NCT03547739

Testing Strategies for Couple Engagement in PMTCT and Family Health in Kenya

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,600 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 15 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will test the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an interdependence theory-based couples intervention in Kenya that reaches pregnant women and male partners through home visits by male-female pairs of lay health workers, and includes offer of home-based CHTC services.

Detailed description

Despite the potential for antiretroviral therapy to improve maternal health and reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV to as low as 1%, HIV-related maternal deaths and HIV infection among infants remain unacceptably high across sub-Saharan Africa. This is particularly true in Kenya, where crucial drop-offs occur in the cascade of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. Weak health systems contribute to insufficient service coverage, but many barriers lie beyond the clinic-in the partner, family, and community factors that shape women's health decisions. The investigators' research in a high HIV prevalence area of southwestern Kenya has shown that many women avoid couples HIV testing and do not adhere to PMTCT regimens because they fear negative consequences from a male partner. Men can play a crucial supportive role for family health, but male partners in Kenya are poorly engaged in antenatal care and uptake of couples HIV testing during pregnancy is low. Pregnant women desire to be tested for HIV together with their partner and need the support for mutual disclosure involved in couples HIV testing and counseling (CHTC), regardless of whether they know their own HIV status. In this context, the investigators will test the efficacy of an interdependence theory-based couples intervention that reaches pregnant women and male partners through home visits by male-female pairs of lay health workers, and includes offer of home-based CHTC services. The randomized pilot study of this intervention with 96 pregnant couples (R34MH102103) demonstrated significant increases in uptake of couples testing (64% in intervention vs. 23% in control, p\<0.001) and significant improvements in health behaviors such as exclusive breastfeeding and postpartum care. The investigators will now conduct a more robust investigation to determine whether this intervention improves uptake of couples HIV testing and health outcomes over and above less intensive male engagement strategies being used in the region. This theory-based couples intervention has strong potential to increase couple HIV testing and collaboration for family health. The study will inform decision-makers about cost-effective strategies to engage pregnant couples in PMTCT and family health, with important downstream benefits for maternal, paternal, and infant health.

Conditions

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Home visits	If a couple has been randomized to the home visit intervention arm, a lay health worker will obtain detailed locator information (including cell phone contacts) and consult with the couple about optimal times for a home visit. As described above, the intervention arm will consist of five home visits conducted by one female and one male lay health worker, including two home visits during pregnancy, one at six weeks after the birth, and two booster sessions, one at six months after the birth and one at 12 months after the birth. Home visits are designed for all pregnant couples (regardless of woman's initial HIV test result at the antenatal clinic) and include topics important for maternal, paternal, and child health during pregnancy and postpartum.
BEHAVIORAL	HIV Self-testing	Women in this study group will receive oral-fluid-based rapid HIV test kits for themselves and their male partner at up to 4 time points (twice during pregnancy and twice postpartum). Each test will be accompanied with a self-testing instruction sheet describing step-by-step procedures in multiple languages. Study staff will also conduct a brief demonstration on how to use the tests. Participants will be encouraged to offer a test kit to their male partner or to undertake couples testing. They will also be counseled on how to talk to their partners and the possibility of adverse partner reactions. Participants will be instructed to seek clinic-based confirmatory testing if a reactive self-test result is obtained.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-03-20
• Primary completion: 2024-06-27
• Completion: 2024-10-23
• First posted: 2018-06-06
• Last updated: 2025-09-26
• Results posted: 2025-09-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Kenya