Clinical Research Directory

Evaluating an Interactive Digital Toolkit for Women's PrEP Implementation

The goal of this study is to test if a Digital PrEP Toolkit helps cisgender women learn about and access PrEP in Alabama and Mississippi. PrEP is a medication that prevents HIV infection. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can participants complete the Digital PrEP Toolkit in under 10 minutes? Do participants find the Digital PrEP Toolkit useful and easy to use? Does the Digital PrEP Toolkit increase the number of women who start taking PrEP? Investigators will work with up to 125 women at 3 HIV and STI clinics in Alabama and Mississippi. Participants will use the Digital PrEP Toolkit on a tablet at the clinic. They will answer questions about their HIV knowledge before and after using the Toolkit. Participants will then discuss PrEP options with a healthcare staff member and decide if they want to start PrEP. Participants will answer follow-up questions at 3 months. Investigators will also review participants' medical records at 6 months to see if they started PrEP and are still taking it.

Co-Developing an HIV Prevention Program for Women in Ghana

The WISE Woman Study is a research project in Ghana focused on improving HIV prevention among young women aged 18 to 35. In Ghana, young women are at higher risk of HIV but often lack access to the right information and services. This study will first work with young women and community partners to co-develop a youth-friendly and women-centered HIV prevention program. The program will focus on two proven strategies: HIV self-testing (HIVST) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medicine that helps prevent HIV. After the program is created, researchers will test it with 50 young women in Greater Accra and the Eastern Region to see if it's acceptable, easy to use, and if it helps increase knowledge and use of HIVST and PrEP. The intervention will be delivered through WhatsApp and community-based workshops to ensure privacy and reach. Participants will complete surveys and take part in discussions and interviews to share their feedback. This research will help build better HIV prevention strategies tailored to the needs of young women in Ghana.

WORTH Paths Intervention

Women in the criminal legal system are more likely to experience substance use disorders and unintended pregnancy than women in the general public. However, they often face barriers to accessing substance use treatment and sexual and reproductive health services. This study tests the feasibility and acceptability of Women on the Road to Health (WORTH) Promoting Access to Treatment, Health, and Support (Paths), a digital intervention adapted from the evidence-based CDC Best Practice HIV prevention intervention, Women on the Road to Health (WORTH), originally developed at Columbia University School of Social Work. WORTH Paths is designed to help reproductive-aged women in the criminal legal system with substance use disorders and unmet need for contraception reduce drug use and improve contraceptive use. Participants (N=50) will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: WORTH Paths Intervention Group - Participants will attend three virtual group sessions with facilitated videoconference sessions and self-paced digital activities focused on reducing drug use and increasing contraceptive use. They will also receive guidance on how to access and navigate health services. Control Group - Participants will receive a virtual general wellness program that includes education on substance use and sexual and reproductive health but does not include skills-based training related to these topics. The focus will be on general wellness and stress reduction. Both groups will receive resources for substance use treatment and sexual and reproductive health services. Researchers will track changes in drug use and contraceptive use over three months. Participants will complete surveys and provide urine samples to confirm changes in drug use. Primary aims: Feasibility: Measured by session attendance, treatment completion, dropouts, and reasons for termination. Acceptability: Measured by participant ease of use, helpfulness, and satisfaction. Primary behavioral outcomes: Self-reported drug use confirmed by urine drug tests. Contraceptive use, including initiation and consistent use. Secondary behavioral outcome: Linkage to substance use disorder treatment (measured by appointments made and sessions attended).

Integration to Improve Adolescent Health and HPV Vaccination in Laos

The goal of this study is to find out if adding HPV vaccination to adolescent health services works to increase HPV vaccine uptake in 10-13-year-old girls in Laos. The study will also look at the effects of adding HPV vaccination on the use of other health services in 10-13-year-old boys and girls. The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. Does adding HPV vaccination to adolescent health services increase HPV vaccine uptake in girls aged 10-13 years compared to girls who only receive standard HPV vaccination services? 2. Does adding HPV vaccination to adolescent health services increase the use of other health services in 10-13-year-old adolescent boys and girls compared to adolescents who only receive standard HPV vaccination services? 3. What are the barriers and facilitators to using the combined intervention in Laos? 4. What are the opinions of adolescents, caregivers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders on the combined intervention? 5. How much does it cost and how well it works to combine HPV vaccination with adolescent health services, as opposed to providing HPV vaccination alone? Researchers will compare a combined intervention to standard HPV vaccination services to see if the combined intervention works to increase HPV vaccination uptake and the use of other health services. The combined intervention includes HPV vaccination given at schools, health facilities, and through community outreach. It also includes education on sexual and reproductive health, counseling, and other health services. Participants in the combined intervention group will: 1. Receive the HPV vaccine at school or at a health facility. 2. Take part in group discussions about sexual and reproductive health. 3. Take part in individual counseling sessions. 4. Use other health services as needed. Participants in the comparison group will receive standard HPV vaccination services, including: • HPV vaccination given at schools, health facilities, and through community outreach.

PrEPared to Choose (PtC) is an Implementation Study of the Delivery of Cabotegravir Long-acting, an Injectable Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Option for HIV Prevention. Injectable PrEP Will be Offered Alongside Oral and Vaginal Ring PrEP From Within a Real-world Context in Cape Town, South Africa.

The goal of this clinical trial is to offer adolescents and young people in Cape Town, South Africa different HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products and describe how they use these products over an 18-month period. The study has both clinical and implementation primary aims. The primary clinical aim is short and long-term persistence on PrEP. Persistence is defined as the length of time that a participant shows continuous use of a PrEP product as intended, without stopping PrEP or switching to another PrEP product. The primary implementation aim involves the determination of factors that either enable or serve as a barrier to PrEP uptake and continuation. Participants will be offered a choice between three antiretroviral-containing PrEP products: (1) a Tenofovir-based oral tablet that needs to be taken daily; (2) a vaginal ring containing Dapivirine that provides HIV protection for up to one month; and (3) an intramuscular injection containing Cabotegravir that provides HIV protection for up to two months. Participants will be able to use the same product throughout the study, switch between products, or stop and restart on PrEP at any point. The study will be offered from two study sites: the first is a mobile clinic that rotates on a fixed schedule across the study area and the second is a fixed-location government primary healthcare clinic. The study will be open to confirmed HIV-negative individuals, including adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-29 years), young gender and sexually diverse populations aged 15-29 years (including men who have sex with men, transgender people, and non-binary people), and their collective sexual partners (including heterosexual, cisgender men) of any age.

Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment: Impact Evaluation of a Safe Space-Based Life Skills Training and Digital Literacy Training in Nigeria Space-Based Life Skills Training and Digital Literacy Training in Nigeria

The investigators will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial in secondary schools in Nigeria to evaluate the impact of school-based life skills training delivered in safe spaces with and without digital literacy training. This study aims to estimate the causal impacts of the training on adolescents' school performances and retention, socio-emotional skills, digital skills, health, marriage, fertility, and labor market outcomes.