Plan and Pledge, HIV Self-testing in South Africa

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Treatments: Behavioral: Provision of HIV self-test with Commitment and planning prompts; Behavioral: Provision of HIV self-test

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03898557

1195218

Details and patient eligibility

About

The Plan and Pledge pilot will incorporate behavioral economics approaches (nudges) into the pre-existing STAR self-test fixed-site distribution program, implemented by Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI) at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The objective of this pilot is to examine the use of commitment strategies to increase uptake of HIV self-testing in South Africa.

Full description

This study will use a cluster randomized trial design to test the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase usage of self-test and reporting of results by HIV self-tests recipients. Specifically, this study will examine the use of commitment and planning prompts to increase the uptake of HIV self-testing in the Tshwane district in South Africa. The intervention will build on the implementation procedures of STAR program (HIV Self-Testing Africa). The two arms in the study will be: 1) Usual care, "Promote": A card with information to report results via WhatsApp, similar to the existing card used in the STAR program. with a dedicated Usual care WhatsApp number (different from the existing campaign numbers). 2) Plan and Pledge: A card with the information from the Usual Care card plus a brief template to "make a plan" and "make a pledge" for test completion and results reporting, to take the test. The card will include a dedicated Pledge and Plan WhatsApp number.

Self-test distribution team-day pair will serve as the unit of randomization (i.e. two pairs of STAR field staff will be randomized by arm and by day. Clusters of individuals will receive self-tests at a distribution site from a pair of STAR field staff on an individual day). Computer-generated randomization will be used to assign site-day clusters to the 2 study arms. The study will take place at the STAR community fixed-point distribution sites in Tshwane District, South Africa.

Enrollment: 1,479 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 19+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 19 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

• Intoxication as this effects the result of the HIV self-test

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,479 participants in 2 patient groups

Usual Care

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm will receive a card with information to report results via WhatsApp, similar to the existing card used in the STAR program. This card will have a dedicated Usual Care WhatsApp number (different from the existing STAR program numbers). Potential self-test recipients will be shown the WhatsApp card and instructed on how to anonymously report use of self-test to the WhatsApp number. Recipients will be instructed to message the WhatsApp number for the following reasons: 1. So study staff know the self-test recipients used the test and it went ok. 2. So study staff can help the self-test recipients understand the results of the test. 3. If the self-test recipients need support from study staff to access care and services.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provision of HIV self-test

Plan and Pledge

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm will revive the Usual Care WhatsApp card and and a brief template to "make a plan" and "make a pledge" for test completion and results reporting, to take the HIV self-test. The card will include a dedicated Plan and Pledge WhatsApp number. Potential self-tester recipients will be shown the WhatsApp card, including Plan and Pledge statements, and will be encouraged by STAR field staff to use the card in their own time to make a plan and sign the pledge as part of receiving the test kit and instructions for how to complete the card. Importantly, testers will be able to keep the card for themselves. There is no expectation to share the plan or the pledge signature with the STAR field staff who distribute self-tests. Field staff will clarify for self-tests recipients that the Plan and Pledge process and card do not change the confidentiality of testing in any way.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Provision of HIV self-test with Commitment and planning prompts