There are about 81 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Botswana. 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.
The main purpose of this research study is to compare traditional behavioral smoking cessation therapy with a different type of behavioral therapy-known as behavioral activation problem solving (BAPS)-for smoking cessation. Standard smoking cessation counseling (SC) focuses on self-monitoring, identifying smoking triggers and how to manage them, relaxation and social support for non-smoking, and relapse prevention. BAPS focuses on recognizing he feelings you are having that lead to smoking and how to overcome those feelings and focus on activities that discourage you from smoking and avoid activities that encourage you to smoke. Both counseling types include gathering information about your personal smoking patterns, your likes, dislikes, and other personal characteristics about your lifestyle. Half of participants who enroll in the study will receive standard smoking cessation counseling (SC) and half will receive BAPS counseling. We will compare the rates of quitting smoking across the two groups at the end of treatment (study week 10), and 12 weeks after the end of treatment (study week 26)
Today, nearly 37 million people are living with HIV (PLHIV) worldwide and 30 to 40% of them will have neurologic complications leading to disability. Our long-term working hypothesis is that an effective solution for increasing rehabilitation access in Botswana and improving functional outcomes of PLHIV having experienced a stroke with or without HIV uses an affordable robot and mobile health technologies to create a cost-effective intervention strategy. For this project, we test the feasibility of affordable robot therapy.
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the acute response to infection with and recovery from the virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Some people know this virus by the name "coronavirus." It can cause the disease called COVID-19. The information gained from the study can be used to help develop better tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease and may help in developing future vaccines, other prevention strategies, and treatments.
The purpose of this study is to culturally adapt a brief psychological intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and assess its efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability in a pilot trial. The intervention has been shown to be efficacious among individuals with comorbid severe mental illness (SMI) and PTSD. The study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase will determine a description of trauma and responses to traumatic experiences among patients with severe mental illness. The first phase of the study will also determine participants' and mental health care providers' perceptions of suitable PTSD interventions in this middle-income context. The findings will then be used to culturally adapt the brief intervention in the second phase. A pilot trial will be conducted in the third phase of the study. Participants with comorbid SMI and PTSD will be randomized into two groups (n= 20 intervention group, n= 20 control group). Outcomes of the intervention such as the severity of PTSD symptoms, knowledge about PTSD will be assessed at baseline and at different timelines during the study. This study will fill the knowledge gap on trauma and its consequences among individuals with severe mental illness in Botswana, it will also contribute to the improvement of clinical practice in the management of PTSD and SMI.
There has been no previous qualitative study conducted in a low-income setting which has aimed to explore the experience of individuals who enrol into a clinical trial for the management of a life-threatening illness. The investigators plan to collect data from trial participants, their next-of-kin, and researchers working on a multi-site randomised controlled trial for the treatment of HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis.
Primary high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing has become first line screening for cervical cancer in high-income countries. The feasibility of this approach in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is less clear, as is the role of hrHPV testing among women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The proposed study seeks to evaluate the accuracy of cervical cancer screening algorithms using primary hrHPV testing followed by various forms of visual evaluation, including visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), colposcopy and automated visual evaluation (AVE) for the detection of high-grade cervical dysplasia, using histology as the gold standard. We will validate the AmpFire Assay for hrHPV self-testing in our setting. We also seek to understand in-depth the attitudes, acceptability and preferences regarding cervical cancer screening, HPV testing, and self-sampling, for women in Botswana through interviews of a sub-set of women recruited for the cervical cancer screening study. Finally, we will analyze the cost of two-stage cervical cancer screening algorithms using high-risk HPV testing in Botswana.
Pediatric obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. It is a serious problem that is expected to create lifelong health challenges and potentially overwhelm the ability of healthcare providers to manage the consequences. While many factors contribute to pediatric obesity, dietary choices are the leading cause. A key concern is how to inculcate healthy dietary habits early among young children. Over the past 20 years, there has been significant scientific interest in examining the potential learning consequences of playing video games given children's interests in such games. This study investigates the impact of a health video game on children's nutritional knowledge and dietary choices.
This study evaluates whether the Potlako+ intervention of community education, clinical provider support, and patient navigation can improve access to cancer case for patients presenting with symptoms of cancer. Half of communities will receive the Potlako+ intervention, while the other communities will continue to receive standard programs.
Prospective feasibility and validation study of a novel, near-to-care modality for diagnosis of malignancy among cancer suspects.
IMPAACT 2016 is a multi-site, two-arm, individually randomized, controlled study to evaluate whether an Indigenous Leader Outreach Model (ILOM) of trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy (TI-CBT) delivered by Indigenous Youth Leaders (IYL) is associated with improved mental health outcomes and ART adherence among youth living with HIV in resource-limited settings. The intervention is adapted to the local context through advance conduct of focus groups and pilot testing.