Preventing Congenital Syphilis (PCS)
Congenital Syphilis
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Congenital Syphilis
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Pregnant women who present for prenatal care at a participating prenatal care clinic for the first time who consent to participate in the study.
Exclusion Criteria: Pregnant women who do not agree to participate in the study.
Sites / Locations
- Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy
- Kinshasa School of Public Health
- University Teaching Hospital, University of Zambia
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
No Intervention
Intervention
Control
Behavioral intervention. The intervention will be multifaceted, tailored by formative research, and include: 1) opinion leaders, reminders, monitoring, and feedback; 2) point-of-care rapid tests and immediate treatment if the rapid test is positive; and 3) locally packaged treatment kits (benzathine penicillin 2.4 MIU, syringe and needle, instructions, and information on side-effects).
Prenatal care providers at control clinics will be invited to participate in a training workshop. They will be given refresher concepts on the prenatal care package and maternal and congenital syphilis and will be trained in syphilis case detection and management, using their standard and available screening methods. They will also be trained on how to document the screening and treatment process, using the same system as the intervention clinics. No other activities are planned in the control group; providers will be encouraged to disseminate and implement any strategy they consider useful to improve screening and treatment. Study personnel will ensure the availability of screening tests already in-use, as well as ensure the availability of benzathine penicillin at all control prenatal clinics.