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222 active trials for HIV/AIDS

Direct and Spillover Impacts of a Community-Level HIV/AIDS Program

The HIV/AIDS crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa has left millions of children orphaned. These children, who are potentially infected with HIV themselves, are highly vulnerable and face some serious risks to their health and overall well-being. A variety of health and economic interventions to help orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) (and the households in which they live) are being carried out in Mozambique by World Education Inc./Bantwana (WEI/B), funded by USAID. The program is known in Portuguese as Força à Comunidade e Crianças or FCC (in English, "Strengthening Family and Communities"). This study will collect survey and administrative data to assess the impact of the FCC program on OVCs and the households in which they live. A baseline survey was administered to define a sample of households and individuals to follow over time through the upcoming follow-up survey and to measure baseline household characteristics. Follow-up data collection will begin in March 2019. It has several components: Household survey The follow-up survey will provide measurements of the rich set of intermediate and final outcomes for the estimation of treatment effects of the FCC program. Data collection on HIV testing and school attendance This study will supplement survey-reported HIV testing rates with an objective, administrative measure of HIV testing at health clinics. At the time of the follow-up survey, the survey team will recommend that eligible individuals in the household be tested for HIV at a specified local health clinic. To allow tracking of those who follow through with testing, consenting individuals will be given coupons redeemable for a small financial incentive once they have completed an HIV test. In addition to self-reported data on school participation by children, this study will also measure school participation directly. Both school enrollment (presence in school registration records) and school attendance (physical presence of children in school during unannounced school visits by research staff) will be measured. Project staff will visit schools in study communities to check attendance rates of specific school-aged children who were listed in the baseline survey in their community. Informational treatments aimed at raising HIV testing rates To allow insight into the mechanisms through which the FCC program has its effects, this study will provide additional simple treatments in the context of the follow-up survey to explore possible FCC mechanisms: stigma reduction, HIV/AIDS information, and HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy, or ART) information.

Start: January 2017
Xpert Ultra and Xpert HIV-VL in People Living With HIV

TB is increasingly diagnosed using the GeneXpert platform, which can be used for a variety of tests (not just TB). HIV viral load monitoring is required at least annually in patients on ART to detect failure of virologic suppression, however, most HIV VL testing is done centrally. A patient with virologic failure is more likely to get TB. The investigators wish to see if Xpert done at the clinic results in faster patient TB diagnosis and treatment initiation compared to sending specimens away for central testing. In a different patient group (PLHIV returning for HIV treatment monitoring), the investigators wish to see if POC Xpert HIV-1 viral load (Xpert VL) testing results in faster patient viral load quantification compared to centralised testing. Both POC tests will use the same testing hardware. This polyvalent utility of the GeneXpert system is hitherto uninvestigated in this local setting. Newly diagnosed pre-ART HIV positive patients will be approached and asked to be a part of this study. Patients will be randomly assigned to Ultra done at the clinic or the normal off-site laboratory TB testing. The time taken for patients to get diagnosed and time-to-treatment will be recorded. We will also do exploratory diagnostic accuracy evaluations including but not limited to, Ultra when done on mouth samples, the new SILVAMP FujiLAM on urine, and host RNA blood signatures for active TB. Additionally, a different group of HIV positive patients (on ART) returning to the clinic for annual follow-up visits will also be asked to join the study. These patients will be randomly selected for either Xpert VL testing done at the clinic or the normal off-site testing. The time taken for patients to receive viral load results will be recorded. Should the patient's viral loads be found to be higher than anticipated and considered by the clinical to indicate a lack of viral suppression, the time taken for patients to have ART regimen adjusted, receive adherence counselling or received HIV drug susceptibility testing will be recorded. This project will confirm if Ultra TB testing performs well in PLHIV irrespective of symptoms and may produce evidence that supports universal TB testing in this important and vulnerable patient group, including using novel diagnostics on non-traditional specimen types. The investigators will also assess whether POC placement of Ultra and Xpert VL has benefits (e.g., more patients diagnosed for TB or VL monitored during the same day visit).

Start: February 2018
HIV + Service Delivery and Telemedicine Through Effective PROs

This study will examine the impact of using a multicomponent intervention (patient reported outcomes, training, and telemedicine) to assist with the management of Mental Health (MH) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) among people living with HIV (PLWH) engaged in care at UAB HIV Clinic, University of Alabama Family Clinic (Birmingham, AL), Thrive Federally Qualified Health Services Center (Huntsville), Health Services Center (Anniston), Medical Advocacy and Outreach (Montgomery), and The University of South Alabama Family Specialty Clinic (Mobile). The study will employ a hybrid type 2 implementation design. Because this intervention will be employed as the new standard of care at participating sites, all PLWH receiving care at the sites will receive this intervention. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) will be integrated into routine care to screen PLWH for substance use and mental health disorders during routine clinical encounters. Training will be delivered to frontline clinicians so that they receive targeted knowledge on best practices for treatment of MH and SUD along with clinic-specific protocols for response to PROs on MH and SUD including treatment and referrals. Telemedicine services for MH and SUD will be offered to patients in need of expanded access to services due to a lack of clinic-level resources or additional barriers to traditional clinic visits such transportation, stigma, or substance using behaviors.

Start: March 2021
Managed Problem Solving for ART Adherence and HIV Care Retention Delivered by Community Health Workers

The Managed Problem Solving (MAPS) behavioral intervention is an EBP for behavior change in people living with HIV (PLWH). The investigators propose that MAPS can be delivered by trained Community Health Workers (CHWs). The use of CHWs to deliver MAPS is justified by their ability to develop trusting relationships with their clients and the need for task shifting in busy clinics. In order to also address retention in care, the investigators will adapt MAPS to also focus on problem solving activities tailored toward retention in care (now termed MAPS+). CHWs will be located in clinics to implement MAPS+ to improve viral suppression and care retention in PLWH. Data-to-care allows for identification of people who are lost to care and link these patients back to care. Currently, medication adherence and retention in HIV care are not targeted in data-to-care so the investigators will build on this approach to facilitate the identification of PLWH who are out of care and not virally suppressed to offer them MAPS+. The set of implementation strategies include task-shifting the delivery of MAPS+ to CHWs, providing the CHWs training and ongoing support, and increasing communication between the CHWs and medical care team via standardized protocols. The investigators will conduct a hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation trial with a stepped-wedge cluster randomized design in 12 clinics to test MAPS+ compared to usual care using a set of implementation strategies that will best support implementation. Each clinic will be randomized to one of three implementation start times. Baseline (usual care) data will be collected from each clinic for 6 months, followed by MAPS+ and the package of implementation strategies for 12 months, in three cohorts of 4 clinics each. Aim 1 will test the effectiveness of MAPS+ on clinical effectiveness outcomes, including viral suppression (primary) and retention (secondary). Aim 2 will examine the effect of the package of implementation strategies on reach. Implementation cost will also be measured. Aim 3 will apply a qualitative approach to understand processes, mechanisms, and sustainment of the implementation approach. The results will guide future efforts to implement behavioral EBPs across the HIV care continuum, consistent with the "treat" pillar of EHE, and move the science of implementation services, consistent with NIH strategic priorities.

Start: September 2021
Relative Mitochondrial Toxicity of Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) vs. Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF)

Increased comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), are emerging problems in HIV infection but the mechanisms are unclear. Understanding how antiretrovirals can minimize morbidity in treated HIV infection is a research priority. Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are included in all HIV treatment regimens. Tenofovir (TFV) disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been associated with an increased risk of nephrotoxicity and bone disease compared with other NRTIs. Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is an oral prodrug of TFV, but is more stable in plasma as compared with TDF and lower plasma levels of TFV are thought to lead to the favorable safety profile of TAF. Mitochondrial dysfunction has a key role in HIV pathogenesis and may be the common denominator that drives pathogenesis of several comorbidities. Despite the better safety profile of newer (such as TDF) compared to older NRTIs, there are concerns for the potential for longer term toxicity of NRTIs since the exact cellular effects of NRTIs remain unclear. It is unknown whether a four-fold increase in intracellular drug levels seen in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with TAF may increase toxicity in mitochondria. Better understanding of these effects could provide insights into mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis and selection of NRTIs that improve morbidity in chronic HIV infection. Hypothesis: Despite higher intracellular levels, TAF has minimal mitochondrial toxicity compared to TDF in vivo. This research will explore the relative mitochondrial toxicity of newer NRTIs (TAF, TDF) as a possible mechanism for differential NTRI-related toxicities. These data will allow selection of NRTIs that may improve morbidity in chronic treated HIV infection. Towards this aim, the investigators will use a robust experimental approach to study NRTI-related mitochondrial dysfunction using novel methods, human cell lines and PBMC. Our specific aims are: Aim 1: To evaluate the relative in vitro effects of TAF and TDF compared to an older NRTI (ddC) on 5 independent measures of mitochondrial function in the human cell line HepG2 and PBMC. Aim 2: To explore in vivo whether there is increased mitochondrial dysfunction with the use of TAF vs. TDF in chronic treated HIV infection. The investigators anticipate that the proposed experimental approach will set the basis for future large scale studies to directly compare subtle potential mitochondrial toxicities of newer NRTIs in large HIV cohorts.

Start: April 2019