Active clinical trials for "HIV Infections"

The objective of this study is to develop an effective peer-driven intervention (PDI) approach and assess its feasibility and efficacy on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among men who have sex with men.

This study aims to determine and compare acupuncture therapy and chiropractor group therapy to reduce anxiety and depression among HIV/AIDS patients at Being Alive, Los Angeles. In this controlled clinical trial, a total of 30 patients will be divided into two groups, 15 in the acupuncture therapy group, 15 in the chiropractor group therapy. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7- item scales (GAD-7) will be used as screening tools for depressive and anxiety symptoms respectively.

This randomized control trial will test an economic intervention to reduce Kenyan men's engagement in behaviors that increase the risk of HIV/STIs. Participants randomized to the intervention group will be able to open accounts with a partner bank and will be incentivized to save with lottery-based rewards.

This webapp, couples-based HIV/STI prevention intervention project will use a Type 1 Hybrid Design Trial to determine efficacy to reduce HIV risk via uptake of evidence-based strategies and a tailored prevention plan among male couples who are in a new relationship (defined as 1 year or less). In addition, the project will be one of the first studies to investigate how intervention usage is associated with the outcomes over time, as well as explore best practices for future implementation and dissemination of such interventions by considering a variety of potential contexts. As such, the project is innovative, timely, and rigorous with sound scientific premise for helping to advance and bridge webapp HIV prevention science with existing community-level services.

The intervention study will recruit 100 out-of-care HIV+ men who have sex with men in online and in community settings located throughout St. Petersburg, Russia. After completing baseline assessments, participants will be randomized to either an individual care counseling (ICC) comparison condition or ICC plus a social support mobilization (SSM) intervention. In each intervention, participants will attend five main and two booster sessions that underscore the benefits of medical care engagement, counter the effects of internalized intersectional stigma and promote resilience, and help participants develop and mobilize social resources supportive of HIV care. Support mobilization will begin by assisting participants develop care-supportive bonds with other group members, friends who are also living with HIV, and connections made with LGBT and other non-governmental organizations. They will also be guided in developing and expanding supportive links with affirmative friends, family members, and other resources. In this way, the intervention will bolster care-related social support resources, resilience, and feelings of self-worth. Assessments administered at baseline will be repeated 6 and 12 months post-intervention, and in-depth followup interviews will be conducted with a subset of 20 participants to elicit feedback about the intervention experience. The study will investigate whether the SSM intervention will produce greater preliminary evidence of benefit on the primary outcome of medical care attendance in the past 6 months and on secondary outcomes of having undetectable viral load, ART adherence, and psychosocial well-being.

Cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer and a leading cause of death among HIV-infected women living in resource-limited settings. Although screening for premalignant lesions is an effective way of reducing cervical cancer incidence, its uptake in low-resource settings to date is low. The use of HPV testing for primary screening is currently recommended by many guidelines - including the WHO guidelines for cervical cancer screening in resource-limited settings - because of its greater sensitivity and ease of use compared to other options. However, these WHO guidelines have both highlighted the need to conduct more research on appropriate HPV-based algorithms among HIV-infected women, as immunodeficiency may affect the screening performance. Indeed, HPV infections in HIV-infected women are very common, so there is a need for additional triage to identify women most at risk and there remains considerable uncertainty on the optimal option for such triage. Most of the evidence available comes from HIV-negative populations living in high-resource settings and is not necessarily relevant for low-resource contexts where the epidemiological background is different, women access late to screening and may not have follow up visits, where financial constraints are important and health service resources limited. Hence, the proposed project aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness and feasibility of HPV-based screening algorithms among HIV-infected women in low-resource settings. This multicenter cross-sectional study will include 3,000 HIV-infected women (30-49 years old) receiving HAART and followed in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia). After self-collection of cervico-vaginal samples, each participant will have an HPV test with partial genotyping primary using the Xpert HPV assay, a real-time PCR assay that provides the possibility of identifying 14 HR-HPV types within one hour. The Xpert HPV test has been chosen because of the wide availability of the Genexpert platform in HIV care centers from resource-limited settings. Furthermore, it can specifically detect HPV-16, 18 and 45, the most carcinogenic HPV types in both HIV-negative and HIV-positive women, separately from other high-risk HPV types. VIA will be another triage option either alone or combined to HPV DNA genotyping. In addition, participants treated for cervical lesion will be followed over 12 months to assess the risk of post-treatment lesions (CIN2+/HSIL) and to identify associated risk-factors.

Latinas continue to be affected disproportionally by HIV in the United States (US). Often, Latinas are not aware of their HIV status. Also, their perception of low risk for HIV interferes with condom use, HIV testing and lack of awareness, access, and use of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis [PrEP]. About 60% of total HIV cases in NC occur among women of childbearing age, thus vulnerability to HIV is particularly acute among Latinas between ages 18 and 44 years old, an age group with the highest rate of new HIV infections in NC. These disparities indicate that HIV prevention among Latinas is urgent; therefore, the investigators propose an innovative intervention - a filmed dramatized story (telenovela/soap opera) Infección de Amor [IA] (Love Infection) - culturally tailored for Latinas in the US and delivered online. Infección de Amor was filmed and developed but has not been tested with the target audience. The proposed study will pilot test IA and move the intervention to online using a website that will allow individual access around the clock from any location and device, such as a smartphone, ensuring wide dissemination of the intervention in the future. This is a a two-year planning grant (R34) to prepare for an R01 efficacy trial. The aims are to: 1) Develop the intervention delivery website, conduct a website usability test, and test the feasibility and acceptability of the IA intervention (four telenovela episodes) with 10 Latinas, 2) Conduct a randomized controlled pilot study to examine change in HIV prevention behaviors (condom use; HIV testing; and PrEP awareness, access, and use) comparing 71 intervention and 71 control Latinas from baseline (Time 1 [T1], 0 months) to post-active intervention (Time 2 [T2], 1 month), and to six months follow-up, a period with no contact from the study staff (Time 3 [T3, 7 months]), and 3) Complete establishing the study infrastructure, expanding the multidisciplinary team, building the research partnerships with the community, finalize the protocol and training materials, refine recruitment and retention strategies, data collection and data management procedures, and obtain institutional review board approval in preparation for an R01 efficacy study. This study address the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) goal #4: increase NIDA research and programs' public impact. This is a novel intervention to advance HIV prevention for Latinas. This study implement a culturally durable and feasible intervention for Latinas.

In high HIV prevalence regions, women are at high risk for HIV during pregnancy and breastfeeding. To protect women and reach elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission, the World Health Organization recommends offering oral tenofovir (TFV)-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to HIV-negative pregnant and postpartum women in high-burden settings. Although most pregnant Kenyan women with HIV risk factors accept PrEP when offered, >50% discontinue PrEP within 30 days of initiation and sub-optimal adherence is common. To date, no intervention studies to improve PrEP adherence include pregnant or postpartum women. The investigators adapted an SMS communication platform (mWACh) to send PrEP-tailored, theory-based SMS to facilitate adherence among pregnant women who initiate PrEP. In a non-randomized pilot, the investigators found that mWACh-PrEP recipients were more likely to persist with PrEP use and to self-report high adherence. The investigators propose a randomized trial to determine the effect of the mWACh-PrEP tool on PrEP adherence during pregnancy through the postpartum period. The investigators will also gather data on cost and delivery using the Proctor Implementation Outcomes Framework to expedite translation into routine practice. The overarching hypothesis is that mWACh-PrEP will improve PrEP adherence among mothers at-risk for HIV, be acceptable to patients and providers, and be cost-effective. The study will be executed via the following aims: Aim 1- To determine the effect of the mWACh-PrEP tool on PrEP adherence during pregnancy through the postpartum period among women who initiate PrEP within ANC-PrEP. We will conduct a 2-arm randomized trial comparing mWACh-PrEP vs standard of care (SOC, i.e. in-clinic adherence counseling) among HIV-uninfected pregnant women with high HIV acquisition risk (defined by validated risk score) who initiate PrEP. The primary outcome will be adherence at 6 months postpartum (TFV hair levels >0.038 ng/mg; consistent with 7 pills/ week). Secondary outcomes will include sexually transmitted infection (STI) incidence, adherence cofactors, and prevention-effective adherence (time-varying alignment of adherence with risk behaviors). Exploratory outcomes will include HIV incidence and perinatal outcomes by arm. Hypothesis: mWACh-PrEP will increase PrEP adherence compared to SOC. Aim 2- Evaluate barriers and facilitators of mWACh-PrEP implementation within routine ANC. Using the Proctor framework, we assess acceptability and feasibility by conducting interviews and focus-groups with ANC-PrEP users, providers, and health planners. Hypothesis: Indications for readiness of mWACh-PrEP will be identified. Aim 3- Estimate the cost-effectiveness of implementing mWACh-PrEP within ANC-PrEP, per HIV infection and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. We use data from Aims 1 and conduct micro-costing and time-and-motion studies to estimate the cost of mWACh-PrEP from a payer perspective. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per HIV infection and DALY averted compared to SOC will be calculated. Hypothesis: Incorporating data on PrEP and ANC outcomes with improve ICERs for mWACh-PrEP.

The proposed research will develop a culturally appropriate pharmacy PrEP delivery model for black men who have sex with men (BMSM) who live in high poverty, racial minority neighborhoods. Increasing access to PrEP through pharmacies has the potential to increase PrEP uptake among BMSM thereby reducing HIV incidence and racial inequities in HIV.

The aim of this study is to examine the utility of neuroimaging technique to evaluate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) promotion messages for men who have sex with men (MSM) at risk of HIV in Baltimore.