Study of Two HIV Interventions Using mHealth and Peer Support for Nigerian Youth Aged 15 to 24

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating two combination interventions aimed at addressing adolescent HIV infection among youth aged 15 to 24 in Nigeria. These parallel 48-week hybrid effectiveness and implementation trials focus on improving HIV case finding and HIV treatment outcomes, particularly among young men who have sex with men YMSM. The study aims to identify youth living with HIV, link them to care, and support medication adherence and viral suppression in newly diagnosed individuals. The first intervention is a single-arm trial focusing on HIV case finding and linkage to care, using peer navigation and motivational interviewing to encourage HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP uptake among those who test negative. The second is a randomized controlled trial comparing a combination HIV treatment intervention involving peer support and SMS reminders to standard care adherence support among youth newly starting antiretroviral therapy ART. Participants will be engaged over 48 weeks, with assessments including HIV testing, linkage to care, ART adherence, and viral load monitoring. Researchers will collect data on intervention effectiveness and implementation success, measuring outcomes such as HIV-positive serostatus, viral suppression, linkage to HIV care, and PrEP initiation. The study includes behavioral components like social media outreach and peer navigation to promote testing and treatment adherence.

Intensive Combination Approach to Rollback the HIV Epidemic in Nigerian Youth (iCARE) Plus Effectiveness/Implementation Hybrid Study