. This is a composite of 14 survey items rated on a scale of 1 (low level of communication) to 5 (high level of communication).
Past 3 months, measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Sexual Risk Behavior Among Alters
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Increased percentage of self-reported condom use with main partner in past 3 months
Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Change in HIV Treatment Adherence
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Increased antiretroviral treatment adherence (self-reported % doses taken in past month)
Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Change in Internalized HIV Stigma
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Decreased rates of internalized HIV-related stigma on Internalized AIDS Stigma Scale (range=1-5, higher values = high stigma)
Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Number of Participants Who Have Reported Their HIV Status to Their Main Partner
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline
Increased self-reported rates of HIV status disclosure: Participants were asked if they had disclosed their HIV-serostatus to their main partner or spouse (yes/no).
Measured at baseline and 5 and 8 months post-baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
RAND

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Infectious Diseases Institute, Uganda

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 16, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 31, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 8, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 14, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 18, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 27, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R34MH111460 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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