The overall objective of this study is to evaluate whether the addition of secondary distribution HIV self-test kits to existing partner notification guidelines increases the proportion of male partners who access facility-based HIV testing services, when compared to the partner notification strategy alone
Pregnant women 18 years of age or older who enter antenatal care at Chipata Level 1 Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia will participate. HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women will be randomized to one of two groups: partner notification alone or partner notification plus secondary distribution of HIV self-test kits. Women will return to the clinic 30 days after enrollment for an exit visit during which time information about their experience with the partner notification strategies will be collected. A random sample of women and health care workers will also participate in qualitative interviews.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
341
HIV self-test kits are oral swabs. Partner notification will be offered to all women in the intervention arm, regardless of HIV status.
Chipata Health Centre
Lusaka, Zambia
Number of Participants Who Reported Primary Male Partner Completed HIV Testing at a Healthcare Facility
The number of participants who report their primary male partners getting tested for HIV at a healthcare facility when presented with partner notification plus secondary distribution of HIV self-test kits compared to partner notification alone
Time frame: Enrollment - 30 days post enrollment of study participant
Number of Participants Who Reported HIV Testing With Primary Male Partner at a Healthcare Facility
The number of couples getting tested for HIV when presented with partner notification plus secondary distribution of HIV self-test kits will be compared to partner notification alone.
Time frame: Enrollment - 30 days post enrollment of study participant
Number of Participants Reporting Social Harms
The number of participants reporting social harms associated with the HIV testing approaches. Participants were asked about social harms related to trial participation, including perceived stigma, discrimination, and intimate partner violence.
Time frame: Enrollment - 30 days post enrollment of study participant
Number of Healthcare Providers Describing Feasibility of Intervention Via In-depth Interviews (Qualitative)
To gain deeper insights about the feasibility of male partner HIV testing strategies, healthcare workers from the study site were asked to participate in in-depth interviews. Participating healthcare workers were involved in different aspects of male partner HIV testing and included study staff members. Feasibility was defined as a positive rating about the intervention's potential performance in real-life conditions at the clinic and community levels.
Time frame: 6 months after the start of enrollment
Number of Participants Describing Acceptability of Intervention Via In-depth Interviews (Qualitative)
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To gain deeper insights about the acceptability of the different male partner HIV testing strategies, subsamples of participants were selected based on study arm (intervention vs. control) and woman's HIV status (positive vs. negative). For the outcome measure, acceptability was defined as a positive rating of male partner HIV testing strategies from participants based on their experiences.
Time frame: In the first two months of enrollment