Sustaining sexual health programs: practical considerations and lessons from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Enhancing the sustainability of sexual health programs is important, but there are few practical tools to facilitate this process. Drawing on a sustainability conceptual framework, this Editorial proposes four ideas to increase the sustainability of sexual health programs - early planning, equitable community engagement, return on investment, and partnerships to address social determinants. Early planning during the design of a sexual health program is important for sustainability because it provides an opportunity for the team to build factors relevant to sustainability into the program itself. Equitable community engagement can expand multi-sectoral partnerships for institutionalisation, identify allies for implementation, and strengthen relationships between beneficiaries and researchers. From a financial perspective, considering the return on investment could increase the likelihood of sustainability. Finally, partnerships to address social determinants can help to identify organisations with a similar vision. Existing sustainability frameworks can be used to measure each of these key elements. Several approaches can be used to enhance the sustainability of sexual health programs. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provides potential lessons for increasing the sustainability of sexual health programs in diverse global settings.

The HI V O pen Call on I nformed C onsent and E thics in Research (VOICE) for Adolescents and Young Adults: A Digital Crowdsourcing Open Call in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

BACKGROUND: Many adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 10-24 years old) are excluded from HIV research because of social, ethical, and legal challenges with informed consent, resulting in limited AYA-focused data. We use a participatory approach to identify strategies for improving AYA consent processes in HIV research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS: We conducted a digital crowdsourcing open call for ideas to improve AYA consent to HIV research in LMICs. Crowdsourcing involves engaging a group of people in problem-solving, then sharing emergent solutions. Submissions were evaluated by 3 independent judges using predefined criteria, with exceptional strategies receiving prizes. Demographic data were collected, and textual data were qualitatively analyzed for emergent themes in barriers and facilitators for improving AYA consent in HIV research, guided by a socioecological model. RESULTS: We received 110 strategies total; 65 were eligible for evaluation, 25 of which were identified as finalists. Fifty-eight participants from 10 LMICs submitted the 65 eligible submissions, of which 30 (52%) were 18 to 24 years old. Thematic analysis identified 10 barriers to AYA consent, including HIV stigma, limited education, and legal/regulatory barriers. Strategies for improving AYA consent processes revealed 7 potential facilitators: enhancing AYA engagement in research, involving parents/guardians, improving education/awareness, improving institutional practices/policy, making research participation more AYA-friendly, enhancing engagement of other key communities of interest, and empowering AYA. CONCLUSIONS: Diverse communities of interest in LMICs developed compelling strategies to enhance informed consent that may improve AYA inclusion in HIV research. These data will be used to develop practical guidance on improving AYA consent processes.

Accelerating adolescent HIV research in low-income and middle-income countries: evidence from a research consortium.

OBJECTIVE: Many adolescents and young adults (AYA) have unmet HIV prevention needs. We describe the Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource Constrained Settings (PATC3H) consortium organization, transition milestones, and youth engagement strategies. The PATC3H consortium focuses on reducing HIV incidence and related health disparities among AYA. DESIGN AND METHODS: Organizational data were obtained from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and supplemented with a brief survey completed by study principal investigators. Transition from the initial phase (years 1 and 2) to the subsequent phase (years 3 and 5) was contingent on meeting prespecified milestones. We reviewed the structure and function of the research consortium, identified shared elements of transition milestones, and examined common youth engagement strategies. RESULTS: The PATC3H consortium supports eight research studies through a milestone transition mechanism. The consortium includes AYA HIV research studies in seven countries - Brazil, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The NIH request for applications required transition milestones that included early consultation with stakeholders. The transition milestones required by NIH for the eight studies included early consultation with health and policy stakeholders, pilot intervention data, and commitment from national government stakeholders. All studies provided multiple pathways for AYA engagement, including AYA advisory boards and youth-led research studies. CONCLUSION: Data suggest that requiring milestones to transition to the final phase may have facilitated health and policy stakeholder engagement and enhanced formative assessment of regulatory protocols. These data have implications for designing engaged research studies in low and middle-income countries.

Youth engagement in HIV prevention intervention research in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: Youth engagement in HIV research is generally recognized as essential, but often neglected or minimally implemented in practice. Engagement is a process of working collaboratively with diverse groups of people to address common issues. We conducted a scoping review of youth HIV prevention interventions in sub-Saharan Africa to identify and categorize forms and levels of youth engagement across the lifespan of intervention research. METHODS: We followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework for organizing a scoping review. We searched seven databases for related articles on identified intervention studies through May 28th 2020. Included studies focused on youth (10 to 24 years old) HIV prevention interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. Two reviewers independently examined citations and full manuscripts for inclusion. Data were extracted on study characteristics, location, description of youth engagement and extent of engagement. Youth engagement approaches were categorized based on Hart's ladder as substantial engagement (strong youth decision-making power), moderate engagement (shared decision making with adults), minimal engagement (no youth decision-making power) or no engagement. RESULTS: We identified 3149 citations and included 112 studies reporting on 74 unique HIV interventions. Twenty-two interventions were in low-income countries, 49 in middle-income countries, and three were in both. Overall, only nine interventions (12%) had substantial or moderate youth engagement, two-thirds (48, 65%) had minimal youth engagement and 17 interventions (23%) had no youth engagement. We also identified specific engagement strategies (e.g. youth-led research, crowdsourcing) that were feasible in multiple settings and resulted in substantial engagement. CONCLUSIONS: We found limited youth engagement in youth HIV prevention intervention studies in sub-Saharan Africa. However, several activities resulted in substantial youth engagement and could be relevant in many low-and-middle-income-country (LMIC) settings.