Fostering successful and sustainable collaborations to advance implementation science: the adolescent HIV prevention and treatment implementation science alliance.

INTRODUCTION: HIV continues to devastate the adolescent population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The complex array of interpersonal, social, structural and system-level obstacles specific to adolescents have slowed progress in prevention and treatment of HIV in this population. The field of implementation science holds promise for addressing these challenges. DISCUSSION: There is growing consensus that enhanced interactions between researchers and users of scientific evidence are important and necessary to tackle enduring barriers to implementation. In 2017, the Fogarty International Center launched the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) to promote communication and catalyse collaboration among implementation scientists and implementers to enhance the cross-fertilization of insights as research advances and the implementation environment evolves. This network has identified key implementation science questions for adolescent HIV, assessed how members' research is addressing them, and is currently conducting a concept mapping exercise to more systematically identify implementation research priorities. In addition, AHSA pinpointed common challenges to addressing these questions and discussed their collective capacity to conduct implementation science using the shared learning approach of the network. Specifically, AHISA addresses challenges related to capacity building, developing mentorship, engaging stakeholders, and involving adolescents through support for training efforts and funding region-/country-specific networks that respond to local issues and increase implementation science capacity across SSA. CONCLUSIONS: Innovative platforms, like AHISA, that foster collaborations between implementation science researchers, policymakers and community participants to prioritizes research needs and identify and address implementation challenges can speed the translation of effective HIV interventions to benefit adolescent health.

Prioritizing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls and young women within HIV treatment and care services in emergency settings: a girl-centered agenda.

BACKGROUND: Extensive documentation exists on a range of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes and rights violations occurring during humanitarian emergencies. We explore two central questions: Do existing policies, services, and research adequately address the SRH rights, priorities and HIV risks of adolescent girls and young women in emergency settings? What are the missed opportunities for holistically addressing the vulnerabilities experienced by those living with HIV during rapid onset disasters and long term, protracted emergencies? Authors review considerations informing real-time decision making, and highlight missed opportunities to apply a gendered lens in the delivery of AGYW-centered SRHR/HIV services. METHODS: A scoping review identified studies on HIV intervention and outcomes in emergency settings, published in the peer-reviewed literature (2002-2017). This exercise was complemented with a desk review of normative guidance, frameworks, and implementation guidelines on HIV and SRH in emergency responses, and by consultations with subject matter experts. RESULTS: The existing frameworks and guidance pay scant attention to the sexual reproductive health and rights of young women living with HIV (WLHIV), focusing mainly on prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV testing services, and linkage to treatment services. Applying a gendered sexual and reproductive health lens to the response offers opportunities to identify critical implementation questions, and highlight promising practices, to better tailor current services for AGYW. CONCLUSIONS: A plurality of competing needs crowds out dedicated time and space to effectively integrate HIV and sexual and reproductive health interventions in emergency settings. Political will is required to advance multi-sectoral cooperation, through joint planning, rights-informed learning and integrative responses, and to promote creative solutions for ART continuation, drug supply and HIV testing, treatment and care. Recent advancements in policy and practice would suggest that a more AGYW-centered response is feasible.

Evaluating the effectiveness of selected community-level interventions on key maternal, child health, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV outcomes in three countries (the ACCLAIM Project): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Efforts to scale up and improve programs for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) have focused primarily at the health facility level, and limited attention has been paid to defining an effective set of community interventions to improve demand and uptake of services and retention. Many barriers to PMTCT are also barriers to pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care faced by mothers regardless of HIV status. Demand for maternal and child health (MCH) and PMTCT services can be limited by critical social, cultural, and structural barriers. Yet, rigorous evaluation has shown limited evidence of effectiveness of multilevel community-wide interventions aimed at improving MCH and HIV outcomes for pregnant women living with HIV. We propose to assess the effect of a package of multilevel community interventions: a social learning and action component, community dialogues, and peer-led discussion groups, on the demand for, uptake of, and retention of HIV positive pregnant/postpartum women in MCH/PMTCT services. METHODS/DESIGN: This study will undertake a three-arm randomized trial in Swaziland, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Districts/regions (n = 9) with 45 PMTCT-implementing health facilities and their catchment areas (populations 7,300-27,500) will be randomly allocated to three intervention arms: 1) community leader engagement, 2) community leader engagement with community days, or 3) community leader engagement with community days and male and female community peer groups. The primary study outcome is HIV exposed infants (HEIs) returning to the health facility within 2 months for early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV. Secondary study outcomes include gestational age of women attending for first antenatal care, male partners tested for HIV, and HEIs receiving nevirapine prophylaxis at birth. Changes in community knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs on MCH/PMTCT will be assessed through household surveys. DISCUSSION: Implementation of the protocol necessitated changes in the original study design. We purposively selected facilities in the districts/regions though originally the study clusters were to be randomly selected. Lifelong antiretroviral therapy for all HIV positive pregnant and lactating women, Option B+, was implemented in the three countries during the study period, with the potential for a differential impact by study arm. Implementation however, was rapidly done across the districts/regions, so that there is unlikely be this potential confounding. We developed a system of monitoring and documentation of potential confounding activities or actions, and these data will be incorporated into analyses at the conclusion of the project. Strengthens of the study are that it tests multilevel interventions, utilizes program as well as study specific and individual data, and it is conducted under "real conditions" leading to more robust findings. Limitations of the protocol include the lack of a true control arm and inadequate control for the potential effect of Option B+, such as the intensification of messages as the importance of early ANC and male partner testing. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (study ID: NCT01971710) Protocol version 5, 30 July 2013, registered 13 August 2013.

From patient to person: the need for an 'HIV trajectories' perspective in the delivery of prevention of mother-to-child-transmission services.

Accelerated efforts to end vertical HIV transmission have resulted in a 52% decrease in new infections among children since 2001. However, current approaches to prevent mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) assume a linearity and universality. These insufficiently guide clinicians and programmes toward interventions that comprehensively address the varying and changing needs of clients. This results in high levels of loss-to-follow-up at each step of the PMTCT cascade. Current PMTCT approaches must be adapted to respond to the different and complex realities of women, children and families affected by HIV. Drawing on the concept of an 'HIV trajectories,' we screened peer-reviewed literature for promising PMTCT approaches and selected 13 articles for qualitative review when the described intervention involved more than a biomedical approach to PMTCT and mother-child HIV treatment and care. Our qualitative analysis revealed that interventions which integrated elements of the 'HIV trajectories' perspective and built on people living with HIV support/network, community health worker, primary healthcare and early childhood development platforms were successful because they recognized that HIV is an illness, experienced, moderated and managed by numerous factors beyond biomedical interventions alone.On the basis of this review, we call for the adoption of an 'HIV trajectories' perspective that can help assess the comprehensiveness of care provided to women, children and families affected by HIV and can inform the planning and delivery of HIV and related services so that they more adequately respond to the varying needs of clients on different 'HIV trajectories'.

Community-based approaches for prevention of mother to child transmission in resource-poor settings: a social ecological review.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous barriers to optimal uptake of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services occur at community level (i.e., outside the healthcare setting). To achieve elimination of paediatric HIV, therefore, interventions must also work within communities to address these barriers and increase service use and need to be informed by evidence. This paper reviews community-based approaches that have been used in resource-limited settings to increase rates of PMTCT enrolment, retention in care and successful treatment outcomes. It aims to identify which interventions work, why they may do so and what knowledge gaps remain. METHODS: First, we identified barriers to PMTCT that originate outside the health system. These were used to construct a social ecological framework categorizing barriers to PMTCT into the following levels of influence: individual, peer and family, community and sociocultural. We then used this conceptual framework to guide a review of the literature on community-based approaches, defined as interventions delivered outside of formal health settings, with the goal of increasing uptake, retention, adherence and positive psychosocial outcomes in PMTCT programmes in resource-poor countries. RESULTS: Our review found evidence of effectiveness of strategies targeting individuals and peer/family levels (e.g., providing household HIV testing and training peer counsellors to support exclusive breastfeeding) and at community level (e.g., participatory women's groups and home-based care to support adherence and retention). Evidence is more limited for complex interventions combining multiple strategies across different ecological levels. There is often little information describing implementation; and approaches such as "community mobilization" remain poorly defined. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from existing community approaches can be adapted for use in planning PMTCT. However, for successful replication of evidence-based interventions to occur, comprehensive process evaluations are needed to elucidate the pathways through which specific interventions achieve desired PMTCT outcomes. A social ecological framework can help analyze the complex interplay of facilitators and barriers to PMTCT service uptake in each context, thus helping to inform selection of locally relevant community-based interventions.