Clinical trial NCT02938533: Social Norms and Priming to Improve Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy and Retention in Care
Official title: Pilot Study of a Multi-Pronged Intervention Using Social Norms and Priming to Improve Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy and Retention in Care Among Adults Living With HIV in Tanzania
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: HIV Infection
Adherence
Lead sponsor: University of California, Berkeley
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Ministry of Health, Tanzania
name: Mexican National Institute of Public Health
First posted: 2016-10-19
Enrollment: 438
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: Interventions incorporating constructs from behavioral economics and psychology have the potential to enhance HIV 'treatment as prevention' (TasP) strategies. To test this hypothesis, the investigators evaluated a combination intervention to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence based on the concepts of social norms and priming.

Detailed description: The investigators conducted a quasi-experimental pilot study of a combination behavioral intervention based on the concepts of social norms and priming. The intervention included visual feedback about clinic-level retention in care, a self-relevant prime, and useful take-home items with the priming image. The intervention was developed using tools from marketing research and patient-centered design. The hypothesis was that the intervention would improve retention in care and adherence to ART among patients living with HIV infection (PLHIV). The intervention was implemented at two HIV primary clinics in Shinyanga, Tanzania in 2-week intervals for six months. The investigators reviewed medical records of a random sample of exposed and unexposed adult PLHIV to compare retention and the proportion of patients with medication possession ratio (MPR) ≥95% after six months.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

1. At least 18 years of age
2. Living with HIV infection
3. Receiving HIV primary care at one of the two study clinics

Primary outcomes:
measure: Retention in care, defined as an attended visit between 150-210 days after the baseline visit
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: >=95% medication possession ratio (MPR)
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: The proportion of scheduled visits that were completed during the 6-month observation period
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Medication possession ratio (MPR), continuous scale
timeFrame: 6 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Kahama
country: Tanzania
facility: Bugsi Dispensary
state: Shinyanga
city: Shinyanga
country: Tanzania
facility: Tinde Health Center
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, Berkeley
name: Sandra I McCoy, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: McCoy SI, Fahey C, Rao A, Kapologwe N, Njau PF, Bautista-Arredondo S. Pilot study of a multi-pronged intervention using social norms and priming to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy and retention in care among adults living with HIV in Tanzania. PLoS One. 2017 May 9;12(5):e0177394. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177394. eCollection 2017.