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Mother Infant Retention for Health: MIR4Health

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
HIV/AIDS
Interventions
Behavioral: Study Intervention for Retention (APFU)
Registration Number
NCT01962220
Lead Sponsor
Columbia University
Brief Summary

Linking HIV-infected pregnant women into prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services and keeping them in care is important in ensuring that both mother and infant benefit from interventions that improve maternal health and decrease HIV transmission to infants. We propose an evaluation of strategies to link newly diagnosed HIV-infected women to care and keep them in care during pregnancy and after delivery in our study called MIR4HEALTH. The study will be conducted in Nyanza Province, Kenya. All participants will provide informed consent and will be randomized to receive the intervention, including individualized patient education, adherence support and phone call/Short Message Service (SMS) reminders for clinic appointments, or the standard of care (no additional intervention services).

Detailed Description

Mother Infant Retention for Health (MIR4HEALTH) is an innovative implementation science study focused on testing an effective multicomponent strategy to improve linkage and retention of newly identified HIV-infected pregnant women accessing maternal child health (MCH) services in Nyanza Province, Kenya. MIR4HEALTH is distinguished by several innovations including the recognition that newly identified HIV-infected pregnant woman are especially vulnerable to poor retention within PMTCT services and that both mother and child must be retained in care to ensure optimal health outcomes.

The study is a randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of a novel strategy using Active Patient Follow-Up (APFU) to the current standard of care (SOC) routinely provided for the retention of women and their exposed infants postpartum. The proposed APFU includes a package of evidence-based interventions including health education, provision of phone and short message service (SMS) appointment reminders, active tracking of patients for linkage and retention, and individualized retention and adherence support. Patients enrolled in the APFU intervention arm will complete three antenatal study visits after enrollment as well as two postnatal study visits with their infants at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Laboratory blood specimens will be collected from mothers and infants at two separate visits to assess viral load and and drug levels. Additionally, all staff will be offered a chance to participate in an interview assessing the feasibility and acceptability of APFU.

Study participants will be recruited from various clinics in the Nyanza Province in Kenya. This study will enroll pregnant women who test positive for HIV during their first antenatal visit and have no prior HIV diagnosis. Upon live birth, the infants of participating women will also be included in the study. The study will enroll 214 newly-infected pregnant women, with 107 participants in the APFU arm (intervention) and 107 participants in the SOC arm. Infants born to women enrolled in the study will also be included so there will be a total of 214 mother-infant pairs, totaling 428 participants.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
680
Inclusion Criteria
  • Documented HIV-infection according to two finger-prick rapid tests (both previously diagnosed and newly detected)
  • Confirmed pregnancy by urine pregnancy test or clinical assessment
  • Age 16 years or older
  • Able to provide informed consent for research
  • Fluent in Luo or English
  • Own a cell phone or have access to one in their households
  • Live born infants of women enrolled in the study
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Exclusion Criteria
  • Patients who fail to meet any of the inclusion criteria will be excluded
  • Significant obstetric condition documented at the first antenatal visit requiring urgent referral to another facility for specialized obstetric care (e.g., significant hypertension or active bleeding per vagina).
  • Denial of HIV status or refusal to initiate ART/ARV prophylaxis.
  • Stated intention to move from study site area during the pregnancy or within six months postpartum.
Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Study Intervention for Retention (APFU)Study Intervention for Retention (APFU)Participants randomized to the experimental arm of the study will receive routine antenatal and HIV services as described above per Kenya national guidelines. In addition each newly identified HIV-infected pregnant woman randomized to the experimental arm will be assigned an outreach worker/counselor (Mama Mshauri), who will perform numerous tasks described in the intervention. In addition to the Mama Mshauri, this arm will receive phone/SMS appointment reminders, and default patient tracking if participants miss an appointment.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of mothers and infants non-retained in care at 6 months6 months

Mother/infant attrition at 6 months postpartum

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Proportion of infants receiving PCR testing at 6 weeks of age and 6 months6 months

Infant PCR testing

Proportion of infants exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months and number of months infant spent breastfeeding6 months

Exclusive Breastfeeding

Proportion of infants adherent to postnatal ARV regimen during first six weeks of life1.5 months

Infant ARV Adherence

Proportion of women & staff reporting APFU highly acceptable12 months

Intervention Acceptability

Proportion of women completing the 2nd ANC visit and all ANC and PN visits6 months

Completion ANC and PN visits

Proportion of women who had a hospital delivery6 months

Hospital delivery

Change in CD4+ cell count from study enrollment to 6 month postpartum for women12 months

CD4+ Cell Count

Proportion of women with undetectable HIV RNA at delivery and 6 months postpartum12 months

Undetectable Viral RNA

Proportion of women adherent to ARV regimen during pregnancy and postpartum period12 months

Mother ARV Adherence

Proportion of male partners receiving HIV testing12 months

Male Partner HIV tests

Trial Locations

Locations (10)

Ahero Sub-district Hospital

🇰🇪

Ahero, Nyanza, Kenya

Ambira Sub-District Hospital

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Ambira, Nyanza, Kenya

Bondo District Hospital

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Bondo, Nyanza, Kenya

Got Agulu Sub-district Hospital

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Got Agulu, Nyanza, Kenya

Jaramoji Oginga Oginga Referral Hospital

🇰🇪

Kisumu, Nyanza, Kenya

Madiany District Hospital

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Madiany, Nyanza, Kenya

Siaya District Hospital

🇰🇪

Siaya, Nyanza, Kenya

Masogo Sub-district Hospital

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Masogo, Nyanza, Kenya

Ukwala Health Center

🇰🇪

Ukwala, Nyanza, Kenya

Nyakatch District Hospital

🇰🇪

Nyakatch, Nyanza, Kenya

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