Skip to content

Evaluating a Youth-Focused Economic Empowerment Approach to HIV Treatment Adherence

Suubi+Adherence: Evaluating a Youth-Focused Economic Empowerment Approach to HIV Treatment Adherence

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01790373
Enrollment
702
Registered
2013-02-13
Start date
2013-09-07
Completion date
2026-07-31
Last updated
2026-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

HIV

Keywords

Suubi, Adolescents, Poverty, Economic empowerment interventions, Adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy, Wisepill, HIV/AIDS infected Children, Medical event monitoring system, Uganda

Brief summary

The goal of Suubi+Adherence is to examine the impact and cost associated with an innovative intervention to increase adherence to HIV treatment for HIV-infected adolescents. Multiple intervention studies by our team in Rakai and Masaka Districts of southern Uganda with AIDS-orphaned adolescents have revealed that if given an opportunity to participate in economic empowerment interventions, youth and their caregivers take full advantage of these interventions to save and invest in their future, show improvements in family financial outcomes, future aspirations, health functioning, sexual-risk taking behaviors, and mental health. The Suubi+Adherence study capitalizes on this prior work, positing that economic empowerment may be a missing, yet critical ingredient to HIV treatment adherence interventions for adolescents and young people. Suubi+Adherence incorporates an economic empowerment design, with a savings-led income generating component, to promote economic stability, and apply it to adherence to HIV treatment regimens for HIV-positive adolescents in a region of southern Uganda with the highest HIV incidence and prevalence in the country.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALSuubi+Adherence

* Matched savings accounts/child development accounts (CDAs) for the adolescents held in a local bank. * Financial education and workshops on asset-building, future planning, and protection from risks * Mentorship from a young adult/near-peer * Family-based microenterprise development training * Medical Event Monitoring System Bolstered Standard of Care: Adherence Counseling Practices -Four to six counseling sessions to review HIV, ART, resistance, and adherence. Medical Standard of Care: -Pediatric ART initiation and monitoring followed by all public clinics, and outlined in National Department of Health Guidelines for pediatric HIV care in Uganda Psychosocial Standard of Care: -Psychosocial support provided by lay counselors trained in standardized ART adherence counseling

BEHAVIORALBolstered Standard of Care

-Medical Event Monitoring System Bolstered Standard of Care: Adherence Counseling Practices -Four to six counseling sessions to review HIV, ART, resistance, and adherence. Medical Standard of Care: -Pediatric ART initiation and monitoring followed by all public clinics, and outlined in National Department of Health Guidelines for pediatric HIV care in Uganda Psychosocial Standard of Care: -Psychosocial support provided by lay counselors trained in standardized ART adherence counseling

Sponsors

Washington University School of Medicine
Lead SponsorOTHER
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Caregiver)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
10 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* HIV-positive adolescents confirmed by medical report * Prescribed antiretroviral therapy * Enrolled in care at one of 40 medical clinics within study region * 10-16 years of age at the time of enrollment * Living within a family (not necessarily with biological parent(s))

Exclusion criteria

* Not HIV-positive * HIV-positive but not prescribed antiretroviral therapy * Not enrolled in care at one of 40 medical clinics within study region * Younger than 10 years and older than 16 years * Not living within a family

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from baseline to follow-up assessments of adherence to HIV treatmentEvery year for 10 yearsAdherence to HIV treatment regimen outcomes for HIV-positive adolescents, including participants' ability to access and refill prescribed HIV antiretroviral therapy and adhere to prescribed daily HIV medication routines.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Cost-Effectiveness AnalysesEvery year for 10 yearsCost-effectiveness analyses measure the cost of achieving an agreed upon benefit, such as an additional year of schooling, employment, or a reduction in a disease. Costs will be measured on a per person basis. The costs of the intervention will include all program costs. Research costs will not be included.
Cognitive functioningEvery year in years 6 to 10Using a series of standardized and pre-tested instruments, cognitive functioning will be measured during a structured interview at wave 6 and at every subsequent follow-up assessment.
Protective Health BehaviorsEvery year for 10 yearsUsing a series of standardized and pre-tested instruments, potential mechanisms of protective health behaviors, knowledge, and beliefs, including: 1) financial/economic stability, 2) sexual risk-taking behavior, 3) personal beliefs about HIV medication, 4) hopelessness, 5) future plans and aspirations, and 6) adherence self-efficacy, will be measured during a structured interview at baseline and at every subsequent follow-up assessment.
Social transitionsEvery year in years 6 to 10Using a series of standardized and pre-tested instruments, social transitions will be measured during a structured interview at wave 6 and at every subsequent follow-up assessment.
HIV stigmaEvery year in years 6 to 10Using a series of standardized and pre-tested instruments, HIV stigma will be measured during a structured interview at wave 6 and at every subsequent follow-up assessment.
Substance misuseEvery year in years 6 to 10Using a series of standardized and pre-tested instruments, substance misuse will be measured during a structured interview at wave 6 and at every subsequent follow-up assessment.

Countries

Uganda, United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 1, 2026