Reducing Stigma and Building Employability Skills for Young People With HIV in Zambia
Kupambana: A Combined Microeconomic Strengthening and Stigma Reduction Intervention for Young People With HIV in Zambia
Study Overview
Status
Status
Conditions
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
This pilot randomized controlled trial is grounded in two theoretical frameworks: the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework (HSDF), which addresses the intersection of HIV-related and poverty-related stigma as jointly shaped by structural, social, and individual-level factors, and Positive Youth Development (PYD), which emphasizes strengthening internal assets (such as socioemotional skills) and external assets (such as technical and vocational education and training and supportive relationships) to help young people thrive despite adversity. The intervention being tested was refined through a prior adaptation phase using the Assessment, Decision, Adaptation, Production, Topical experts-Integration, Training, and Testing (ADAPT-ITT) model and builds on two previously developed and tested livelihood interventions for people with HIV in Zambia.
Following completion of a baseline assessment, participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio using a computer-generated random allocation sequence implemented through sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes to minimize selection bias. To reduce the risk of treatment contamination between study arms, the study employs several mitigation strategies: differentiated staffing, in which the experimental intervention's stigma-reduction and financial literacy components are delivered by peer health educators while the technical and vocational education and training component is delivered by staff from a separate partner training institute; temporal separation of experimental and control group activities; blinding of data enumerators to participants' study arm assignment during data collection; and restricting participant information to only the intervention components to which they are assigned.
Data will be gathered through multiple methods, including participant self-report surveys administered electronically via tablet, abstraction of HIV clinical indicators from electronic and paper medical records with participant consent, structured intervention fidelity logs and attendance records completed by implementation staff, program cost and resource-use data gathered through administrative records and key-informant interviews, and qualitative exit interviews conducted with all experimental-arm participants as well as peer health educators and vocational training staff.
As a pilot study, the analytic approach is designed to generate feasibility benchmarks, acceptability estimates, implementation cost data, and preliminary effect estimates to inform a future, fully powered Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial, rather than to test intervention efficacy through formal hypothesis testing. Quantitative analyses will rely primarily on descriptive statistics to characterize the sample and assess feasibility and acceptability against pre-specified benchmarks, and will use an intention-to-treat approach for exploratory between-group comparisons. Qualitative data will be analyzed using the framework method, with coder reliability checked across a subset of transcripts. The implementation cost analysis will be conducted from a community perspective to estimate the staff time, training, materials, transportation, and other resources required to deliver the intervention outside of a research context, informing future scale-up planning.
Study Type
Study Type
Enrollment (Estimated)
Enrollment
Phase
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Contact
Study Contact
- Name: Rainier D Masa, PhD, MSW
- Phone Number: 919-962-6531
- Email: rmasa@email.unc.edu
Study Locations
-
-
Lusaka Province
-
Lusaka, Lusaka Province, Zambia
- Recruiting
- University of Zambia
-
Contact:
- Joseph M Zulu, PhD
- Phone Number: 260 771514511
- Email: joseph.zulu@unza.zm
-
Principal Investigator:
- Joseph M Zulu, PhD
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 18 to 24 years
- Confirmed HIV-positive status, verified using health records obtained from health facilities with participant consent
- Residing in the Chipata, Katete, or Lundazi Districts of Zambia's Eastern Province
- Currently receiving HIV treatment, or previously initiated but disengaged from HIV treatment (stratified purposive sampling will be used to enroll roughly equal proportions of youth currently in care and those who have dropped out of care)
- Reports at least one indicator of economic vulnerability, defined as any of the following: unemployed or without a regular source of income; not attending school or post-secondary education; or individual income below Zambia's national poverty line
Exclusion Criteria:
- HIV-negative or unknown status
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Single
Number of Arms
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / ArmParticipant Group / Arm |
Intervention / TreatmentIntervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: Kupambana
Participants receive the full Kupambana intervention package over approximately 9-12 weeks.
All experimental participants attend one 2-hour group-based financial literacy training session (covering budgeting, savings, credit, and goal-setting) during week 1, delivered by peer health educators.
Participants also attend eight weekly 2-hour peer-led stigma-reduction support group (SRSG) sessions addressing internalized, anticipated, and enacted HIV- and poverty-related stigma through socioemotional skill-building, including self-care, resilience, affirmation, and coping strategies.
Additionally, participants receive a voucher for up to 12 weeks of technical and vocational education and training [TVET] (e.g., agriculture, mechanics, carpentry, tailoring) at a partner training institute, delivered by institute staff.
Together, these components target intersecting HIV- and poverty-related stigma to improve mental health and HIV care continuum outcomes.
|
Eight weekly, 2-hour, peer-led SRSG sessions delivered only to participants in the experimental condition.
Sessions address internalized, anticipated, and enacted HIV- and poverty-related stigma through socioemotional skill-building activities, including self-care, resilience, affirmation, and coping strategies.
Unlike the financial literacy training, this component is recurring (8 sessions vs. 1) and focuses on psychosocial and stigma-related content rather than financial knowledge.
Unlike the TVET voucher, it is delivered directly by study-affiliated peer health educators rather than an external training partner, and does not involve vocational skill acquisition.
Other Names:
A single, one-time, 2-hour group-based session covering budgeting, savings, credit, and financial goal-setting, delivered by peer health educators during week 1.
This is the only intervention component common to both study arms: it is administered identically to participants in the experimental (Kupambana) and control (usual care) conditions to increase comparability between groups and isolate the effects of the additional experimental components.
Unlike the SRSG, it is a single session rather than a recurring series, and unlike the TVET voucher, it involves no referral to an external training institute or ongoing skills instruction.
Other Names:
A voucher, provided only to participants in the experimental condition, covering enrollment in a vocational or entrepreneurship training course of the participant's choosing (e.g., agriculture, mechanics, carpentry, tailoring) at a partner training institute for up to 12 weeks.
Unlike the financial literacy training and SRSG, this component is delivered by staff external to the research team at a separate partner institute, allows participants to choose their trade/course, and provides a direct economic asset (subsidized access to training) rather than group-based instruction or peer support.
Other Names:
|
|
Other: Treatment-as-Usual
Participants attend one 2-hour group-based financial literacy training session (covering budgeting, savings, credit, and goal-setting) during week 1, delivered by peer health educators.
|
A single, one-time, 2-hour group-based session covering budgeting, savings, credit, and financial goal-setting, delivered by peer health educators during week 1.
This is the only intervention component common to both study arms: it is administered identically to participants in the experimental (Kupambana) and control (usual care) conditions to increase comparability between groups and isolate the effects of the additional experimental components.
Unlike the SRSG, it is a single session rather than a recurring series, and unlike the TVET voucher, it involves no referral to an external training institute or ongoing skills instruction.
Other Names:
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
HIV Continuum of Care: Linkage, Receipt, Retention, and Viral Suppression
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
The proportion of participants meeting each of the following HIV care continuum indicators, assessed via self-report and medical record abstraction: linkage to care (connected to a clinic or health facility for HIV care); receipt of care (currently prescribed ART); retention in care (≥2 outpatient visits in the past year, with ≥90 days between the first and last visit); and viral suppression (viral load <1000 copies/mL, per Zambia's national guidelines).
Each indicator is reported separately rather than combined into a composite score.
Higher proportions indicate better HIV care engagement and outcomes.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
HIV Treatment Adherence
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
HIV treatment adherence will be measured with the Modified Medication Adherence Self-Report Inventory (M-MASRI), a brief self-report measure assessing ART adherence through multiple recall items, including missed doses in the past 1, 2, and 3 days, a 2-week recall of non-adherence, and a visual analogue scale (VAS) rating the percentage of prescribed doses taken over the past month (0% = "took none of my HIV medication" to 100% = "took all of my HIV medication").
Responses across items are combined to produce an overall adherence score, with higher scores indicating greater adherence.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Mental Health (Depression)
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Depression will be measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), a brief screening measure assessing the frequency of depressive symptoms (e.g., sadness, hopelessness, restless sleep, loss of interest) experienced over the past week.
Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = "rarely or none of the time" to 3 = "all of the time") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating greater depressive symptom severity.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Mental Health (Anxiety)
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Anxiety will be measured with the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), which assesses the frequency of core anxiety symptoms (e.g., excessive worry, restlessness, difficulty relaxing) over the past two weeks.
Items are rated on a 4-point scale (0 = "not at all" to 3 = "nearly every day") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety severity.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Mental Health (Psychological Distress)
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
General psychological distress will be measured using the World Health Organization (WHO) Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), a 20-item screening tool for common mental disorders that covers somatic and psychological symptoms of distress (e.g., headaches, poor appetite, feeling nervous, tense, or worthless).
Items are rated dichotomously (yes/no) and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater psychological distress.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Internalized HIV Stigma
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Internalized HIV stigma will be measured with a 9-item scale assessing the extent to which participants have accepted and internalized negative HIV-related beliefs and feelings about themselves (e.g., feeling ashamed of having HIV, feeling that HIV makes them dirty inside, feeling like a bad person because of their HIV status, feeling they are not as good as other young people because of their HIV status).
Items are rated on a 3-point scale (0 = "never" to 2 = "most of the time") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 18, with higher scores indicating greater internalized HIV stigma.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Internalized Poverty Stigma
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Internalized poverty stigma will be measured with a 6-item scale assessing the extent to which participants internalize negative beliefs and stereotypes about poverty (e.g., associating low income with personal failure, laziness, or shame; feeling like a lesser person because of one's economic situation).
Items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = "strongly disagree" to 5 = "strongly agree") and summed to produce a total score, with higher scores indicating greater internalized poverty stigma.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Enacted HIV Stigma
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Enacted HIV stigma will be measured with a 13-item scale assessing participants' actual experiences of HIV-related discrimination and mistreatment, including verbal abuse and social isolation.
Items are rated on a 4-point frequency scale (0 = "never," 1 = "once or twice," 2 = "several times," 3 = "most of the time"), consistent with the response format used for internalized HIV stigma, and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 39, with higher scores indicating greater enacted HIV stigma.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Enacted Poverty Stigma
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Enacted poverty stigma will be measured with a 5-item scale assessing participants' experiences of poverty-related mistreatment (e.g., people making negative assumptions about them, treating them badly, speaking down to them, or blaming them because they don't have much money; being excluded by family or friends because of their economic situation).
Items are rated on a 5-point scale (0 = "never" to 4 = "very often") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater experienced poverty stigma.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Intersectional Anticipated Discrimination
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Intersectional anticipated discrimination will be measured with an 8-item scale assessing participants' anticipation of future unfair treatment attributed to HIV status, economic situation, or both.
Adapted items are rated on a 5-point agreement scale (0 = "strongly disagree" to 4 = "strongly agree") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 32, with higher scores indicating greater anticipated discrimination.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
|
Resilience (Adult Resilience Measure-Revised (ARM-R))
Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Resilience will be measured with the 17-item Adult Resilience Measure-Revised (ARM-R), a self-report measure of social-ecological resilience assessing individual, relational, and community/contextual protective resources available to support positive coping and adaptation in the face of adversity.
Items are rated on a 5-point scale (1 = "not at all" to 5 = "a lot") and summed to produce a total score ranging from 17 to 85, with higher scores reflecting greater access to protective resources.
|
Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program)
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Sponsor
Collaborators
Collaborators
Investigators
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Rainier D Masa, PhD, MSW, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Estimated)
Study Start
Primary Completion (Estimated)
Primary Completion
Study Completion (Estimated)
Study Completion
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
First Posted
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Posted
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
- Blood-Borne Infections
- Urogenital Diseases
- Genital Diseases
- Immune System Diseases
- Infections
- RNA Virus Infections
- Virus Diseases
- Communicable Diseases
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Lentivirus Infections
- Retroviridae Infections
- Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
- Behavior
- Health Behavior
- Personal Satisfaction
- Social Behavior
- HIV Infections
- Psychological Well-Being
- Treatment Adherence and Compliance
- Social Stigma
- Investigative Techniques
- Health Care Economics and Organizations
- Economics
- Methods
- Financial Management
Other Study ID Numbers
Other Study ID Numbers
- 24-1712
- R01TW012676 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
IPD Plan Description
IPD Sharing Time Frame
IPD Sharing Access Criteria
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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.