View clinical trials related to Transgender Women.
Filter by:The overall hypothesis is that stabilizing transgender women financially while providing them tailored counselling will increase their odds of them linking to substance use services, PrEP services if they do not have HIV, and transgender women who are living with HIV will be more adherent to their ART treatment.
Transgender women who transitioned from male to female by hormone therapy demonstrate similar physical fitness and vascular function to males or females.
Transgender women (trans women; assigned male sex at birth but identify as female) are at high risk for HIV infection, and are an important, under-researched population in sub-Saharan Africa. Trans women have a 13 times greater risk of acquiring HIV than adults aged 15-49 years in the general population, and in Africa, trans women have nearly twice the HIV prevalence (25%) of men who have sex with men [MSM] (14%). Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective prevention tool that could change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic among the 25 million trans women globally, yet its use has been suboptimal in this vulnerable population. Same-day PrEP initiation is feasible and acceptable and improves retention in PrEP care in resource-rich settings. Same-day initiation of emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (F/TAF), a new PrEP regimen, has not to our knowledge previously been evaluated as PrEP in African trans women. F/TAF is potentially more efficacious and safer than emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) as shown in the recent DISCOVER trial. However, concerns about drug-drug interactions between feminizing hormonal therapy (FHT) and PrEP are a key potential adherence barrier for trans women. While PrEP drugs do not lower FHT levels, FHT decreases plasma TFV and (emtricitabine) FTC levels. Little is known about FHT use among African trans women taking F/TAF or how concerns about F/TAF-FHT interactions may influence PrEP adherence. Moreover, interventions to support PrEP adherence in this population are needed. Feedback about PrEP use has been shown to potentially improve PrEP adherence among MSM but has not been utilized among trans women. Key knowledge gaps include: 1) whether same-day PrEP can be successfully implemented for African trans women, 2) the impact of drug-level feedback on PrEP adherence, and 3) how use of FHT may influence PrEP adherence. To address these questions, this protocol describes a randomized trial to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of same day initiation of F/TAF PrEP, evaluate impact of drug-level feedback on PrEP adherence and characterize PrEP persistence, and in-depth interviews to explore how self-care interventions for sexual health influence prevention choices among trans women and their sexual partners. This will be the first clinical trial, to our knowledge, to evaluate F/TAF as PrEP for HIV-negative trans women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Transgender women (TGW) are at high risk for HIV infection, and are an important, under-researched population in sub-Saharan Africa. Globally, HIV acquisition risk among TGW is 13 times higher than other adults aged 15-49 years. In Uganda, HIV prevalence among TGW is 22% compared to 5.9% in the general population. Encouraging use of self-controlled HIV prevention tools - specifically, HIV self-testing (HIVST), STI self-sampling (STISS) and antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - to those testing HIV negative could decrease HIV incidence among African TGW. This R34 application proposes formative research and a pilot trial to develop an HIV prevention intervention for African transgender women (TGW). The investigators will evaluate whether peer-delivered combination HIV prevention increases testing uptake and empowers effective prevention decision making in TGW. Peer-led interventions are effective in increasing HIV and STI testing among other hard-to-reach vulnerable populations with high HIV prevalence but low testing coverage and are recommended by the World Health Organization. Exploring peer-delivery approaches to increase coverage of combination HIV prevention interventions is key to addressing research gaps in HIV epidemic control. However, little is known about the effectiveness of peer-delivered combination HIV prevention (HIVST, STISS and PrEP) for African TGW, or the best way to deliver care to this population. Key knowledge gaps include: 1) whether peer delivery increases testing rates and status knowledge, 2) the role of peers in creating demand for repeat testing and PrEP, and 3) how to optimize peer delivery of combination HIV prevention (HIVST, STISS and PrEP). To address these questions, this proposal seeks to conduct formative research to inform implementation of peer-delivered combination HIV prevention for African TGW (Aim 1), implement a pilot cluster randomized trial to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of peer delivered combination HIV prevention (Aim 2), and conduct in-depth interviews to explore how peer-delivery of HIVST, STISS and PrEP influences prevention choices among TGW and sexual partners (Aim 3). This will be the first clinical trial, to our knowledge, to evaluate HIV self-testing and STI self-sampling in HIV-uninfected TGW. Pilot data from TGW and their partners will provide unique perspectives to inform HIV prevention delivery. The proposed proof-of-concept evaluation is uniquely positioned to improve prevention uptake for African TGW - a high-risk, marginalized, and underserved population. Rigorous application of mixed methodologies will generate actionable data for policy and programs, and provide a strong foundation for scalable implementation of cutting edge combination HIV prevention interventions for African TGW. The local transgender community is involved in study design, planning and implementation. This project is supported by the Ugandan Ministry of Health.
Transgender women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) may prioritize gender-affirming hormonal therapy over antiretroviral drug therapy. Hormonal therapy typically consists of oral estradiol and spironolactone, which induce drug-metabolizing enzymes after prolonged administration. This study evaluates the bi-directional potential drug interaction between the antiretroviral drug, doravirine, when co-administered with estradiol and spironolactone.
In this study, investigators plan to evaluate the cardiometabolic effects of initiating gender-affirming hormone therapy among transgender women with and without HIV. As part of this study, participants will undergo cardiovascular and metabolic phenotyping within 3 months of starting and after 12 months of gender-affirming hormone therapy. Cardiovascular phenotyping will include cardiac MRI/MRS imaging to evaluate cardiac function and structure. Metabolic phenotyping will include oral glucose tolerance testing, abdominal MR imaging to evaluate visceral adiposity, and whole body, lumbar, and hip DEXA imaging to evaluate fat and lean body mass as well as bone mineral density, respectively. Traditional markers of CVD risk as well as immune, hormonal, and coagulation parameters will also be assessed longitudinally.
The voice is a reflection of our identity. In the case of transgender women, there may be a gap between perceived male voice and female appearance. Indeed, hormonal treatment in transgender women has no effect on the voice quality. This gap can have negative consequences on everyday life in banal situations such as telephonic contact leading to limited use of phone calls and social isolation. Differences between female and male voices seem to be socially determined and do not depend directly on sexual dimorphism of the phonatory organs. Speech therapy might thus be indicated as a vocal support for transgender women. Only few studies have examined the impact of perceived voice on the quality of life of transgender women.
Florida has the fifth largest transgender population in the United States. Transgender women, particularly those of color, in the southern part of Florida are a marginalized population who are impacted by co-morbidities of substance abuse and HIV in their communities. The overall objective of the study is to use a vetted adapted brief intervention to stem the development of substance abuse in at-risk transgender women, and thereby increase primary and secondary prevention methods such as routine HIV screening, uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and use of non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP).
Transgender women (TW) have unique challenges related to HIV prevention medication adherence. Left unaddressed, these challenges will prevent TW from accessing the promising long-acting HIV prevention tools in the development pipeline. This study will develop a replicable process to tailor the delivery of these tools and an adherence intervention (that will include an mHealth app) to the needs of TW, using the example of inert injectable cabotegravir. Work builds on a pilot study to identify tailored methods to deliver injectable cabotegravir in TW, such as self-injection and injection by a healthcare provider at at "drop-in" clinic. The investigators will use qualitative methods (e.g., interviews, group discussions called "Design Sessions") to design the adherence intervention and the mHealth app. Then, investigators will execute a partially randomized patient-preference trial to determine if TW are able to use tailored injection strategies (self-injection or injection by a healthcare provider at "drop-in clinics") to improve adherence, compared to a control group of TW who will engage a protocol based on HPTN-083/084. This will serve as a "proof of concept" for the future R01 that will test this on a larger scale. Research and training will take place at NYSPI/Columbia, in affiliation with, 1) Project AFFIRM, a study of transgender identity (R01HD079603; PI: Bockting), that will provide infrastructure for critical research activities (e.g., recruitment), and 2) SLAP-HIV, a clinical trial to produce a long-acting form of cabotegravir (e.g., injection; UM1 AI120184; PI: Hope). SLAP-HIV will provide clinical oversight (e.g., ensure tailored delivery strategies are feasible).
The current study will explore behavioral, surgical and biological neovaginal and rectal HIV transmission risks and feasibility of collection of blood and ano-genital samples (rectal, genital and neo-vaginal, including urine) for microbiological, immunological and cytological characterization in the context of antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection in TGW. This includes the feasibility of home self-collection of ano-genital samples prior to habitual cleansing of the anatomical collection site.