Integration of Family Planning and HIV Services in Tanzania

FHI 360

Status: Completed

Conditions: HIV Infection; HIV Infections

Treatments: Behavioral: Facilitated Referral

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00941876

10121 (Registry Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

HIV positive women and couples have broad reproductive health needs that are not always met within HIV services. The integration of family planning (FP) services into Tanzania's HIV Care and Treatment Clinics (CTC) will address the fertility desires of CTC clients and ultimately result in the reduction of unintended pregnancies and HIV incidence. One strategy for integrating FP and CTC services is to use a "facilitated referral" model. Facilitated referrals are enhanced referrals for additional services that have been used in other settings and which are the preferred intervention strategy the Government of Tanzania would like to pilot test. This study will evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and costs of implementing a "facilitated referrals" intervention by examining FP use among female clients attending HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Centers. This study will measure whether there is a reduction in unmet need for contraception among female CTC clients after the facilitated referral integration intervention has been implemented.

Enrollment: 864 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 45 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Female clients of Care & Treatment Clinics with CD4 counts >100, and are WHO Stage I - III. (CTC Clients)
2. Care and Treatment providers who provide services to clients (CTC Providers)
3. Care and Treatment supervisors who are the immediate in-charge supervisor for the CTC clinic. (CTC supervisor)
4. Family Planning providers who provide services to clients. (FP providers)
5. Family Planning supervisors who are the immediate in-charge supervisor for the FP clinic. (FP supervisor)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

864 participants in 1 patient group

A. Facilitated Referral

Experimental group

Description:

Seven key steps carried out by CTC and FP staff to encourage completion of FP referral by CTC.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Facilitated Referral