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Kafu C, Wachira J, Omodi V, Said J, Pastakia SD, Tran DN, Onyango JA, Aburi D, Wilson-Barthes M, Galárraga O, Genberg BL. Integrating community-based HIV and non-communicable disease care with microfinance groups: a feasibility study in Western Kenya. Pilot Feasibility Stud 2022; 8:266. [PMID: 36578093 PMCID: PMC9795156 DOI: 10.1186/s40814-022-01218-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Harambee study is a cluster randomized trial in Western Kenya that tests the effect, mechanisms, and cost-effectiveness of integrating community-based HIV and non-communicable disease care within microfinance groups on chronic disease treatment outcomes. This paper documents the stages of our feasibility study conducted in preparation for the Harambee trial, which include (1) characterizing the target population and gauging recruitment capacity, (2) determining community acceptability of the integrated intervention and study procedures, and (3) identifying key implementation considerations prior to study start. METHODS Feasibility research took place between November 2019 and February 2020 in Western Kenya. Mixed methods data collection included surveys administered to 115 leaders of 105 community-based microfinance groups, 7 in-person meetings and two workshops with stakeholders from multiple sectors of the health system, and ascertainment of field notes and geographic coordinates for group meeting locations and HIV healthcare facilities. Quantitative survey data were analyzed using STATA IC/13. Longitude and latitude coordinates were mapped to county boundaries using Esri ArcMap. Qualitative data obtained from stakeholder meetings and field notes were analyzed thematically. RESULTS Of the 105 surveyed microfinance groups, 77 met eligibility criteria. Eligible groups had been in existence from 6 months to 18 years and had an average of 22 members. The majority (64%) of groups had at least one member who owned a smartphone. The definition of "active" membership and model of saving and lending differed across groups. Stakeholders perceived the community-based intervention and trial procedures to be acceptable given the minimal risks to participants and the potential to improve HIV treatment outcomes while facilitating care integration. Potential challenges identified by stakeholders included possible conflicts between the trial and existing community-based interventions, fear of group disintegration prior to trial end, clinicians' inability to draw blood for viral load testing in the community, and deviations from standard care protocols. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that it was feasible to recruit the number of microfinance groups necessary to ensure that our clinical trial was sufficient powered. Elicitation of stakeholder feedback confirmed that the planned intervention was largely acceptable and was critical to identifying challenges prior to implementation. TRIAL REGISTRATION The original trial was prospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04417127) on 4 June 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Kafu
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya. .,School of Literature, Language and Media, Department of Media Studies, University of Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.
| | - Juddy Wachira
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya ,grid.79730.3a0000 0001 0495 4256School of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science, Moi University College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Victor Omodi
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Jamil Said
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya ,grid.79730.3a0000 0001 0495 4256School of Medicine, Department of Human Anatomy, Moi University College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Sonak D. Pastakia
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya ,grid.169077.e0000 0004 1937 2197Center for Health Equity and Innovation, Purdue University College of Pharmacy, 640 Eskenazi Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
| | - Dan N. Tran
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya ,grid.264727.20000 0001 2248 3398Department of Pharmacy Practice, Temple University School of Pharmacy, 3307 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19140 USA
| | - Jael Adongo Onyango
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Dan Aburi
- grid.512535.50000 0004 4687 6948Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Marta Wilson-Barthes
- grid.40263.330000 0004 1936 9094Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02912 USA
| | - Omar Galárraga
- grid.40263.330000 0004 1936 9094Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02912 USA
| | - Becky Lynn Genberg
- grid.21107.350000 0001 2171 9311Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA
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Kakalou C, Cosmaro L, Dimitriadis VK, Raahauge A, Raben D, Koutkias V. ICT Toolkit for Integrated Prevention, Testing and Linkage to Care Across HIV, Hepatitis, STIs and Tuberculosis in Europe. Stud Health Technol Inform 2020; 270:848-852. [PMID: 32570502 DOI: 10.3233/shti200281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Online digital tools are considered an innovative method to promote HIV, hepatitis and STIs prevention, testing and treatment services, overcoming individual and social barriers, especially for younger people and other, possibly hard-to-reach, target population groups. In this paper, we introduce INTEGRATE RiskRadar, a web and mobile application developed in the scope of the EU-supported INTEGRATE Joint Action (JA), that aims to enhance the integration of combination prevention, testing and linkage to care for HIV, hepatitis, STIs and tuberculosis by providing integrated information and digital tools regarding all four diseases to population groups at increased risk, aiming to eliminate the individual and social barriers to effective adoption of prevention practices, testing and linkage to care, and thus reduce the incidence and burden of these diseases in the European Region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Kakalou
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Lella Cosmaro
- "Fondazione LILA Milano" - Italian League for Fighting AIDS, Italy
| | - Vlasios K Dimitriadis
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Anne Raahauge
- CHIP, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dorthe Raben
- CHIP, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Vassilis Koutkias
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece
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