HIV & Drug Abuse Prevention for South African Men

February 13, 2020 updated by: Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, University of California, Los Angeles
The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of randomizing all young men in a neighborhood to receive: 1) soccer training; 2) soccer and vocational training; or 3) a control condition, as a means to engage young men in HIV prevention. The investigators hypothesize that the intervention will reduce young men's substance use and increase HIV testing.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

South Africa has the highest number of HIV-infected persons of any nation, including 2.4 million men, and from 2002-2011 young men have had a 3% incidence HIV rate that has remained stable. New infections occur later in men than in women, making men in their 20s a target for intervention. Decreasing sexual risk and concurrent partnerships is a key outcome in interventions to reduce HIV incidence. Most men (68%) report unprotected sex, typically with three partners in the last three months,and more than half of young men do not use condoms with casual partners.

In South Africa, the amount of alcohol consumed per adult is among the highest in the world. 'Heavy episodic drinking', which most strongly correlates with risky sexual behaviors and HIV infection, is reported by 60% of men. Alcohol, tik (methamphetamine) and marijuana are common among young men in South Africa. Among alcohol abusers, men are highly likely to be poly substance users. Among HIV seropositive young men, drug use is common. Drug and alcohol use is associated with risky sexual behaviors and an increase in the number of sexual partners.

In townships, alcohol is involved in or responsible for 60% of automobile accidents, 75% of homicides, 50% of non-natural deaths, 67% of domestic violence, 30% of hospital admissions, and costs South Africa about R9 billion annually. Violence also characterizes the lives of young men in the Xhosa townships. Intimate partner violence is frequent in alcohol-using partnerships and is correlated with increased HIV incidence. Substance use and unemployment often lead to violence in a township. Jobs, by contrast, provide income and create a strong and respected community role.

HIV prevention efforts for young people in Sub-Saharan Africa have largely been unsuccessful: novel, structural, community level programs that address the social determinants of HIV are needed. Unemployment and a culture of alcohol and violence are major social determinants of HIV among young men. Yet, men are often excluded from economic development programs. Young, South African men need new pathways for prosocial roles and behaviors and our interventions need to be attractive and consistent with men's styles. The social determinants of HIV (unemployment, alcohol, and violence) are critical to creating opportunities for prosocial roles for young men. One of the most common comments by both the men and their families in our previous pilot qualitative study on soccer and vocational training was men's lack of "things to do." Given these needs, the investigators focus on soccer and vocational training in this randomized controlled trial as opportunities for young men to acquire the habits of daily living that are most likely to result in jobs, health, and positive relationships.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1211

Phase

  • Phase 3

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

  • South Africa
      • Stellenbosch, South Africa
        • Stellenbosch University

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 29 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • not employed
  • sleeps at least 4 nights per week in the two months prior to recruitment in a household in the target neighborhood boundaries
  • speaks Xhosa or English
  • provides voluntary informed consent and understands the consent process
  • does not appear to be actively hallucinating or incapable of understanding the interviewer

Exclusion Criteria:

  • if the interviewer reports that the young man demonstrates delusional talk or cannot comprehend the voluntary informed consent forms

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Soccer League (SL)
In the SL arm, participants will be invited to participate in a Soccer League, led by coaches who meet the criteria of: 1) soccer skills, 2) being a role model, and 3) social competence. Coaches will undergo intensive training in ethics; role-playing the delivery of health messages; conducting brief interventions for alcohol; how to acquire information on HIV, TB, alcohol use and employment; linkages to local clinics, data collection; and Street Smart, an evidence-based intervention for high-risk youth. Coaches will provide pre- and post-game talks, incorporating the topics of alcohol and drugs; interacting positively with health care providers, partners and family members; HIV, diabetes; daily routines; healthy social networks; making and saving money; loyalty and national success.
Behavioral: Soccer League (SL)
Participants will be invited to attend soccer practice in the late afternoons, roughly 2-3 times per week. Competitive games will be held on Saturdays so that friends and family may attend. Using a mobile phone application, coaches will regularly record information on participants' arrival and departure times, sportsmanship, volunteering in the community, the results of saliva tests for drugs and alcohol. The SL intervention arm will last for one year.
Experimental: Soccer League/Vocational Training (SL-V)
The SL-V arm will include both the SL intervention as well as access to Vocational Training through either Silulo Ulutho Technologies, which offers computer courses, or Zenzele Training and Development programs, which provides training in woodwork and wielding. Both programs are located in Khayelitsha, which is close to participants' homes, thus avoiding transport-related barriers. Additionally, the training programs occur in a mentor-mentee context so that participants can develop the interpersonal skills required for employment.
Behavioral: Soccer League/Vocational Training (SL-V)
In addition to the SL intervention, participants will gain access to vocational training. The Vocational Training will take place through the Silulo or Zenzele programs based in Khayelitsha for a period of 6 months. These programs offer practical and market-related training in computer skills, woodwork, or welding. The SL-V intervention arm will last for one year; with six months dedicated to soccer and six months dedicated to vocational training.
No Intervention: Control Condition (CC)
Participants in the CC arm will routinely receive flyers with picture stories regarding HIV prevention strategies and how to access these strategies: HIV testing, circumcision, HIV treatment, including ARV, condoms and sexually transmitted diseases.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The primary outcome is the number of outcomes out of 15 outcomes significantly favoring the intervention over the control (Harwood, Weiss & Comulada, 2017)
Time Frame: Baseline to 18 months
The primary outcome is the number of 15 outcomes (listed shortly) in which the intervention groups are better at the end of the study at 18 months. The outcomes are documented by biomarkers or self-report and except where otherwise noted, are in reference to the last three months. The outcomes are - (1) no concurrent partnerships; (2) no sex without condoms; (3) employment (part/full-time); (4) income above 1200 ZAR/month; (5) no violent acts toward women; (6) no arrests by police; (7) engaged in a community activity; (8) CES-D score < 16 (i.e., caseness); (9) AUDIT score < 3 (i.e., problematic alcohol use); (10) no alcohol usage in last 24 hours; (11) HIV testing; (12) no marijuana (dagga) usage in the last 10 days; (13) no quaalude (mandrax) usage in the last 2-3 days; (14) no methamphetamine (tik) usage in the last 1-2 days; and, (15) PEth Alcohol Test (excessive alcohol use in prior 3 weeks, at 18 months only).
Baseline to 18 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
If a significant number of the 15 outcomes have intervention groups better than control at the end of the study, we will analyze and report on each outcome separately.
Time Frame: Baseline to 18 months
The outcomes are documented by biomarkers or self-report and except where otherwise noted, are in reference to the last three months. The outcomes are - (1) no concurrent partnerships; (2) no sex without condoms; (3) employment (part/full-time); (4) income above 1200 ZAR/month; (5) no violent acts toward women; (6) no arrests by police; (7) engaged in a community activity; (8) CES-D score < 16 (i.e., caseness); (9) AUDIT score < 3 (i.e., problematic alcohol use); (10) no alcohol usage in last 24 hours; (11) HIV testing; (12) no marijuana (dagga) usage in the last 10 days; (13) no quaalude (mandrax) usage in the last 2-3 days; (14) no methamphetamine (tik) usage in the last 1-2 days; and, (15) PEth Alcohol Test (excessive alcohol use in prior 3 weeks, at 18 months only).
Baseline to 18 months
Among HIV+, uptake and adherence to ARV medications and medical regimens
Time Frame: Baseline to 18 months
Assessed via repeated self-reports over 18 months
Baseline to 18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mary Jane Rotheram, PhD, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, UCLA

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

May 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 24, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

February 6, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 17, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 13, 2020

Last Verified

February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01DA038675 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • 1R01DA038675-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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