Community-based interventions to improve HIV outcomes in adolescents: a cluster randomised trial in Zimbabwe

HIV is the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa. There are many reasons for this, including difficulties in getting HIV testing and in taking treatment. Current HIV services are clearly not sufficient and additional strategies are required to help adolescents living with HIV to get diagnosed and to support them to take their HIV treatment. 

This project will evaluate an approach that incorporates HIV testing, facilitates linkage to HIV treatment services for adolescents (aged 12–20 years) who are HIV-positive, and provide support to improve their capacity to take HIV treatment. The intervention will be delivered in communities in Zimbabwe, where there is a high prevalence of HIV, and will complement existing services. We will carry out a trial to investigate whether the intervention is effective at improving the proportion of HIV-infected adolescents in the community whose HIV is well-controlled and investigate how cost-effective the intervention is in improving the number of years lived in full health by the participants. We will also evaluate how well the intervention is implemented.