Early Access to ART for All in Swaziland: Effects on Economic Outcomes

Till Bärnighausen

Status: Completed

Conditions: HIV/AIDS

Treatments: Other: Early Access to ART for All

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03789448

MaxART Economic Evaluation

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of offering early antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive individuals in government-managed health facilities in Swaziland on a range of economic outcomes

Full description

The MaxART study is a three-year stepped-wedge randomized trial with open enrollment for all adults 18 years and older across 14 rural health facilities in Swaziland's Hhohho Region. The main trial registration is accessible at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT02909218.

This registration is specific to the economic evaluation of the MaxART study which aims to quantify the causal impacts of early ART initiation (compared to national standard care) on a range of key economic outcomes, including healthcare expenditures, productivity, and household wealth.

Enrollment: 3,019 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• All HIV-positive individuals who are aged 18 years or older, are ART naïve and attend the health facilities included in the study

Exclusion criteria

• All HIV-positive individuals who are <18 years of age
• All HIV-positive pregnant or breastfeeding women
• All HIV-positive individuals who did not consent to participate

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Sequential Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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3,019 participants in 2 patient groups

National HIV Treatment Guidelines

No Intervention group

Description:

HIV-positive individuals are offered ART per Swaziland's national treatment guidelines

Early Access to ART for All

Experimental group

Description:

HIV-positive individuals who are aged 18 years or older are initiated on ART regardless of client's immunological and clinical staging (excluding pregnant or breastfeeding women)

Treatment:

Other: Early Access to ART for All