Point-of-care testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among pregnant women in South Africa, 2021-2022: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) in Southern Africa are at increased risk of acquiring HIV and curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is safe and effective to use during pregnancy to reduce HIV acquisition and vertical transmission. Point-of-care (POC) STI testing can identify PPW at risk of HIV and facilitate risk-differentiated and person-centred counselling to improve PrEP initiation, persistence and adherence. We evaluated the impact of POC STI testing compared with STI syndromic management on PrEP outcomes among PPW in Cape Town, South Africa. METHODS: The STI and PrEP in Pregnancy Study enrolled PPW without HIV and ≤34 weeks pregnant at their regular antenatal care visit with follow-up after 1 month. PPW were randomised to receive POC STI testing or STI syndromic management. PPW randomised to POC STI testing self-collected vaginal swabs for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis (Cepheid GeneXpert) testing and were offered same-day treatment if diagnosed. We compared PrEP initiation at baseline, PrEP prescription refill at 1 month (persistence) and adherence through tenofovir-diphosphate detection in dried blood spots by randomisation arm. In a secondary analysis, we evaluated the association between an STI diagnosis (positive STI test or reporting STI symptoms) with PrEP outcomes. RESULTS: We enrolled and randomised 268 pregnant women. Twenty-eight per cent of women were diagnosed with ≥1 STI. Overall, 65% of women initiated and 79% persisted on PrEP with no significant differences by randomisation arm. Secondary analysis demonstrated that an STI diagnosis (positive STI test or reporting STI symptoms) was associated with higher PrEP initiation (adjusted relative risk=1.28; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.52), controlling for arm, maternal and gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: POC STI testing was not associated with PrEP initiation or persistence relative to syndromic management. However, improving STI diagnosis by supplementing syndromic management with POC STI testing could improve PrEP initiation among PPW. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03902418; Clinical Trials.gov; 1 April 2019.

Stepped care to optimize pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectiveness in pregnant and postpartum women (SCOPE-PP) in South Africa: a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: HIV incidence among pregnant and postpartum women remains high in South Africa. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use remains suboptimal in this population, particularly during the postpartum period when women's engagement with routine clinic visits outside PrEP decreases. Key barriers to sustained PrEP use include the need for ongoing contact with the health facility and suboptimal counseling around effective PrEP use. METHODS: Stepped Care to Optimize PrEP Effectiveness in Pregnant and Postpartum women (SCOPE-PP), is a two-stepped unblinded, individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to optimize peripartum and postpartum PrEP use by providing a stepped package of evidence-based interventions. We will enroll 650 pregnant women (> 25 weeks pregnant) who access PrEP at a busy antenatal clinic in Cape Town at the time of recruitment and follow them for 15 months. We will enroll and individually randomize pregnant women > 16 years who are not living with HIV who are either on PrEP or interested in starting PrEP during pregnancy. In step 1, we will evaluate the impact of enhanced adherence counselling and biofeedback (using urine tenofovir tests for biofeedback) and rapid PrEP collection (to reduce time required) on PrEP use in early peripartum compared to standard of care (SOC) (n = 325 per arm). The primary outcome is PrEP persistence per urine tenofovir levels and dried blood spots of tenofovir diphosphate (TFV-DP) after 6-months. The second step will enroll and individually randomize participants from Step 1 who discontinue taking PrEP or have poor persistence in Step 1 but want to continue PrEP. Step 2 will test the impact of enhanced counseling and biofeedback plus rapid PrEP collection compared to community PrEP delivery with HIV self-testing on PrEP use (n = up to 325 postpartum women). The primary outcome is PrEP continuation and persistence 6-months following second randomization (~ 9-months postpartum). Finally, we will estimate the cost effectiveness of SCOPE-PP vs. SOC per primary outcomes and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted in both Step 1 and 2 using micro-costing with trial- and model-based economic evaluation. DISCUSSION: This study will provide novel insights into optimal strategies for delivering PrEP to peripartum and postpartum women in this high-incidence setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05322629 : Date of registration: April 12, 2022.

The effects of cash transfer programmes on HIV/AIDS prevention and care outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies.

BACKGROUND: Poverty and social inequality are risk factors for poor health outcomes in patients with HIV/AIDS. In addition to eligibility, cash transfer programmes can be divided into two categories: those with specific requirements (conditional cash transfers [CCTs]) and those without specific requirements (unconditional cash transfers). Common CCT requirements include health care (eg, undergoing an HIV test) and education (eg, children attending school). Trials assessing the effect of cash transfer programmes on HIV/AIDS outcomes have yielded divergent findings. This review aimed to summarise evidence to evaluate the effects of cash transfer programmes on HIV/AIDS prevention and care outcomes. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, LILACS, WHO IRIS, PAHO-IRIS, BDENF, Secretaria Estadual de Saúde SP, Localizador de Informação em Saúde, Coleciona SUS, BINACIS, IBECS, CUMED, SciELO, and Web of Science up to Nov 28, 2022. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effects of cash transfer programmes on HIV incidence, HIV testing, retention in HIV care, and antiretroviral therapy adherence, and conducted risk of bias and quality of evidence assessments using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations approach. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to combine studies and calculate risk ratios (RRs). Subgroup analyses were performed using conditionality types (ie, school attendance or health care). The protocol was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42021274452. FINDINGS: 16 RCTs, which included 5241 individuals, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 13 studies included conditionalities for receiving cash transfer programmes. The results showed that receiving a cash transfer was associated with lowered HIV incidence among individuals who had to meet health-care conditionalities (RR 0·74, 95% CI 0·56-0·98) and with increased retention in HIV care for pregnant women (1·14, 95% CI 1·03-1·27). No significant effect was observed for HIV testing (RR 0·45, 95% CI 0·18-1·12) or antiretroviral therapy adherence (1·13, 0·73-1·75). Lower risk of bias was observed for HIV incidence and having an HIV test. The strength of available evidence can be classified as moderate. INTERPRETATION: Cash transfer programmes have a positive effect on mitigating HIV incidence for individuals who have to meet health-care conditionalities and on increasing retention in HIV care for pregnant women. These results show the potential of cash transfer programmes for HIV prevention and care, especially among people in extreme poverty, and highlight that cash transfer programmes must be considered when developing policies for HIV/AIDS control, as indicated by the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target of the HIV care continuum. FUNDING: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, USA.

Comparing lengths and inclusion of information in storytelling videos: Implications for Hepatitis B education.

Objectives: This study examined whether adding disease-specific facts into storytelling videos and altering video length would lead to differences in overall ratings of the video and the storyteller, as well as hepatitis B prevention beliefs, among Asian American and Pacific Islander adults. Methods: A sample of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults (N = 409) completed an online survey. Each participant was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions that varied in video length and use of additional hepatitis B facts. Linear regressions were used to examine differences in outcomes (i.e., video rating, speaker rating, perceived effectiveness, hepatitis B prevention beliefs) by conditions. Results: Condition 2, which added facts to the original full-length video, was significantly related to higher speaker ratings (i.e., the storyteller's rating) compared to Condition 1, the original full-length video with no added facts, p = 0.016. Condition 3, which added facts to the shortened video, was significantly related to lower overall video ratings (i.e., how much participants liked the videos overall) compared to Condition 1, p = 0.001. There were no significant differences in higher positive hepatitis B prevention beliefs across conditions. Conclusions: Results suggest that adding disease-specific facts to storytelling for patient education may improve initial perceptions of storytelling videos; however, more research is needed to examine long-term effects. Innovation: Aspects of storytelling videos such as length and additional information have been rarely explored in storytelling research. This study provides evidence that exploring these aspects is informative to future storytelling campaigns and disease-specific prevention.

Exploring the Impact of Storytelling on Storytellers in a Hepatitis B Health Communication Context.

OBJECTIVE: In order to address the stigma associated with hepatitis B, increase awareness, encourage testing, and promote prevention through vaccination, a storytelling campaign featuring people living with hepatitis B and their family members was developed. Storytelling campaigns have been evaluated for their impact on the viewing audience; however, few studies have examined the impact of storytelling on storytellers themselves. This study seeks to examine the experiences of the individuals telling their stories. METHODS: Trained researchers conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 23) with individuals who had participated in a hepatitis B storytelling campaign. RESULTS: A thematic analysis of the interviews produced four overarching themes: 1) Outreach; 2) Emotion; 3) Education; and 4) Stigma. The interviews demonstrate that participants found storytelling to be a positive, comfortable, and emotional experience, and that it motivated them to educate others and increase awareness. Additionally, participants identified the need to increase outreach and address stigma related to hepatitis B. CONCLUSION: While more research is needed, these study results can be used to enhance future engagement, training, and experiences of hepatitis B storytellers. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Findings provide insight into how storytelling can impact the sharing their story and provide important implications for future storytelling campaigns.