There are about 849 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Uganda. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
This proposal tests the efficacy of a phone-based tobacco cessation intervention for people living with HIV (PLWH) in comparison to the standard of care (brief advice to quit) and nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine patches) in Uganda and Zambia. This study will provide insight into the efficacy, feasibility, applicability, and affordability of delivering tobacco cessation interventions through health care professionals at HIV treatment centers in two countries with different tobacco use patterns, policy environments, and health care resources. The previously tested SMS-platform to be used in this study is uniquely positioned to be scaled in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, in which case rigorous research showing even modest success in reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption among PLWH could confer substantial health and economic benefits.
The true burden of diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is unknown as most of the countries do not have good quality data. As such, the overall estimate of diabetes prevalence is largely based on modelled estimates, which may not be accurate. Additionally, there is lack of clear guidance on which method and thresholds to use in the diagnosis of diabetes in African populations unlike in high income countries (HIC) where such guidance is clear. The limited data available shows that diabetes in Africa manifests differently for example occurring at younger age and in relatively lean individuals. Moreover, where the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has been used to screen for diabetes, a significant proportion of individuals have isolated postprandial hyperglycaemia (IPH): The reasons for this differential manifestation are unclear and the diabetes progression of these unique phenotypes (for example in terms of risk of complications is unknown or response to treatment is unknown). Therefore, the overall aim of this research is to undertake a large study to determine the true prevalence of diabetes and identify/characterize the different phenotypes; 2) establish a cohort patients with diabetes to understand the natural course of these different phenotypes, including how they respond to treatment (i.e. do the IPH or thin diabetics progress at the same rate as obese, and are the currently used intervention/therapeutic approaches equally effective in the different phenotypes?). The collected data is likely to be directly relevant to an improved understanding of the cause and progression of diabetes, diagnostic test performance, and diabetes care in SSA, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and well-being, as well as enhanced productivity.
GRAIL is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) among 300 HIV-positive persons with heavy alcohol consumption (by NIAAA definition) who have had detectable HIV viral load (HVL) at least 6 months after their HIV diagnosis. This trial aims to test the efficacy of gabapentin versus placebo to achieve undetectable HVL and assess the impact of gabapentin compared to placebo on alcohol consumption, pain severity, ART adherence, and engagement in HIV care. HIV viral load will be assessed at 3 (primary), 6 and 12 months via laboratory test. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned into one of two study arms: 1) gabapentin (1800mg/day target dose) for 3 months vs. 2) placebo for 3 months. All participants will receive evidence-based counseling for alcohol and either an active medication or placebo.
GOALS is a three-year randomized control trial (RCT) aimed at testing the effectiveness of three incentive designs to improve the ART adherence of those in need of adherence support. Participants in the first treatment group (T1, n=140) will be eligible for a prize drawing every three months if they reach the adherence target set for them by the study team, gradually increasing from their baseline adherence towards 90% by the end of the year. Participants in the second treatment group (T2, n=140) will be eligible if they reach the adherence target they set for themselves (subject to reaching 90% at the end of year 1 and each target being at least as high as the previous one). Participants in the third treatment group will have a fixed adherence target of 90% and will be eligible for a prize drawing every three months if this target is reached. All treatment groups will receive weekly motivational messages and a reminder of the upcoming prize drawing. The control group (T4, n=140) will receive the usual standard of care offered by the hospital and weekly motivational messages. Primary outcomes measured using Wisepill devices are mean ART adherence and the fraction of clients with adherence of 90% or more. Secondary outcomes are viral suppression, the fraction of clients with treatment interruptions of 48hrs or more, and retention in care.
The RESOLVE trial is an open, parallel arm, randomized clinical trial which aims to determine the optimal strategy for management of virologic failure on first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) with tenofovir, lamivudine, and dolutegravir (TLD) in sub-Saharan Africa. The primary outcome of interest will be viral suppression to <50 copies/mL at 48 weeks using the FDA snapshot definition. The study will be conducted in Uganda and South Africa.
It is only between peak viremia and viral setpoint in natural acute HIV-1 infection that the immune response overwhelms viral replication resulting in a plasma viral load decline. The aim will be to characterize these immune responses, how they develop and their progeny. This will require the need to identify HIV-1 infected individuals before peak viremia and follow them to post viral setpoint. This protocol describes a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of identifying, enrolling and following acute and early HIV-1 infected individuals from voluntary counselling and testing centres in Masaka, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Lwengo, Sembababule and Lyantonde districts.
The study will examine the mechanisms by which Economic Empowerment (EE) and Family Strengthening (FS) interventions targeting social, familial and context-specific drivers affect childhood behavioral health (CBH). The study will randomly assign 900 children in mid-upper primary school (10 to 14 years) to one of the three study arms (10 schools each): 1) EE only (n=300), 2) Multiple Family Group (MFG)-based FS only (n=300), and 3) combined EE+MFG-based FS (n=300). The interventions will be provided for 12 months. Assessments will occur at baseline, 12, 24 and 36 months.
A cluster randomized trial will be conducted for six months. To avoid covariate imbalance at baseline, stratified permuted block randomization with a 1:1 allocation ratio will be done. At least 387 boaters across 7 clusters per arm will be interviewed post baseline to give a 90% power to detect the effect of the intervention if such effect exists. A mixed effects multi-level modeling at 5% alpha level will be done using logical model building procedures
TB is the single biggest infectious cause of death (1.5 million died in 2018), killing more HIV-positive people than any other disease, and is arguably the most important poverty-related disease in the world. TB's estimated incidence in Africa has been declining over recent years but progress is slow and plateauing. To avert stagnation, truly innovative and ambitious technologies are needed, especially those that improve case finding and time-to-diagnosis as, in mathematical models based on the TB care cascade framework, interventions that accomplish this will have the most impact on disrupting population-level transmission, including when deployed at facilities where patients are readily accessible. Critically, these interventions (triage tests) must promote access to confirmatory testing (e.g., Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra) by enabling patients to be referred rapidly and efficiently during the same visit. The investigators will optimise and evaluate a technology that, aside from the investigators early case-controlled study to show feasibility, is hitherto not meaningfully investigated for TB. This gap is alarming given, on one hand, the enormity of the TB epidemic and the need for a triage test and, on the other hand, promising proofs-of-concept that demonstrate high diagnostic accuracy of cough audio classifier for respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, asthma. pertussis, croup, and COPD. In some cases, these classification systems are CE-marked, awaiting FDA-approval, and subject to late-stage clinical trials. This demonstrates the promise of the underlying technological principle. CAGE-TB's innovation is further enhanced by: applying advanced machine learning methods that the team have specifically developed for TB patient cough audio analysis, use of mixed methods research - drawing from health economics, implementation science, and medical anthropology - to inform product design and assess barriers and facilitators to implementation, and uniquely for a TB diagnostic test, its potential deployment as a pure mHealth (smartphone-based) innovation that mitigates many barriers that typically jeopardise TPP criteria fulfilment.
M-Suubi, a three arm cluster randomized study will examine the effects and cost-effectiveness of a multi-level intervention on HIV viral suppression among 840 adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) enrolled in 42 secondary schools with a boarding section. The investigators will test the effects of a group-based HIV stigma reduction intervention for educators (GED-HIVSR), over and above the effects of multiple family groups with HIV stigma reduction combined with family economic empowerment (MFG-HIVSR plus FEE), relative to Bolstered Standard of Care (BSOC). ALHIV will be randomized at the school level to one of three study arms