OPTIONS

The Optimizing Prevention Technology Introduction on Schedule (OPTIONS) consortium works to expedite and sustain access to antiretroviral-based HIV prevention products. More information available here: OPTIONS

Current research includes:

• Assessing Health Care Providers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices relevant to PrEP service provision in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

As countries begin to develop guidelines for the use of oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), its important to understand healthcare provider's knowledge and attitudes surrounding this new HIV prevention technology. This study aims to evaluate provider's familiarity and knowledge of PrEP, and explore providers' attitudes and beliefs towards PrEP delivery to target populations in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

• Advancing PrEP: Comprehensive and Combined Operations Research of Services for Sex workers and men who have sex with men (ACCESS)

The South African National Department of Health has recently launched new guidelines for the introduction of PrEP as part of a combination package for HIV prevention for HIV-negative sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM) and other high risk individuals. This research aims to identify barriers and enablers to oral PrEP uptake, retention, and adherence among these key populations, to provide evidence for policy makers to program implementation, scale-up and sustainability.

• Reaching High Risk Women for PrEP: Learning from ARV-based HIV prevention trials

As countries prepare to rollout PrEP, its important to understand how to reach the most at-risk populations- one of which being high-risk women. Yet despite much recognition of the importance of understanding how to identify and reach women who are most at risk of acquiring HIV, there is little documented guidance on how to carry this out. This study employs key informant interviews with researchers who were successful in recruiting high risk women into HIV prevention trials, to derive lessons learned about effective, practical strategies for attracting women to PrEP services that could be applied in service delivery settings.

• OPTIONS Process Evaluation

To support greater learning from the OPTIONS experience, the Consortium is undertaking a process evaluation to examine the technical contributions made by the project to support PrEP launch and scale-up. The results will show how selected forms of technical support were designed to support PrEP rollout in different country contexts, and will be used to derive lessons learned about the role that a global technical assistance project focused on evidence-informed programming can play in the introduction and scale-up of PrEP and comparable health product innovations.

Step It Up! Wearables for Health in Ghana

Hypertension (HTN) prevalence is growing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. Physical activity promotion is one important intervention for HTN prevention and management. The newest generation of wearable activity trackers offer potential for promoting physical activity in resource-limited settings. The goal of this study is to investigate how patients respond to the introduction of a wearable physical activity tracking device as part of chronic disease management in an urban African population. The study will examine use patterns of the activity monitoring device by HTN patients at the Ghana Police Hospital in Accra.

Posters accepted at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting 2017:

• Stankevitz K, Dirks, R, Hoke T. Use of wearables in noncommunicable disease research: Lessons from Accra, Ghana
• Stankevitz K, Dirks, R, Hoke T. Acceptability and use of a wearable activity tracker among hypertension patients in Accra, Ghana

Integrated Health Project in Burundi (IHPB)

The Integrated Health Project in Burundi (IHPB), is working to improve the overall health of Burundians by increasing capacity and strengthening integrated health systems, services and communication across facilities and communities. More information is available here: IHPB

Current projects include:

• Outil d’Amélioration pour des Services Intégrés de Santé (OASIS) / Improvement Tool for Integrated Health Services

The OASIS tool is composed of a series of data collection forms that allow electronic data collection and completion of supervision visits. The tool follows the MPHFA supervision guide, is organized by service, and integrates quality improvement approaches. It was built using Open Data Kit (ODK) Collect, which is mobile-based (i.e., smart phone or electronic tablet) free, open-source, and helps to author, field, and manage mobile data collection. It is integrated in electronic tablets (mobile device), which allow supervisors to complete supervision visits electronically.

• Training Database

In low- and middle-income countries with insufficient quality and quantity of health workers, evidence-based capacity building of the health workforce is important to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes. Often, large proportions of health project budgets are invested in training- yet project training records are often paper-based, uncoordinated, and not aligned with national information systems. To address this, IHPB has developed a health workforce training database. The database was designed to align with the Burundian Ministry of Public Health and Fight Against AIDS (MPHFA)’s national health worker database to support interoperability, and is used routinely to support decision making.

• Poster accepted at the Global HRH Forum: Maniragaba, Y, Stankevitz K, Deussom R. The Integrated Health Project in Burundi- Development and use of an interoperable health workforce training database.

Powering Africa: Evaluating the intermediate outcomes and impacts on HIV service quality of health center electrification in Zambia

Widespread lack of energy access within the health sector in sub-Saharan Africa is a persistent barrier to the attainment of universal coverage of quality health services. FHI 360’s Zambia Country Office has been funded by USAID, through an extension to the Zambia Prevention Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT IIB), to design and install solar electrification systems in approximately 40 urban and rural health centers in six provinces in Zambia. This research encompasses a rapid evaluation of the impact of the installed solar power systems on HIV service delivery and quality.

Learning about Expanded Access and Potential of the LNG-IUS

The Learning about Expanded Access and Potential of the LNG-IUS (LEAP LNG-IUS) initiative generates timely, actionable evidence to help determine if and how expanded access to the levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) — a long-acting contraceptive — could increase contraceptive use and continuation rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently supporting two studies in Nigeria and Zambia to measure continuation rates and explore client perspectives of the LNG-IUS. More information is available here: LEAP Initiative.