HIV Prevention
Conditions
Keywords
PrEP, conception, prevention
Brief summary
In this mixed-methods research study, the study team will offer comprehensive safer conception services to 150 HIV-uninfected women reporting an HIV-infected or high-risk partner and personal or partner plans for pregnancy in rural Uganda to evaluate prevalence and determinants of uptake and adherence (tenofovir plasma concentration \>40ng/mL, opening pill device to take \>80% of dispensed pills) to PrEP and other safer conceptions strategies among Ugandan women exposed to HIV.
Detailed description
The study plans to enroll 150 HIV-uninfected women with an HIV-positive or HIV-serostatus unknown partner and personal or partner pregnancy plans. Eligible women will participate in comprehensive safer conception counseling including offering daily, oral TDF/FTC as PrEP. The primary outcomes are to evaluate uptake of and adherence to periconception PrEP among HIV-exposed women in rural Uganda. To accomplish this, women will participate in quarterly study visits, HIV and pregnancy testing, questionnaires and safer conception/adherence group counseling sessions. Participants will be eligible to initiate PrEP at any time during the first 6 months of the 9-month study follow-up period. Participants who initiate PrEP will use an electronic pill cap to measure daily adherence and will be asked to give blood samples to measure plasma TFV at quarterly study visits. For women who become pregnant in the first 9 months, investigators will follow them up through completion of pregnancy to evaluate PrEP use, pregnancy and infant outcomes. Study duration will be a maximum 19 month follow-up period (through pregnancy outcome) . Investigators will offer objective sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing to all participants in order to measure the prevalence, incidence, and factors associated with STIs. Investigators will compare incidence among women who choose and who do not choose PrEP. Investigators will also measure the number of episodes of condomless sex each month as a mediator variable for STI development.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSafer conception counseling inclusive of periconception PrEP
Observational evaluation of factors associated with uptake of and adherence to daily, oral TDF/FTC PrEP and other safer conception methods (including: CHCT, ART for the infected partner, and uptake of contraception for those who decide not to conceive during follow-up) over 9 month. Maximum 19 month follow-up period (through pregnancy outcome).
Sponsors
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Safer conception counseling
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Self Report Inclusion Criteria: 1. Female 2. Aged 18-35 3. Likely to be fertile based on reproductive health history \[55\] 4. Reported personal or partner desire to have a child in the next year \[56-59\] 5. With a partner she reports as HIV-infected or likely to be HIV-infected (e.g. taking medicine daily, goes to clinic routinely, has HIV-infected partners, he has implied that he is sick but has not disclosed). 6. Live within 60km of clinic. Not planning on relocating to an area incompatible with ability to attend quarterly clinic over a 9-month follow-up period Objective Inclusion Criteria: 1. HIV-negative (onsite rapid testing) 2. Not currently pregnant (onsite urine b-hcg testing) 3. Fluent in English or local language 4. Otherwise able to participate in the informed consent process
Exclusion criteria
1. Currently pregnant 2. HIV-positive
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Uptake of PrEP | 9 months | Measure prevalence (measured by the proportion of women who collect the first 3 month supply of drug) TDF/FTC PrEP for safer conception |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adherence to PrEP, daily pill taking behavior | 9 months | We will measure the proportion of women who achieve daily adherence to at least 80% of PrEP through electronic pill count measurement |
| Adherence to PrEP, plasma levels | 9 months | We will measure the proportion of women who achieve TFV plasma levels consistent with taking medication (detectable) and taking enough medication to confer protection (=\>40ng/mL). |
Countries
Uganda
Outcome results
None listed