Youth Power Action Feasibility Study of Online Support Group Intervention Among Adolescents Living With HIV in Nigeria

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Health Behavior
HIV/AIDS
Adolescent Behavior
Medication Adherence

Interventions: Behavioral: Online support group

Registration Number: NCT03076996

Lead Sponsor: FHI 360

Brief Summary: This study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention designed to improve retention in HIV care services and improve anti-retroviral therapy (ART) adherence among adolescents ages 15-19 years living with HIV enrolled in ART services.

Detailed Description: Study aim is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention designed to improve retention in HIV care services and improve anti-retroviral therapy (ART) adherence among adolescents ages 15-19 years living with HIV enrolled in ART services.

A single group, pre/posttest design including structured questionnaires with adolescents living with HIV. Additionally, we will abstract clinical data from the medical record system. We will also conduct in-depth interviews with a subset of participants, as well as health care staff who are engaged in the intervention, at endline.

The objectives of this study are:

1. To examine the feasibility of implementing a mobile/electronic health (m/eHealth) intervention designed to improve retention in HIV care services and ART adherence among ALHIV ages 15-19 years through an online support group (using Facebook).

2. To assess acceptability of and engagement in the intervention by the target audience to inform improvements to the intervention.

3. To gather preliminary data on the psycho-social and health-related outcomes that the intervention is designed to affect to inform an outcome evaluation study that will be conducted following the conclusion of the feasibility study.

4. To collect information on recruitment, informed consent and data collection processes to inform the outcome evaluation study of the current intervention that will be conducted once findings from this feasibility study are incorporated into the intervention design.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 41

Inclusion Criteria

HIV positive and currently on ART for at least 6 months
Age 15 to 19 years
Can demonstrate basic literacy necessary to participate in online chats

Exclusion Criteria

Not planning to remain in the study area (within Akwa Ibom State) for the duration of the study (approximately 6 months)
Currently enrolled in an in-person support group
Currently enrolled in another research study related to HIV service retention or ART adherence
Critically or severely ill requiring hospitalization or such that the individual is unable to provide informed consent at the time of study recruitment

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Online support group	Online support group	Participants will be enrolled to receive six sessions from the Positive Connections curriculum through the m/eHealth intervention that will use Facebook to conduct online structured support groups.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percentage of Active Members Who Have at Least One Post in Group Chat Session.	3 months	Participants level of engagement in support group activities informs on the feasibility of intervention, measured by percentage of active members who have at least one post in group chat session.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Acceptability Score	3 months	Acceptability score: A set of ten items asking if participants agreed=1 or disagreed=0 with statements on acceptability. Score represents a sum of the 10 items with a range of 0 to 10, and a greater number indicating agreement with more acceptability items.
Adherence to ART as Measured by the AACTG Adherence Assessment	3 months	Proportion of participants who report not having missed any ART doses in past 3 days.
Adherence to Follow-up Visit Within 1 Month of Scheduled Date	3 months	Retention in HIV services will be measured using data abstracted from the medical record system on date of visits between enrollment and the endline of this study. To be considered retained in HIV services, an individual must, at 3 months after enrollment, have attended his/her most recently scheduled clinical follow-up visit within 1 month of the date when it was scheduled to take place.