In This toGether R01 (ITG)

January 27, 2026 updated by: Center for Innovative Public Health Research

In This toGether: Testing a Population-based Text Messaging-based HIV Prevention Program for Young Adults Across Uganda

The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the text-based ITG intervention to promote behaviors associated with HIV prevention amongst 18-22 year-olds in Uganda.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

  1. In a twelve-month period, does the intervention increase HIV testing and use of condoms?

    a. How do the different interactive elements effect this?

  2. How is effectiveness different for populations based on education, sex, and location (urban/rural)? Researchers will compare the control group, with no intervention, and the three combinations of the three intervention components: quiz questions, milestone badges, and access to on-demand advice.

Participants will receive the intervention via text messages and partake in the interactive elements listed above.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

750

Phase

  • 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
      • Mbarara, Uganda
        • Internet Solutions for Kids Uganda
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Live in Uganda
  • Age 18 to 22
  • Have exclusive ownership of a cell phone
  • Have used text messaging for at least 6 months
  • Able to read English, Luganda, Runyakitara, or Luo

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not participated in preliminary R34 study

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: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: Quiz and badge
Receives quiz and badge interactive elements
Other: Level up quizzes
Participant is given weekly quiz questions on that week's texted content
Other: Badges
Participants can earn badges by performing activities encouraged by program
Other: Content
Texted information about HIV prevention
Experimental: Bagde and buddy
Badges and advice are the only interactive elements
Other: Badges
Participants can earn badges by performing activities encouraged by program
Other: Content
Texted information about HIV prevention
Other: On-demand advice
Participants have access to ITGenie/Text Buddy, which responds to keywords with preset messages
Experimental: Quiz and buddy
Advice buddy and level up quizzes are only interactive parts of intervention
Other: Level up quizzes
Participant is given weekly quiz questions on that week's texted content
Other: Content
Texted information about HIV prevention
Other: On-demand advice
Participants have access to ITGenie/Text Buddy, which responds to keywords with preset messages
Experimental: No interactive elements
Receives educational content with no interactive elements
Other: Content
Texted information about HIV prevention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HIV testing
Time Frame: 12 months
Binary variable. Was the participant tested for HIV during the study?
12 months
Condom-protected sex acts
Time Frame: 12 months
Self-reported count of condom-protected sex acts during study
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Center for Innovative Public Health Research

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Makerere University
Internet Solutions for Kids Uganda

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 (Estimated)

March 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 3, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01MH136955 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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