Cango Lyec (Healing the Elephant): HIV incidence in post-conflict Northern Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Civil war in Northern Uganda resulted in widespread atrocities, human rights violations, and death, and caused millions to flee to internally displaced persons camps. War-related traumas combined with difficulties accessing HIV prevention and health services has led to extreme HIV-related vulnerability among conflict-affected people who survived the war. Objectives were to (1) determine HIV incidence among conflict-affected people in Northern Uganda and (2) identify vulnerabilities associated with HIV infection. METHODS: The Cango Lyec (Healing the Elephant) Project is a prospective cohort involving conflict-affected populations in three districts in Northern Uganda. In 2011, eight randomly selected communities were mapped, and a census was conducted. Consenting participants aged 13-49 years were followed over three rounds of follow-up. Longitudinal data collected included war-related experiences, sexual vulnerabilities, and sociodemographics. Blood samples were tested for HIV-1 at baseline and each 12-month follow-up. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models determined factors associated with HIV incidence. FINDINGS: Overall, 1920 baseline HIV-negative participants with at least one follow-up contributed 3877 person-years (py) for analysis. Thirty-nine (23 female, 16 male) participants contracted HIV during follow-up. Age- and gender-standardised HIV incidence rate was 10•2 per 1000py (95%CI: 7•2-14•0). Stratified by sex, the age-adjusted HIV incidence was 11•0 per 1000py (95%CI: 6•9-16•6) among women and 9•4 per 1000py (95%CI: 5•3-15•3) among men. Adjusting for confounders, factors associated with risk of HIV included: having been abducted (HR: 3•70; 95%CI: 1•87-7•34), experiencing ≥12 war-related traumatic events (HR: 2•91 95%CI: 1•28-6•60), suicide ideation (HR: 2•83; 95%CI: 1•00-8•03), having ≥2 sexual partners (HR: 4•68; 95%CI: 1•36-16•05), inconsistent condom use (HR: 6•75; 95%CI: 2•49-18•29), and self-reported genital ulcers (HR: 4•39; 95%CI: 2•04-9•45). INTERPRETATION: Conflict-affected participants who had experienced abduction and multiple traumas during the war were at greater risk of HIV infection. Trauma-informed HIV prevention and treatment services, and culturally-safe mental health initiatives, are urgent for Northern Uganda.

The Cedar Project WelTel mHealth intervention for HIV prevention in young Indigenous people who use illicit drugs: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite successes in preventing and treating HIV, Indigenous people in Canada continue to face disproportionately high rates of HIV infection. Programs that support healing from lifetime trauma, support connection to culture, and reduce drug-related harms are critical to preventing HIV among young Indigenous people who use drugs. The Cedar Project WelTel mHealth intervention proposed here is a structured mobile-phone initiative to connect young Indigenous people who use drugs with Cedar Case Managers in a community-based setting. The intervention consists of a package of supports, including a mobile phone and cellular plan, weekly two-way text messaging, and support from Cedar Case Managers. METHODS: The Cedar Project WelTel mHealth study is a multi-site Zelen pre-randomized trial to measure the effect of a two-way supportive text-message intervention to reduce HIV vulnerability among young Indigenous people who use illicit drugs in two Canadian cities. The trial is nested within the Cedar Project, an ongoing cohort study addressing HIV and hepatitis C vulnerability among young Indigenous people who use drugs in Vancouver and Prince George, British Columbia. The Cedar Project Partnership, an independent body of Indigenous Elders, leaders, and health/social service experts, governs all aspects of the study. Two hundred participants will be followed over a 16-month period, with HIV propensity score at 6 months as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include HIV propensity at 1 year, HIV risk, resilience, psychological distress, access to drug-related services, and connection to culture measured at 6 months and 1 year. Primary analysis is by intention to treat. DISCUSSION: Culturally safe interventions that address barriers to HIV prevention while supporting the strength of young Indigenous people who use drugs are urgently needed. Despite presenting a tremendous opportunity to connect young, highly transient Indigenous people who use drugs to prevention services, supportive two-way mHealth programs have yet to be tested for HIV prevention in a community-based setting with this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02437123 https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02437123 (registered 4 May 2015). Protocol version: 24 July 2015.