Psychosocial interventions for improving engagement in care and health and behavioural outcomes for adolescents and young people living with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents and young people comprise a growing proportion of new HIV infections globally, yet current approaches do not effectively engage this group, and adolescent HIV-related outcomes are the poorest among all age groups. Providing psychosocial interventions incorporating psychological, social, and/or behavioural approaches offer a potential pathway to improve engagement in care and health and behavioural outcomes among adolescents and young people living with HIV (AYPLHIV). METHODS: A systematic search of all peer-reviewed papers published between January 2000 and July 2020 was conducted through four electronic databases (Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus). We included randomized controlled trials evaluating psychosocial interventions aimed at improving engagement in care and health and behavioural outcomes of AYPLHIV aged 10 to 24 years. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Thirty relevant studies were identified. Studies took place in the United States (n = 18, 60%), sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and Southeast Asia (Thailand). Outcomes of interest included adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), ART knowledge, viral load data, sexual risk behaviours, sexual risk knowledge, retention in care and linkage to care. Overall, psychosocial interventions for AYPLHIV showed important, small-to-moderate effects on adherence to ART (SMD = 0.3907, 95% CI: 0.1059 to 0.6754, 21 studies, n = 2647) and viral load (SMD = -0.2607, 95% CI -04518 to -0.0696, 12 studies, n = 1566). The psychosocial interventions reviewed did not demonstrate significant impacts on retention in care (n = 8), sexual risk behaviours and knowledge (n = 13), viral suppression (n = 4), undetectable viral load (n = 5) or linkage to care (n = 1) among AYPLHIV. No studies measured transition to adult services. Effective interventions employed various approaches, including digital and lay health worker delivery, which hold promise for scaling interventions in the context of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the potential of psychosocial interventions in improving health outcomes in AYPLHIV. However, more research needs to be conducted on interventions that can effectively reduce sexual risk behaviours of AYPLHIV, as well as those that can strengthen engagement in care. Further investment is needed to ensure that these interventions are cost-effective, sustainable and resilient in the face of resource constraints and global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peer Support for Adolescents and Young People Living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: Emerging Insights and a Methodological Agenda.

PURPOSE: Despite clear need and disproportionate risk, adolescents, and young people living with HIV (AYPLHIV) are underserved within the HIV response. "Peer support" increasingly forms part of adolescent and youth-responsive service packages as a class of implementation strategies that can support adolescents to access, engage, and sustain treatment. This paper examines examples of peer support for AYPLHIV within sub-saharan Africa to explore the determinants of successful implementation, outcomes and scale-up, as well as policy and programmatic implications. RECENT FINDINGS: Although adolescent peer support has been observed to be widely implemented, there are few examples of detailed program descriptions describing operational logistics or outcomes around peer support interventions. Nevertheless the few examples available provide preliminary support for the potential utility of peer support to improve AYPLHIV outcomes. Implementation science research is an urgent imperative to examine applicability of peer support for this priority population. In the meantime, programs should move forward with implementation based on promising outcomes, programmatic experience, contextual understanding of challenges and gaps, and best practice examples.

Transition Pathways Out of Pediatric Care and Associated HIV Outcomes for Adolescents Living With HIV in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Research on adolescent transitions out of pediatric HIV care has focused on high-income countries, with limited understanding of transitions in sub-Saharan Africa's public health sector. METHODS: Patient file data were extracted through December 2017 for all 10- to 19-year olds ever initiated on antiretroviral therapy in a health district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa (n = 951). Pathways in HIV care were identified by tracing movements across facility care types and levels. Associations between pathways and viral failure, mortality, loss to follow-up, and viral load change were tested in sequential multivariable regressions. Analyses controlled for sociodemographic and treatment-related variables. Thematic analyses of semistructured health care provider interviews identified transition support at included facilities. RESULTS: Only 57.8% of adolescents had initiated antiretroviral therapy in pediatric care, and 20.4% of the total cohort had transitioned out of pediatric HIV care. Among the 42.2% who had initiated in nonpediatric care, 93.8% remained exclusively in nonpediatric care. Median age at first transition was 14 years. Two main pathways were identified: classical transition to adult HIV care (43.3%) and down referral transition to primary health care clinics (56.7%). Across pathways, 27.3% experienced cyclical transition or repeated movement between pediatric and nonpediatric care. Independent of covariates, adolescents with down referral transition were less likely to demonstrate viral failure (adjusted odds ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval: 0.10 to 0.42; P < 0.001). Mortality and loss to follow-up were not associated with either pathway. Median posttransition viral load change was not clinically significant (median, 0.00; interquartile range: 0.00-0.35) or associated with transition pathways. Health care providers described informal "protocols" for mitigating risk of negative posttransition HIV outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study proposes a contextually relevant model for transitions out of pediatric HIV care in South Africa. Feasible, scalable "protocols" may mitigate risk of worsening posttransition HIV outcomes.

Making Implementation Science Work for Children and Adolescents Living With HIV.

The global HIV response is leaving children and adolescents behind. Because of a paucity of studies on treatment and care models for these age groups, there are gaps in our understanding of how best to implement services to improve their health outcomes. Without this evidence, policymakers are left to extrapolate from adult studies, which may not be appropriate, and can lead to inefficiencies in service delivery, hampered uptake, and ineffective mechanisms to support optimal outcomes. Implementation science research seeks to investigate how interventions known to be efficacious in study settings are, or are not, routinely implemented within real-world programmes. Effective implementation science research must be a collaborative effort between government, funding agencies, investigators, and implementers, each playing a key role. Successful implementation science research in children and adolescents requires clearer policies about age of consent for services and research that conform to ethical standards but allow for rational modifications. Implementation research in these age groups also necessitates age-appropriate consultation and engagement of children, adolescents, and their caregivers. Finally, resource, systems, technology, and training must be prioritized to improve the availability and quality of age-/sex-disaggregated data. Implementation science has a clear role to play in facilitating understanding of how the multiple complex barriers to HIV services for children and adolescents prevent effective interventions from reaching more children and adolescents living with HIV, and is well positioned to redress gaps in the HIV response for these age groups. This is truer now more than ever, with urgent and ambitious 2020 global targets on the horizon and insufficient progress in these age groups to date.

HIV treatment and care services for adolescents: a situational analysis of 218 facilities in 23 sub-Saharan African countries.

INTRODUCTION: In 2013, an estimated 2.1 million adolescents (age 10-19 years) were living with HIV globally. The extent to which health facilities provide appropriate treatment and care was unknown. To support understanding of service availability in 2014, Paediatric-Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) supporting a network of health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa, undertook a facility-level situational analysis of adolescent HIV treatment and care services in 23 countries. METHODS: Two hundred and eighteen facilities, responsible for an estimated 80,072 HIV-infected adolescents in care, were surveyed. Sixty per cent of the sample were from PATA's network, with the remaining gathered via local NGO partners and snowball sampling. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and coding to describe central tendencies and identify themes. RESULTS: Respondents represented three subregions: West and Central Africa (n = 59; 27%), East Africa (n = 77, 35%) and southern Africa (n = 82, 38%). Half (50%) of the facilities were in urban areas, 17% peri-urban and 33% rural settings. Insufficient data disaggregation and outcomes monitoring were critical issues. A quarter of facilities did not have a working definition of adolescence. Facilities reported non-adherence as their key challenge in adolescent service provision, but had insufficient protocols for determining and managing poor adherence and loss to follow-up. Adherence counselling focused on implications of non-adherence rather than its drivers. Facilities recommended peer support as an effective adherence and retention intervention, yet not all offered these services. Almost two-thirds reported attending to adolescents with adults and/or children, and half had no transitioning protocols. Of those with transitioning protocols, 21% moved pregnant adolescents into adult services earlier than their peers. There was limited sexual and reproductive health integration, with 63% of facilities offering these services within their HIV programmes and 46% catering to the special needs of HIV-infected pregnant adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that providers are challenged by adolescent adherence and reflect an insufficiently targeted approach for adolescents. Guidance on standard definitions for adherence, retention and counselling approaches is needed. Peer support may create an enabling environment and sensitize personnel. Service delivery gaps should be addressed, with standardized transition and quality counselling. Integrated, comprehensive sexual reproductive health services are needed, with support for pregnant adolescents.

What is it going to take to move youth-related HIV programme policies into practice in Africa?

INTRODUCTION: HIV has been reported to be the leading cause of mortality amongst adolescents in Africa. This has brought attention to the changes in service provision and health management that many adolescents living with HIV experience when transferring from specialized paediatric- or adolescent-focused services to adult care. When transition is enacted poorly, adherence may be affected and the continuum of care disrupted. As the population of HIV-infected adolescents grows, effective and supported transition increases in significance as an operational imperative. DISCUSSION: Considerable gaps remain in moving policy to practice at global, national, and local levels. Policies that give clear definition to transition and provide standard operating procedures or tools to support this process are lacking. National guidelines tend to neglect transition. Beyond transition itself, there has been slow progress on the inclusion of adolescents in national policies and strategies. Guidance often overlooks the specific needs and rights of adolescents, in particular for those living with HIV. In some cases, prohibitive laws can impede adolescent access by applying age of consent restriction to HIV testing, counselling and treatment, as well as SRH services. Where adolescent-focused policies do exist, they have been slow to emerge as tangible operating procedures at health facility level. A key barrier is the nature of existing transition guidance, which tends to recommend an individualized, client-centred approach, driven by clinicians. In low- and middle-income settings, flexible responses are resource intensive and time consuming, and therefore challenging to implement amidst staff shortages and administrative challenges. First, national governments must adopt transition-specific policies to ensure that adolescents seamlessly receive appropriate and supportive care. Second, transition policies must form part of a broader adolescent-centred policy landscape and adolescent-friendly orientation and approach at health system level. Third, national actors must ensure that transition policies are supported at implementation level. Fourth, youth involvement and community mobilization are essential. Finally, further implementation research is urgently needed to better understand how to support young people and providers in achieving smooth transitions. CONCLUSIONS: Only by moving from policy to practice through supportive policies and their implementation will we be closer to including adolescents in the 2030 goal of ending AIDS.

Acceptability and challenges of rapid ART initiation among pregnant women in a pilot programme, Cape Town, South Africa.

Maternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a critical intervention in the prevention-of-mother-to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. In South Africa, many HIV-infected pregnant women commence ART late in pregnancy, and as a result, the duration of ART prior to delivery is often insufficient to prevent vertical transmission. To address this, we designed an intervention for the rapid initiation of ART in pregnancy (RAP), where patient's ART preparation occurred during rather than before treatment commencement. Here we report on the acceptability and the challenges of the RAP programme. We conducted 7 key informant and 27 semi-structured interviews with RAP participants. Participants were purposefully selected based on ART-eligibility and stage in the pregnancy to post-partum continuum. Interviews were conducted in participants' home language by trained fieldworkers, with key informant interviews conducted by the study investigators. The data were analysed using a framework analysis approach. Rapid initiation in pregnancy was acceptable to the majority of programme participants and protection of the woman's unborn child was the primary motivation for starting treatment. The key barrier was the limited time to accept the dual challenges of being diagnosed HIV-positive and eligible for life-long ART. Truncated time also limited the opportunity for disclosure to others. Despite these and other barriers, most women found the benefits of rapid ART commencement outweighed the challenges, with 91% of women initiated onto ART starting the same day treatment eligibility was determined. Many participants and key informants identified the importance of counseling and the need to make an informed, independent choice on the timing of ART initiation, based on individual circumstances. Acceptance of ART-eligibility improved with time on the programme, however, as women's principal reason for initiating ART was protection of the unborn child, monitoring and supporting adherence during the post-partum period will be critical.

Promoting a combination approach to paediatric HIV psychosocial support.

Ninety percent of the 3.4 million HIV-infected children live in sub-Saharan Africa. Their psychosocial well being is fundamental to establishing and maintaining successful treatment outcomes and overall quality of life. With the increased roll-out of antiretroviral treatment, HIV infection is shifting from a life-threatening to a chronic disease. However, even for paediatric patients enrolled in care and treatment, HIV can still be devastating due to the interaction of complex factors, particularly in the context of other household illness and overextended healthcare systems in sub-Saharan Africa.This article explores the negative effect of several interrelated HIV-specific factors on the psychosocial well being of HIV-infected children: disclosure, stigma and discrimination, and bereavement. However, drawing on clinical studies of resilience, it stresses the need to move beyond a focus on the individual as a full response to the needs of a sick child requires support for the individual child, caregiver-child dyads, extended families, communities, and institutions. This means providing early and progressive age appropriate interventions aimed at increasing the self-reliance and self-acceptance in children and their caregivers and promoting timely health-seeking behaviours. Critical barriers that cause poorer biomedical and psychosocial outcomes among children and caregiver must also be addressed as should the causes and consequences of stigma and associated gender and social norms.This article reviews interventions at different levels of the ecological model: individual-centred programs, family-centred interventions, programs that support or train healthcare providers, community interventions for HIV-infected children, and initiatives that improve the capacity of schools to provide more supportive environments for HIV-infected children. Although experience is increasing in approaches that address the psychosocial needs of vulnerable and HIV-infected children, there is still limited evidence demonstrating which interventions have positive effects on the well being of HIV-infected children. Interventions that improve the psychosocial well being of children living with HIV must be replicable in resource-limited settings, avoiding dependence on specialized staff for implementation.This paper advocates for combination approaches that strengthen the capacity of service providers, expand the availability of age appropriate and family-centred support and equip schools to be more protective and supportive of children living with HIV. The coordination of care with other community-based interventions is also needed to foster more supportive and less stigmatizing environments. To ensure effective, feasible, and scalable interventions, improving the evidence base to document improved outcomes and longer term impact as well as implementation of operational studies to document delivery approaches are needed.

Changing patterns in HIV/AIDS stigma and uptake of voluntary counselling and testing services: the results of two consecutive community surveys conducted in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Voluntary counselling and HIV testing (VCT) has been associated with decreased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviour, but in South Africa, which has the largest HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the world, uptake of VCT remains low. HIV/AIDS-associated stigma has been identified as a barrier to HIV testing. This study explored changes in stigma, and VCT access in a peri-urban South African community with high HIV prevalence, following education and research interventions, as well as the introduction of a wide-scale antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme. Two cross-sectional community surveys assessing HIV knowledge, attitudes and uptake of VCT services were conducted. The first survey was performed in 2004 prior to the implementation of a community-based HIV awareness and education campaign, HIV prevention research studies and the introduction of an ART programme. The second survey was performed in 2008 after a three-year education programme, the implementation of HIV-related research studies and following the scale-up of the ART programme. The same study design was used in both the 2004 and 2008 surveys: 10% of households were randomly selected and all residents aged ≥ 14 years were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Overall basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS increased from 2004 to 2008 (p=0.04) and stigmatisation towards HIV-positive individuals decreased over the same time period (p<0.001). Increasing knowledge score was significantly associated with a lower stigma score (p<0.001). Decreasing stigma score was associated with knowing someone who was HIV infected (p<0.001), or who had died from HIV/AIDS (p=0.04). The proportion of participants who had undergone HIV testing increased from 2004 to 2008 (40 vs. 70%, respectively) and, in particular, VCT increased from 26 to 43%. In adjusted analysis, participants who had undergone HIV testing were more likely to have a higher HIV knowledge score (p=0.02) and a lower stigma score (p=0.09). A reduction in levels of HIV/AIDS-associated stigma was noted in a community burdened with high HIV prevalence, as was an increase in reported VCT. These findings may be the result of a number of interventions including a wide-spread and targeted education campaign, and the "normalisation" of HIV through the availability of ART. Given the role of HIV/AIDS-associated stigma in influencing choices to access HIV testing, and the benefits associated with HIV testing, interventions to reduce stigma in communities affected by this disease should be encouraged.

Indoor social networks in a South African township: potential contribution of location to tuberculosis transmission.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that in South Africa, with a generalized tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, TB infection is predominantly acquired indoors and transmission potential is determined by the number and duration of social contacts made in locations that are conducive to TB transmission. We therefore quantified time spent and contacts met in indoor locations and public transport by residents of a South African township with a very high TB burden. METHODS: A diary-based community social mixing survey was performed in 2010. Randomly selected participants (n = 571) prospectively recorded numbers of contacts and time spent in specified locations over 24-hour periods. To better characterize age-related social networks, participants were stratified into ten 5-year age strata and locations were classified into 11 types. RESULTS: Five location types (own-household, other-households, transport, crèche/school, and work) contributed 97.2% of total indoor time and 80.4% of total indoor contacts. Median time spent indoors was 19.1 hours/day (IQR:14.3-22.7), which was consistent across age strata. Median daily contacts increased from 16 (IQR:9-40) in 0-4 year-olds to 40 (IQR:18-60) in 15-19 year-olds and declined to 18 (IQR:10-41) in ≥45 year-olds. Mean daily own-household contacts was 8.8 (95%CI:8.2-9.4), which decreased with increasing age. Mean crèche/school contacts increased from 6.2/day (95%CI:2.7-9.7) in 0-4 year-olds to 28.1/day (95%CI:8.1-48.1) in 15-19 year-olds. Mean transport contacts increased from 4.9/day (95%CI:1.6-8.2) in 0-4 year-olds to 25.5/day (95%CI:12.1-38.9) in 25-29 year-olds. CONCLUSIONS: A limited number of location types contributed the majority of indoor social contacts in this community. Increasing numbers of social contacts occurred throughout childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, predominantly in school and public transport. This rapid increase in non-home socialization parallels the increasing TB infection rates during childhood and young adulthood reported in this community. Further studies of the environmental conditions in schools and public transport, as potentially important locations for ongoing TB infection, are indicated.

Low acceptability of medical male circumcision as an HIV/AIDS prevention intervention within a South African community that practises traditional circumcision.

BACKGROUND: Traditional circumcision is practised among some indigenous tribes in South Africa (SA) such as the Xhosa. Recent experimental evidence has demonstrated the benefits of male circumcision for the prevention of HIV infection in heterosexual men. The acceptability of circumcision as a biomedical intervention mirroring an ingrained cultural practice, as well as the age and extent of the procedure, are poorly understood. METHODS: Men aged 15 - 42 years were recruited in a peri-urban settlement near Cape Town. Participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire assessing self-reported circumcision status, context and reasons for previous or planned circumcision, and willingness to undergo medical circumcision for themselves or their sons. Results were confirmed by clinical examination. The most recent HIV test result was compared with circumcision status. RESULTS: Of the 199 men enrolled, 148 (74%) reported being traditionally circumcised; of the 51 not circumcised, 50 were planning the traditional procedure. Among men self-reporting circumcision, 40 (27%) had some or all of the foreskin remaining. The median age at traditional circumcision was 21 years (interquartile range 19 - 22 years). While knowledge of the preventive benefit of circumcision was reported by 128 men (66%), most were unwilling to undergo medical circumcision or allow their sons to do so, because of religion/culture, notions of manhood, and social disapproval. CONCLUSION: Almost all men in this study had undergone or were planning to undergo traditional circumcision and were largely opposed to the medically performed procedure. In the majority, traditional circumcision had occurred after the mean age of sexual debut and almost a quarter were found to have only partial foreskin removal. To ensure optimal HIV prevention benefits, strategies to facilitate complete foreskin removal prior to sexual debut within traditional circumcision practices require further attention.

Treatment outcomes in HIV-infected adolescents attending a community-based antiretroviral therapy clinic in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Very few data are available on treatment outcomes of adolescents living with HIV infection (whether perinatally acquired or sexually acquired) in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study therefore compared the treatment outcomes in adolescents with those of young adults at a public sector community-based ART programme in Cape Town, South Africa. METHODS: Treatment outcomes of adolescents (9-19 years) were compared with those of young adults (20-28 years), enrolled in a prospective cohort between September 2002 and June 2009. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess outcomes and determine associations with age, while adjusting for potential confounders. The treatment outcomes were mortality, loss to follow-up (LTFU), immunological response, virological suppression and virological failure. RESULTS: 883 patients, including 65 adolescents (47 perinatally infected and 17 sexually infected) and 818 young adults, received ART. There was no difference in median baseline CD4 cell count between adolescents and young adults (133.5 vs 116 cells/µL; p = 0.31). Overall mortality rates in adolescents and young adults were 1.2 (0.3-4.8) and 3.1 (2.4-3.9) deaths per 100 person-years, respectively. Adolescents had lower rates of virological suppression (< 400 copies/mL) at 48 weeks (27.3% vs 63.1%; p < 0.001). Despite this, however, the median change in CD4 count from baseline at 48 weeks of ART was significantly greater for adolescents than young adults (373 vs 187 cells/µL; p = 0.0001). Treatment failure rates were 8.2 (4.6-14.4) and 5.0 (4.1-6.1) per 100 person-years in the two groups. In multivariate analyses, there was no significant difference in LTFU and mortality between age groups but increased risk in virological failure [AHR 2.06 (95% CI 1.11-3.81; p = 0.002)] in adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Despite lower virological suppression rates and higher rates of virological failure, immunological responses were nevertheless greater in adolescents than young adults whereas rates of mortality and LTFU were similar. Further studies to determine the reasons for poorer virological outcomes are needed.

Social mixing patterns within a South African township community: implications for respiratory disease transmission and control.

A prospective survey of social mixing patterns relevant to respiratory disease transmission by large droplets (e.g., influenza) or small droplet nuclei (e.g., tuberculosis) was performed in a South African township in 2010. A total of 571 randomly selected participants recorded the numbers, times, and locations of close contacts (physical/nonphysical) and indoor casual contacts met daily. The median number of physical contacts was 12 (interquartile range (IQR), 7-18), the median number of close contacts was 20 (IQR, 13-29), and the total number of indoor contacts was 30 (IQR, 12-54). Physical and close contacts were most frequent and age-associative in youths aged 5-19 years. Numbers of close contacts were 40% higher than in corresponding populations in industrialized countries (P < 0.001). This may put township communities at higher risk for epidemics of acute respiratory illnesses. Simulations of an acute influenza epidemic predominantly involved adolescents and young adults, indicating that control strategies should be directed toward these age groups. Of all contacts, 86.2% occurred indoors with potential exposure to respiratory droplet nuclei, of which 27.2%, 20.1%, 20.0%, and 8.0% were in transport, own household, crèche/school, and work locations, respectively. Indoor contact time was long in households and short during transport. High numbers of indoor contacts and intergenerational mixing in households and transport may contribute to exceptionally high rates of tuberculosis transmission reported in the community.

Sexual health, HIV risk, and retention in an adolescent HIV-prevention trial preparatory cohort.

PURPOSE: Although adolescents are at high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, they have not been, included in HIV vaccine trials. METHODS: In preparation for enrollment in HIV vaccine trials, 100 HIV-negative adolescents aged 14-17 years from Cape Town were recruited into a cohort. HIV, syphilis, pregnancy testing, and sexual risk questionnaires were conducted at varying intervals for a year. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 15 years, and 70% of them were female. Recruitment was completed within 3 months. Retention was found to be 82% at 1-year follow-up. The main reasons for dropout were as follows: relocation to other communities, phlebotomy, and visit frequency. In a Cox proportional hazards model, only female gender was significantly associated with retention. No change in reported sexual risk occurred, but the proportion of individuals who were aware of their partner's HIV status was significantly higher (17% at baseline, 83% at 1-year follow-up; p < .001). Five pregnancies were reported during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective adolescent HIV-prevention cohort in Southern Africa. Despite reports of risky sexual behaviors and high pregnancy rates, HIV seroconversions did not occur in the retained cohort. HIV-prevention trials with high-risk adolescents will require rigorous efforts to prevent future pregnancies, and may require risk eligibility criteria. Retention may improve with transport provision, visits with incentives, and efforts to retain males.

Sexual risk behaviours and HIV-1 prevalence among urban men who have sex with men in Cape Town, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Distinct homosexual and heterosexual HIV epidemics have previously been recognised in South Africa. However, linked HIV prevalence and self-reported sexual risk behaviour data have not been reported for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Cape Town since 1986. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, anonymous, venue-based HIV risk behaviour and prevalence study of 542 self-identified MSM in greater Cape Town using a self-administered risk questionnaire and the OraSure testing device to asses HIV-1 prevalence. RESULTS: This sample had an overall HIV prevalence of 10.4% (56/539). We found that self-identifying as gay, homosexual or queer (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 4.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-20.0) and reporting ever having had a sexually transmissible infection diagnosis (AOR 4.3, 95% CI: 2.3-8.3) were significantly predictive of testing HIV-1 positive, while reporting unprotected anal intercourse with a known HIV-negative partner (AOR 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.9) was significantly protective. CONCLUSION: These data suggest a mature epidemic with consistent high-risk taking among MSM in Cape Town, and significant associations of select self-reported risk behaviours and HIV-1 serostatus. There is a need for continued and robust HIV surveillance along with detailed risk behaviour trends over time to inform the development of targeted risk-reduction interventions for this population.

Community perspectives on the ethical issues surrounding adolescent HIV vaccine trials in South Africa.

Adolescents globally are at high risk for HIV acquisition and are the targets of HIV prevention interventions such as HIV vaccines. In order to understand stakeholders' attitudes towards the ethical issues of adolescent involvement in HIV vaccine trials, we conducted focus group discussions with key members of a semi-urban, informal Cape Town community with high HIV prevalence in which HIV vaccine trials are taking place. Themes were identified from focus group transcripts by four researchers, and included necessity of guardian consent, age of independent consent, and confidentiality of in-trial medical results. In general, ethical adolescent HIV vaccine trials will be feasible in this community.

Adolescent and adult participation in an HIV vaccine trial preparedness cohort in South Africa.

PURPOSE: The importance of involving adolescents in HIV prevention trials has been recognized, but there have been few experiences reported from sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed adult and adolescent data from a cohort study conducted to assess the feasibility of involving adolescents and adults in HIV vaccine-related studies. METHODS: Two hundred HIV-negative participants aged 16 to 40 years were enrolled, including 86 (43%) adolescents. At baseline, sexual risk behavior and willingness to participate (WTP) in future HIV vaccine trials questionnaires were administered. Three monthly HIV counseling, pregnancy, HIV and syphilis tests were performed. Risk questionnaires were repeated at 6 months and WTP at 12 months. RESULTS: No significant difference in retention between adults (83%) and adolescents (87%) was noted (p = .58). Initially, more adults (40%) reported WTP compared to adolescents (13%) (p < .001). At the end of the study both groups reported higher levels of WTP; increasing to 40% among adolescents. HIV incidence during the study was 9.2 infections per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.4-19.2) among adolescents compared to 5.8 (95% CI 2.6-12.9) in adults (p = .42). CONCLUSIONS: Retention of high-risk HIV-negative adolescents in a cohort study is feasible. Following education, adolescents reported improved WTP. The high HIV incidence rate in adolescents highlights the importance of including this group in prevention trials.