Integrated Care Delivery of HIV Prevention and Treatment in AGYW in Zambia

NCT ID: NCT03995953

Last Updated: 2025-09-15

Study Results

Results available

Outcome measurements, participant flow, baseline characteristics, and adverse events have been published for this study.

View full results

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

2150 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-05-10

Study Completion Date

2024-03-11

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The study team will test a multilevel package of interventions to connect adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) with a source of regular care to provide a sustainable platform for successful implementation of regular human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and support for linkage to care, retention in care, and adherence to antiviral treatment. Interventions will include integrated wellness care (IWC) clinics and the SHIELD intervention (Support for HIV Integrated Education, Linkages to care, and Destigmatization) to educate and empower AGYW and their families, and to create community-based youth clubs to foster peer support. A cluster randomized controlled trial will be implemented where AGYW participants, stratified by age group and HIV status, will be randomized based on their residence within the six study clinic catchment areas, into the following intervention arms: no intervention, the SHIELD intervention, and the SHIELD intervention and IWC clinics.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

The SHIELD intervention aims to improve HIV prevention and care for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Zambia. It is based on social cognitive theory and includes a program for AGYW to increase knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy, as well as a program for family members to increase social support. The intervention also incorporates youth clubs facilitated by peer navigators and integrated wellness clinics (IWC) for sexual and reproductive health services. It will be tailored for five distinct groups based on age and HIV status, with modules covering HIV prevention and treatment, wellness, sexual health, stigma reduction, and healthcare access.

IWC clinics will be established in existing government health facilities, following a model similar to cervical cancer screening clinics. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be developed for HIV, HPV vaccination, and sexual and reproductive health services.

Time and motion methodology will monitor AGYW clinic visits to identify areas for improvement. To establish a sampling frame, the study team will identify six clinics in Lusaka, map neighborhoods within the selected clinic catchment areas, and recruit AGYW through household visits by peer navigators.

The HIV-/u cohort will include females aged 10-20 years with self-reported HIV-negative or unknown status. They must not be pregnant or planning pregnancy, be willing to sign a medical records release, plan to reside in the area for 18 months, and not be part of other formative research activities. The study will recruit 1,000 HIV-/u AGYW, with equal numbers in age ranges 10-12, 13-15, and 16-20.

The HIV+ cohort will consist of females aged 16-24 years, diagnosed with HIV within the past 3 years, and meeting the same additional criteria as the HIV-/u cohort. The study will enroll 800 HIV+ AGYW, with equal representation among 16-20 and 21-24 age groups.

AGYW will be encouraged to select caregivers who will participate in some of the education sessions. The role of the caregiver is to support AGYW. Primary and secondary outcomes will be reported for AGYW only.

Data collection will use electronic tablets with pre-loaded software and instruments in multiple languages. Voice-enabled components and self-administration options will be available for sensitive questions. Instruments will be pretested with AGYW and caregivers. The study team will abstract data from clinic records with support from the Zambian Ministry of Health, conducting pilot data abstraction and staff training to ensure high-quality data for the study.

Key aspects of the intervention include tailored education modules for AGYW and caregivers, youth clubs led by peer navigators, and integrated wellness clinics offering comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.

The SHIELD study aims to improve HIV prevention and care for AGYW in Zambia by addressing knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, social support, and healthcare access through a comprehensive, theory-based intervention. By combining education, social support, and improved healthcare services, the researchers hope to make significant strides in reducing HIV transmission and improving health outcomes for adolescent girls and young women in Zambia.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

HIV

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Based on their residence in the catchment areas of the six selected study clinics, AGYW participants, stratified by age group and HIV status, will be randomized into the following three treatment arms: no intervention, the SHIELD intervention, and the SHIELD intervention and IWC clinics. The sample size was calculated assuming conventional specifications (power = .80, alpha = .05, two-sided tests) and based on the primary endpoints.
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Control

2 control clinics, and their associated catchment areas, with no intervention at the clinic or community level

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

SHIELD: Community-based behavioral intervention

2 clinics, and their associated catchment areas, where participants attend modules designed to educate and empower adolescent girls and young women (AGYWs) and their caregivers, along with attendance at community-based youth clubs to foster peer support.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

SHIELD intervention (Support for HIV Integrated Education, Linkages to care, and Destigmatization)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The SHIELD intervention includes a three-session, six-module program for AGYW that increases knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to engage along the HIV prevention and care continuum, and a two-session, four-module program for caregivers to increase social support. In addition, the SHIELD intervention includes youth clubs to foster peer support.

SHIELD: Community- based behavioral intervention & IWC Clinic

2 clinics, and their associated catchment areas, where participants and their caregivers receive the Support for HIV Integrated Education, Linkages to care, and Destigmatization (SHIELD) intervention along with the coupled benefits of having an integrated wellness care (IWC) clinic within health facilities where adolescent girls and young women (AGYWs) can receive sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV testing and treatment, family planning, sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment, and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

SHIELD intervention (Support for HIV Integrated Education, Linkages to care, and Destigmatization)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The SHIELD intervention includes a three-session, six-module program for AGYW that increases knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to engage along the HIV prevention and care continuum, and a two-session, four-module program for caregivers to increase social support. In addition, the SHIELD intervention includes youth clubs to foster peer support.

Integrated wellness care (IWC) clinics

Intervention Type OTHER

IWC clinics will be created within health facilities where AGYWs can receive sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV testing and treatment, family planning, sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment, and HPV vaccination in a youth-friendly environment.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

SHIELD intervention (Support for HIV Integrated Education, Linkages to care, and Destigmatization)

The SHIELD intervention includes a three-session, six-module program for AGYW that increases knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to engage along the HIV prevention and care continuum, and a two-session, four-module program for caregivers to increase social support. In addition, the SHIELD intervention includes youth clubs to foster peer support.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Integrated wellness care (IWC) clinics

IWC clinics will be created within health facilities where AGYWs can receive sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV testing and treatment, family planning, sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment, and HPV vaccination in a youth-friendly environment.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

HIV negative or unknown cohort

* Female
* 10 to 20 years of age
* self-report HIV status as negative or unknown (no HIV testing within the past 6 months
* not pregnant, does not suspect pregnancy, and does not express a desire to become pregnant over the next 18 months
* is willing to sign a release for medical records (to obtain clinic data on service use)
* plans to reside in the current location for the next 18 months
* has not been part of the other planned formative research activities

HIV positive cohort

* Female
* 16 to 24 years of age
* diagnosed with HIV within the past 3 years or newly diagnosed at the time of the study
* not pregnant, does not suspect pregnancy, and does not express a desire to become pregnant over the next 18 months
* is willing to sign a release for medical records (to obtain clinic data on service use)
* plans to reside in the current location for the next 18 months
* has not been part of the other planned formative research activities

Exclusion Criteria

* pregnant
Minimum Eligible Age

10 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

24 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Population Council

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

RTI International

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Sujha Subramanian, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Implenomics

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Population Council

Lusaka, , Zambia

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Zambia

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Scanlon SL, Blackburn NA, Beizer J, Mulenga DM, Nyblade L, Roberts ST, Chelwa N, Mbizvo M, Subramanian S. Comparison of sexual risk behaviors among Zambian adolescent girls and young women living with and without HIV. Reprod Health. 2025 Sep 30;22(1):174. doi: 10.1186/s12978-025-02147-2.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 41029779 (View on PubMed)

Blackburn NA, Scanlon SL, Beizer J, Chelwa N, Nyblade L, Roberts ST, Phiri L, Mulenga D, Mbizvo M, Subramanian S. The Implementation and Costs To Deliver a youth-friendly multi-component Program Addressing Stigma, HIV, and Linkage To Care for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Lusaka, Zambia. AIDS Behav. 2025 Jul;29(7):2179-2188. doi: 10.1007/s10461-025-04682-2. Epub 2025 Mar 20.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40111579 (View on PubMed)

Subramanian S, Edwards P, Roberts ST, Musheke M, Mbizvo M. Integrated Care Delivery for HIV Prevention and Treatment in Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Zambia: Protocol for a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2019 Oct 3;8(10):e15314. doi: 10.2196/15314.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 31584004 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

1UG3HD096908-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

1UG3HD096908-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

View Link

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Zambia One Love Aim 3 Trial
NCT02744586 COMPLETED NA
Innovations in HIV Testing (TI)
NCT03271424 COMPLETED NA
HIV Prevention Among At-risk Latinos in the Heartland
NCT04563715 ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION NA