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West RL, Mathebula R, Rebombo D, Twine R, Julien A, Masilela N, Dufour MSK, Peacock D, Kahn K, Pettifor A, Lippman SA. The use of monitoring data and community feedback mechanisms to increase HIV testing among men during a cluster-randomised community mobilisation trial in South Africa. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AIDS RESEARCH : AJAR 2023; 22:1-8. [PMID: 36951431 DOI: 10.2989/16085906.2023.2176330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
This short communication describes the development and implementation of a programme monitoring and feedback process during a cluster-randomised community mobilisation intervention conducted in rural Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Intervention activities took place from August 2015 to July 2018 with the aim of addressing social barriers to HIV counselling and testing and engagement in HIV care, with a specific focus on reaching men. Multiple monitoring systems were put in place to allow for early and continuous corrective actions to be taken if activity goals, including target participation numbers in events or workshops, were not reached. Clinic data, intervention monitoring data, team meetings and community feedback mechanisms allowed for triangulation of data and creative responses to issues arising in implementation. Monitoring data must be collected and analysed carefully as they allow researchers to better understand how the intervention is being delivered and to respond to challenges and make changes in the programme and target approaches. An iterative process of sharing these data to generate community feedback on intervention approaches was critical to the success of our programme, along with engaging men in the intervention. Community mobilisation interventions to target the structural and social barriers impeding men's uptake of services are feasible in this setting, but must incorporate a continuous review of monitoring data and community collaboration to ensure that the target population is reached, and may need to also be supplemented by changes in the structure of care provision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca L West
- Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, USA
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | | | | | - Rhian Twine
- Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Aimée Julien
- Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Nkosinathi Masilela
- Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mi-Suk Kang Dufour
- Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, USA
| | | | - Kathleen Kahn
- Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Audrey Pettifor
- Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Sheri A Lippman
- Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, USA
- Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Vermund SH. Community mobilisation to achieve HIV testing and care goals. Lancet HIV 2022; 9:e597-e598. [PMID: 36055289 PMCID: PMC10773955 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-3018(22)00218-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sten H Vermund
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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