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Task Shifting to Treat Depression and HIV Medication Nonadherence in Low Resource Settings

The TENDAI Study: Task Shifting to Treat Depression and HIV Medication Nonadherence in Low Resource Settings

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04018391
Enrollment
280
Registered
2019-07-12
Start date
2019-07-12
Completion date
2024-05-31
Last updated
2026-05-29

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

Conditions

Depression, HIV Infections

Keywords

HIV treatment, Depression, Medication Adherence

Brief summary

A hybrid effectiveness-efficacy trial to evaluate a stepped care task shifted intervention to treat depression and HIV medication nonadherence in low resource settings in rural Zimbabwe.

Detailed description

Depression is commonly co-morbid with HIV infection in Zimbabwe and is consistently associated with worse adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). A task-shifted intervention for depression and ART adherence, suitable for delivery by non-specialists, could make a critical difference to the health and survival of people managing the challenges of HIV treatment in Zimbabwe. The TENDAI trial is a two-arm randomized controlled trial of an intervention for people on ART with viral non-suppression and clinically significant depression. It will be delivered at an HIV clinic in Marondera. TENDAI is a collaboration between the Department of Psychiatry, University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (London UK), and the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALStepped care for nonadherence and depression

* Problem Solving for Depression and Adherence: A 6-session adherence and depression intervention based on a culturally adapted LifeSteps and Problem Solving Therapy for Depression. * Stepped Care Assessment for Antidepressant Treatment: If a participant's depression score remains above threshold in Session 6, the study interventionist will refer the participant to a Research Mental Health Nurse for a psychopharmacological assessment to prescribe an antidepressant to augment Problem Solving for Depression and Adherence.

OTHEREnhanced Usual Care

Enhanced Usual Care: A combination of 1) clinic-provided adherence counseling, 2) access to providers trained in the World Health Organization Mental Health Gap Intervention Guide (mhGAP), 3) a letter to the participant's medical provider detailing the depression diagnosis, 4) access to the treatment components of the TENDAI intervention at no cost, after the participant has completed their 12-month follow-up assessment.

Sponsors

King's College London
Lead SponsorOTHER
Massachusetts General Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Initiated on ART for at least 6 months * Clinically significant depression symptoms scoring \>/= 10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 * Viral non-suppression in past two months per local clinic standard (VL \> 1000 copies/mL) * Able to provide informed consent * If prescribed antidepressants, on stable regimen for at least 2 months

Exclusion criteria

* Unable to provide informed consent * Active major mental illness (e.g. untreated psychosis or mania, actively suicidal), major untreated or undertreated mental illness or advanced physical disease or severe cognitive impairment assessed using the psychosis module of the MINI, the PHQ-9, and the International HIV dementia Scale which would interfere with engagement in PST-AD * Has ever received PST or CBT for depression * Less than 18 years of age

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Viral Suppression12 - month post randomization study visitViral Suppression operationalized as proportion of participants who achieve viral suppression (\<1000 copies/mL)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Depression severity12-month post randomization study visitDepression at 12 months post randomization measured as the total score on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Each of the nine items is scored from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). It is used as a continuous score ranging from 0 (no depressive symptoms) to 27 (all symptoms occurring daily/nearly daily).
Adherence to ART medication4 month post randomization study visitAdherence to ART medication, assessed as proportion of the sample achieving at least 90% adherence in the past month via pharmacy refill data
Self-reported adherence to ART medication4 month post randomization study visitSelf-reported adherence to ART medication, assessed as the frequency of adherence in the past 30 days
Viral load copies/mL12-month post randomization study visitViral load copies/mL assessed via Mean Log Viral Load

Countries

Zimbabwe

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDr Melanie Abas

King's College London

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 30, 2026