Improving Engagement in HIV and Cancer Care in Zimbabwe
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Strategies to improve HIV care engagement.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cancer, HIV. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Zimbabwe
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Development and Evaluation of a Multi-Component Intervention to Support HIV Care Engagement Among Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment in Zimbabwe
Overview
In Zimbabwe, people who have cancer and HIV may have a difficult time staying engaged in their HIV care while they are being treated for cancer. This is because HIV and cancer care are usually provided at different health facilities, which can result in barriers to accessing clinical care for both HIV and cancer at the same time. It is important to remain engaged in HIV care, and continue taking medication to treat HIV throughout cancer treatment. The goal of this project is to identify barriers that make it difficult to stay engaged in HIV care and continue HIV treatment during cancer treatment and develop strategies to address them. The investigators will accomplish this by first observing a group of 150 people with cancer and HIV who are receiving cancer treatment at Parirenyatwa Hospital, in Harare, Zimbabwe. The investigators will measure barriers to accessing HIV care, and disruptions to HIV care engagement during cancer treatment. Next, the investigators will work with experts and key stakeholders to develop strategies that can be put in place at Parirenyatwa Hospital to better support engagement in HIV care during cancer treatment. The investigators will work with the cancer ward at the hospital to implement these strategies. Finally, the investigators will observe a second group of 150 people with cancer and HIV, who begin their cancer treatment at Parirenyatwa Hospital after the strategies have been put in place. The investigators will measure acceptability of these strategies to both patients and hospital staff. The investigators will also measure barriers to accessing HIV care and disruptions to HIV care engagement in the second group. The investigators will compare barriers to HIV care and HIV care engagement in the second group to the first group, to determine whether the strategies make it easier for people with cancer and HIV to remain engaged in HIV care during cancer treatment.
Interventions
- Other Strategies to improve HIV care engagement
Based on the barriers to HIV care experienced by the pre-intervention cohort, we will design a system intervention to be implemented at the Radiotherapy Centre at Parirenyatwa Hospital. This intervention will include 2-3 components, each intended to improve engagement in HIV care or address specific barriers to HIV care. It may include strategies like improving documentation of HIV-related information in oncology patient records, improving processes for referrals and access to HIV-related prescr
Primary outcome measures
- Acceptability of strategies to improve engagement in HIV care during cancer treatment [Time frame: Acceptability assessed at Months 1, 3, and 6 after enrollment in pilot cohort]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Missed ART prescription refills [Time frame: From enrollment through 6 months of follow-up or completion of cancer treatment]
- ART adherence [Time frame: From enrollment through 6 months of follow-up or completion of cancer treatment]
- Missed HIV clinical visits [Time frame: From study enrollment through 6 months of follow-up or completion of cancer treatment]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Age 18 or older
- Registered patient at Parirenyatwa Hospital Radiotherapy Centre, receiving cancer treatment for a new diagnosis
- HIV-positive
Exclusion criteria
- Benign diagnosis or cancer recurrence
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Non-randomized
- Model
- Sequential
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
Study locations
Zimbabwe · 1 center
- Parirenyatwa Hospital — Harare
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06934369 · RG1123169 · K01MH132505 · NCI-2023-02951 · 11131