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Integration of Hypertension Management Into HIV Care in Nigeria

Not Applicable
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Hypertension
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Interventions
Behavioral: Task-shifting strategy for HTN control (TASSH) protocol
Registration Number
NCT04704336
Lead Sponsor
NYU Langone Health
Brief Summary

This study evaluates a tailored-practice facilitation (PF) strategy for integrating a task strengthening strategy for hypertension control (TASSH) for the care of patients living with HIV (PWH) within primary health centers (PHCs) in Lagos, Nigeria.

Detailed Description

Although access to antiretroviral therapy has led to increased survival among people living with HIV (PWH) in Africa, this population now has higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) - mortality than the general population largely due to an increased burden of hypertension. In Nigeria, the acute shortage of physicians limits the capacity to control hypertension among PWH at the primary care level where the majority receive treatment. This study proposes the use of practice facilitation (PF) - which will provide external expertise on practice redesign and a tailored approach to delivery of the evidence-based task strengthening strategy - to integrate hypertension into the HIV care model. Using a clinical-effectiveness implementation design, we will evaluate the effect of a PF strategy for integrating an evidence-based intervention for hypertension (HTN) control into HIV care among 960 patients with uncontrolled HTN in 30 primary health centers (PHCs) in Nigeria. Study is in 3 phases: 1) a pre-implementation phase that will develop a tailored PF intervention for integrating TASSH into HIV clinics; 2) an implementation phase that will compare the clinical effectiveness of PF vs. a self-directed condition (receipt of information on TASSH without PF) on BP reduction; and 3) a post- implementation phase to evaluate the effect of PF vs. self-directed condition on the adoption and sustainability of TASSH. The PF intervention comprises: (a) an advisory board to provide leadership support for implementing TASSH in HIV clinics; (b) training of the HIV nurses on TASSH protocol; and (c) training of practice facilitators, who will serve as coaches, provide support, and performance feedback to the HIV nurses

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
830
Inclusion Criteria
  • Be an adult aged 18 years and older.
  • Attends one of the 30 HIV clinics.
  • Have a diagnosis of HTN with uncontrolled blood pressure, i.e. BP is 140-179/90-100 mm Hg.
  • Ability to provide consent.
Exclusion Criteria
  • BP>180/110 mm Hg;
  • history of chronic kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes or stroke, pregnancy
  • Inability to provide informed consent.
  • Refusal to participate in the study.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
With Practice Facilitation (PF)Task-shifting strategy for HTN control (TASSH) protocolParticipants will be identified from HIV clinics during routine visits and will receive the task-shifting strategy for HTN control (TASSH) protocol.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in systolic Blood Pressurebaseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months

The primary outcome is change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from baseline to 12 months. Following the research investigators' existing TASSH protocol, the SBP reduction in patients will assessed as mean change in systolic BP from baseline to 12 months. Blood pressure will be taken with valid automated BP device from the existing TASSH protocol.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Proficiency of Mediators of TASSH across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

Organizational Culture domain of the Organizational Social Context Scale is a 15-item Proficiency subscale used to evaluate the practice capacity proficiency level of the primary health centers (PHCs). Proficient Organizational Cultures are those characterized by shared norms and expectations that the nurses are skilled service providers, and have current knowledge of the TASSH protocol. Items are completed using a 5-point rating scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) with measures such as responsiveness (e.g., 'members of my organizational unit are expected to be responsive to the needs of each patient') and competence (e.g., 'members of my organizational unit are expected to have up-to-date knowledge'). Alpha reliability for the proficient culture scale is .89.

Change in implementation process across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

External change agent support is a 3-item tool that evaluates support provided by external facilitators, the expectations about performance and improvement, and the ways to achieve the goal of the project. Items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale and the Cronbach α=0.77.

Change in Implementation Leadership of Mediators of TASSH across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

Implementation Leadership will be assessed with the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS). It is a 12-item measure with four subscales: Proactive Leadership (α=.95), Knowledgeable Leadership (α=.96), Supportive Leadership (α=.95), and perseverant leadership (α=.96) and a total score (α=.98).

Change in Organizational capacity to change across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

Organizational Readiness to Change (Facilitation Scale-8-items), which evaluates organizational capacity to facilitate change will be used to evaluate implementation process measures focused on CFIR Engaging construct. Each item measures the extent to which a respondent agrees or disagrees with the item statement on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). It has Cronbach α=0.95.

The rate of sustainability of TASSH across participating primary health centers (PHCs) at 12- and 24 months respectively.24 months

Sustainability of TASSH is defined as the maintenance of TASSH uptake at the HIV clinics at 24 months (one year after the end of the intervention). Sustainability will be assessed with a quantitative measure similar to adoption (as defined above) and qualitatively, based on interviews with nurses and clinic leadership at 24 months. For this purpose, two research coordinators will conduct the interviews with two nurses and one key leadership personnel at each primary health center (PHCs). The interviews will be guided by Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and inquire about attitudes regarding the implementation of TASSH, barriers, facilitators, and implications for scalability.

Change in Organizational Readiness of Mediators of TASSH across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

Organizational Readiness to Change is assessed with the 12-item Evidence Scale, which evaluates the strength of the evidence for the proposed change/innovation. It will be used to evaluate intervention process measures focused on CFIR's Evidence Strength \& Quality and Relative Advantage construct. Each item measures the extent to which a respondent agrees or disagrees with the item statement on a 5-point Likert- type scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree) and the Cronbach α=0.74.

The rate of adoption of TASSH across participating primary health centers (PHCs) at 12- and 24 months respectively.12 months

Rate of adoption of TASSH is defined as the proportion of patients who were correctly diagnosed with hypertension, received lifestyle counseling and antihypertensive treatment from HIV nurses at 12 months. In order to assess this measure, the nurses will complete a questionnaire inquiring about the number of patients with uncontrolled HTN who received lifestyle counseling and medication treatment. For this purpose, all nurses will be required to keep an attendance log sheet for their patients' visits.

Change in Implementation Climate of Mediators of TASSH across the primary health centers (PHCs) at 12 and 24 months.12 months and 24 months

Implementation Climate will be assessed with the Implementation Climate Scale. It measures shared perceptions of policies, practices, procedures, and behaviors that are expected, supported, and rewarded to facilitate effective evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation. It has a Cronbach's alpha of .91. The six subscales of EBP Implementation Climate are: focus on EBP (α=.91), educational support for EBP (α=.84), recognition for EBP (α=.88), rewards for EBP (α=.81), selection for EBP (α=.89), and selection for openness (α=.91).

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Saint Louis University (SLU)

🇺🇸

Saint Louis, Missouri, United States

Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)

🇳🇬

Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria

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