» Articles » PMID: 27177775

Recruiting the Social Contacts of Patients with STI for HIV Screening in Lilongwe, Malawi: Process Evaluation and Assessment of Acceptability

Overview
Date 2016 May 15
PMID 27177775
Citations 2
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Objectives: To explore acceptability of recruiting social contacts for HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Methods: In this observational study, three groups of 'seed' patients were enrolled: 45 HIV-infected patients with STI, 45 HIV-uninfected patients with STI and 45 community controls, who were also tested for HIV as part of the study. Each seed was given five coupons and asked to recruit up to five social contacts to the STI clinic. Seeds were told the programme for contacts would include HIV testing, STI screening and general health promotion. Seeds were asked to return after 1 month to report on the contact recruitment process. Seeds received $2 for each successfully recruited contact.

Results: Eighty-nine seeds (66%) returned for 1-month follow-up with no difference between the three seed groups (p=0.9). Returning seeds reported distributing most of their coupons (mean=4.1) and discussing each feature of the programme with most contacts-HIV testing (90%), STI screening (87%) and health promotion (91%). Seeds reported discussing their own HIV status with most contacts (52%), with a lower proportion of HIV-infected seeds discussing their HIV status (22%) than HIV-uninfected seeds (81%) or community seeds (64%) (p<0.001). Contact recruitment did not vary with socioeconomic status.

Conclusions: Most seeds distributed all coupons and reported describing all aspects of the programme to most contacts. Patients with STI are able to act as health promoters within their social networks and may be a critical link to increasing STI and HIV status awareness among high-risk groups.

Citing Articles

A Systematic Review of HIV Testing Implementation Strategies in Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Mannoh I, Amundsen D, Turpin G, Lyons C, Viswasam N, Hahn E AIDS Behav. 2021; 26(5):1660-1671.

PMID: 34797449 PMC: 9426653. DOI: 10.1007/s10461-021-03518-z.


Improving STI and HIV Passive Partner Notification using the Model for Improvement: A Quality Improvement Study in Lilongwe Malawi.

Matoga M, Hosseinipour M, Jere E, Ndalama B, Kamtambe B, Chasela C J Infect Dis Med. 2018; 3(3).

PMID: 30417175 PMC: 6223304. DOI: 10.4172/2576-1420.1000128.

References
1.
McCoy S, Shiu K, Martz T, Smith C, Mattox L, Gluth D . Improving the efficiency of HIV testing with peer recruitment, financial incentives, and the involvement of persons living with HIV infection. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2013; 63(2):e56-63. DOI: 10.1097/QAI.0b013e31828a7629. View

2.
Lindan C, Anglemyer A, Hladik W, Barker J, Lubwama G, Rutherford G . High-risk motorcycle taxi drivers in the HIV/AIDS era: a respondent-driven sampling survey in Kampala, Uganda. Int J STD AIDS. 2014; 26(5):336-45. PMC: 6787404. DOI: 10.1177/0956462414538006. View

3.
Sabapathy K, Van den Bergh R, Fidler S, Hayes R, Ford N . Uptake of home-based voluntary HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2012; 9(12):e1001351. PMC: 3514284. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001351. View

4.
Kimani S, Watt M, Merli M, Skinner D, Myers B, Pieterse D . Respondent driven sampling is an effective method for engaging methamphetamine users in HIV prevention research in South Africa. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014; 143:134-40. PMC: 4161639. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.07.018. View

5.
Roura M, Watson-Jones D, Kahawita T, Ferguson L, Ross D . Provider-initiated testing and counselling programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of their operational implementation. AIDS. 2013; 27(4):617-26. DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32835b7048. View