Partners-based HIV Treatment for Couples Attending Antenatal Care

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03149237
• Recruitment Status: Recruiting
• First Posted: May 11, 2017
• Last Update Posted: February 22, 2019
• Sponsor: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Collaborator: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Carolyn Audet, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Study Description

Brief Summary:

The purpose of this R01 proposal is to evaluate the clinical impact, hypothesized mechanisms of behavior change, and cost-effectiveness of a partners-focused integrated elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (EMTCT) package comprised of: 1) antenatal care-based couples HIV testing, ART enrollment, and care for sero-concordant HIV+ expectant couples; (2) Couples-based treatment in the post-partum period; (3) Couple-based education and skills building; and (4) Treatment continuity with the support of expert-patient (peer) supporters from couples who have successfully navigated EMTCT. This innovative approach to scaling up EMTCT services, if proven feasible and effective, will be adopted in President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs to accelerate progress toward EMTCT and helping families with HIV infection live long, healthy lives.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Human Immunodeficiency Virus	Behavioral: Couples-based services	Not Applicable

Detailed Description:

In severely resource-limited rural settings, scale-up of services to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV (EMTCT) has failed to provide effective HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage for women in highest prevalence southern African regions. All HIV-infected pregnant women are now eligible for life-long antiretroviral therapy (ART) (Option B+), but retention among women enrolled through Option B+ programs remains sub-optimal. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) it is common for women to require male partner approval to access and remain engaged in HIV-related health services. Despite the likelihood that male involvement would improve program coverage and adherence, the evidence base for effective interventions to involve male partners in HIV testing and treatment through antenatal care (ANC) point of care is very limited. Furthermore, whether such strategies are indeed cost-effective for improving outcomes of HIV-diagnosis and treatment in pregnancy is unknown. This proposal seeks to address these key gaps in the evidence base and guide scale-up by evaluating a promising male engagement intervention ("Homens para Saúde" (HoPS)+ [Men for Health]) targeting EMTCT in Mozambique through a clinic-randomized trial. This study will engage 24 ANC clinics; 12 intervention and 12 standard of care, with 45 HIV-infected couples per clinic where currently >60% of couples attend their first ANC visit together. The planned intervention addresses social-structural and cultural factors influencing EMTCT through the creation of couples-centered integrated HIV services, including: (1) ANC-based couples HIV testing, ART enrollment, and care for sero-concordant HIV+ expectant couples; (2) Couple-based treatment in the post-partum period; (3) Couple-based education and skills building; and (4) Treatment continuity with the support of expert-patient (peer) supporters from couples who have successfully navigated EMTCT. Given that 8.0% of all pregnant women and 7.2% of their partners tested HIV-positive during ANC visits in 2015 (FGH monitoring and evaluation [M&E] data), the investigators pioneering work in Mozambique's rural Zambézia province suggests that innovative strategies are essential to engaging HIV-infected male partners in antenatal care (ANC) in order to achieve EMTCT and to improve substantially the health of the mothers. This team of Mozambican and U.S. investigators has a proven record of international HIV research success and they have specific recent experience with EMTCT cluster randomized trials, male-engagement in ANC services, and cost-effectiveness analysis of HIV programs. The specific aims of this study are: (1) To implement and evaluate the impact of male-engaged, couples-centered services on retention in care, adherence to ART, and early infant diagnosis among HIV+ pregnant women and their HIV+ male partners through a cluster-randomized control trial (RCT); (2) To investigate the impact of HoPS+ on hypothesized mechanisms of change; and (3) To use validated simulation models to evaluate cost-effectiveness of the HoPS+ intervention with the use of programmatic provincial monitoring and evaluation data and data from the trial results.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Estimated Enrollment: 3240 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Intervention Model Description: The 12 clinics randomly assigned to the intervention arm will receive a combination of community and clinical services, including: (1) ANC-based couples HIV testing, couples-based treatment enrollment, and clinical care for sero-concordant HIV+ expectant couples; (2) couple-centered treatment in the post-partum period; (3) couples-based education and skills building during the ANC and post-partum period; and (4) treatment continuity support by expert-patient (peer) navigators selected among couples who have successfully navigated EMTCT. The 12 clinics randomized to the control arm will continue to provide standard of care EMTCT services that include: standard HoPS male engagement (male invitation to ANC services and couples HIV testing), opt-out rapid HIV testing of all pregnant women attending ANC, HIV-specific counseling and support for all women who test positive, provision of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, and universal ART, as per option B+ guidelines.
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Official Title: Partners-based HIV Treatment for Sero-concordant Couples Attending Antenatal Care
• Actual Study Start Date: November 20, 2017
• Estimated Primary Completion Date: April 2022
• Estimated Study Completion Date: April 2022

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
No Intervention: Standard of Care; The 12 clinics randomized to the control arm will continue to provide standard of care (SOC) EMTCT services that include: standard HoPS male engagement (male invitation to ANC services and couples HIV testing), opt-out rapid HIV testing of all pregnant women attending ANC, HIV-specific counseling and support for all women who test positive, provision of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, and universal ART, as per option B+ guidelines.
Experimental: Couples-based Services; The 12 clinics randomly assigned to the intervention arm will receive a combination of community and clinical EMTCT services, including: (1) ANC-based couples HIV testing, couples-based treatment enrollment, and clinical care for sero-concordant HIV+ expectant couples; (2) couple-centered treatment in the post-partum period at the EID clinic; (3) couples-based education and skills building during the ANC and post-partum period; and (4) treatment continuity support by expert-patient (peer) navigators selected among couples who have successfully navigated EMTCT.	Behavioral: Couples-based services; Couples-based services, including treatment, counseling and peer mentoring in the community.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Retention [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
   Maternal retention in HIV care and treatment (defined as not being more than 59 days late for a scheduled clinical visit)

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. HIV Viral Load [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
   Maternal HIV RNA (Viral Load) per a milliliter of blood

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Couples, one HIV+ pregnant woman and her infected male partner, will be eligible to participate if the woman's due date is >2 weeks from enrollment. Both persons must also be 18 years or older, able to give consent, willing to consent to an infant record search, and must agree to enroll in ART together.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Couples will not be eligible to participate in the study if the woman is not pregnant, if both persons are not HIV+, if either person is younger than 18 years, if one member of the couple is unwilling to enroll in ART or consent to the infant record search, or if one member of the couple is unable to give consent due to mental limitations.

Contacts and Locations

Contacts

Contact: Sara Von Rompaey, MD; 258823105272; sara.vonrompaey@fgh.org.mz

Contact: Lazaro Calvo, PhD; 258826430149; lazaro.calvo@fgh.org.mz

Locations

Mozambique

Minisitry of Health Health Facility; Recruiting

Pebane, Zambezia, Mozambique

Contact: Sara van Rompaey, MD 258847266921 sara.vanrompaey@fgh.org.mz

Contact: Caroline DeSchacht, MD 258823393460 caroline.deschacht@fgh.org.mz

Sponsors and Collaborators

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

• Study Director: Erin Graves, MPH, BSN; Vanderilt University

More Information

• Responsible Party: Carolyn Audet, Assistant Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03149237 History of Changes
• Other Study ID Numbers: 170365; R01MH113478-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
• First Posted: May 11, 2017
• Last Update Posted: February 22, 2019
• Last Verified: February 2019

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

• Plan to Share IPD: No
• Plan Description: After the study is completed and the results published, the investigators will upload de-identified data to ICPSR.

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No

Keywords provided by Carolyn Audet, Vanderbilt University Medical Center:

Mozambique; Couples-based services; HIV/AIDS; Ante-natal Care

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; HIV Infections; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Immune System Diseases; Lentivirus Infections; Retroviridae Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Slow Virus Diseases