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I-TECH

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I-TECH Supports Critical TB Prevention, Screening, and Treatment for PLHIV

Post categories: Gabrielle O'Malley Malawi Mozambique Namibia Tuberculosis
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The global health community recognizes March 24 as World Tuberculosis (TB) Day to raise awareness of this deadly, yet preventable and curable, disease. The 2021 theme, “The Clock Is Ticking,” underlines the importance of acting now to end the global TB epidemic. According to World Health Organization, the probability of developing active TB disease is 18 times higher in people living with HIV (PLHIV), and in 2019 TB killed 1.4 million people worldwide, which includes 208,000 people who were HIV-positive.

Photo Credit: I-TECH

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TB is one of the leading causes of death worldwide for PLHIV. To help treat and combat the spread of TB, particularly among PLHIV, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) supports TB prevention, care, treatment, monitoring, and policy activities across the I-TECH global network. Current I-TECH work includes TB interventions in Mozambique, Namibia, and Malawi.

I-TECH supports the National TB Program in Mozambique by using the Warm Line—a telephone consultation line that supports clinicians—to deliver results for suspected drug-resistant TB cases to clinicians located at health facilities throughout the country. This collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s National TB Reference Lab allows for more timely identification and better management of drug-resistant TB cases. During 2019, 9,103 (83%) of results were delivered via the Warm Line. I-TECH’s team also engaged providers and clinicians in 383 interactions via the Warm Line to support mentoring and to monitoring complicated TB cases.

In addition to supporting clinicians with TB care and diagnosis, I-TECH supports TB prevention, diagnosis, and care among clients attending HIV clinics throughout seven regions and across 150 public health facilities in Namibia. The I-TECH team screens for active TB; monitors drug interactions for TB/HIV co-infection; provides TB screening, prevention, and management of TB/HIV co-infection for HIV-positive clients; tests for HIV at TB clinics for clients with unknown HIV status; and assesses eligibility, previous initiation, and completion of TB Preventive Therapy (TPT) to ensure no clients are missed. As of January 2021, approximately 90% of HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy at supported facilities initiated their TPT course and 80% have completed their TPT course. I-TECH also works closely with healthcare workers and facilities to improve recording keeping of TPT course initiation and completion as well as the use of this data to focus day-to-day clinical efforts.

Since 2015, I-TECH has been providing technical assistance support to the Malawi National TB Program to improve the quality of TB services at all health facilities throughout Malawi. I-TECH continues to train program monitors to interpret and act on data collected using the TB Standard of Care Monitoring Tool. The tool, designed by I-TECH, collects data for case detection, treatment outcome monitoring, TB/HIV status ascertainment, and TB infection control and contact investigation. Using the collected data, I-TECH identifies performance gaps and create action plans for health facilities to improve the quality of TB services. Even with a loss of momentum due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, by September 2020, 85% of presumptive TB cases—those who were suspected of TB and referred for testing—knew their HIV status.

 

I-TECH’S WORK IN MOZAMBIQUE IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER U91HA06801, THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER (IAETC). THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

I-TECH Launches Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign in Namibia

Post categories: Cervical Cancer COVID-19 eLearning/Distance Learning Gabrielle O'Malley Namibia
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The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), in collaboration with the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) and with funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of screening for and treatment of cervical pre-cancer in women aged 20–49.

This awareness campaign is the most recent expansion of the Namibian Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment Program, which was rolled out in 2018 following the adoption of national cervical cancer guidelines by the MOHSS in March 2018.

MoHSS Health extension worker and data clerk capturing data for the National Cervical Cancer Program.

The rollout of this awareness campaign and expansion of the program has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic because patients may be less likely to visit their health care provider for preventive care, including cervical cancer screening and treatment.

“This campaign will bring a much-needed awareness to not only screening but also the different treatment options that are available,” says Dr. Laura Muzingwani, I-TECH’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Lead Physician in Namibia. “We want to ensure that all women, particularly HIV-positive women, are empowered to take action and get screened for cervical cancer. We also want to inform women that they can still be safely screened despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

Screening and treatment are available to anyone who needs it, but the I-TECH program has focused its efforts on HIV-positive women. Women living with HIV are five to six times more likely to develop cervical cancer than HIV-negative women, even if they are on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Currently, the I-TECH program supports screening and treatment at 31 MOHSS health facilities and 11 outreach sites in seven regions across Namibia. As of August 2020, the program had performed more than 14,000 screenings and 1,700 treatment procedures for HIV-positive women.

“The cervical cancer program has achieved a lot of success within a short period,” says Dr. Laimi Ashipala, MOHSS Chief Medical Officer HIV/AIDS and STI Control subdivision. “With these additional outreach and awareness efforts, we hope to reach 100,000 HIV-positive women in the next two years.”

As part of the campaign’s outreach efforts to reach HIV-positive women, I-TECH is contacting women receiving ART to offer cervical cancer screenings during their routine medication pick-up visits. The team is also reaching out to community-based ART refill groups as a way to bring screening services to HIV-positive women at community meeting points.

Expanding and Adapting the Health Care Provider Training Program

VIA provider providing VIA services.

In addition to awareness and outreach, the program has expanded cervical cancer screening and treatment training for health care providers (e.g., doctors, registered and enrolled nurses).

“Key aspects of the program have been the training and uptake of our health care providers,” explains Dr. Ashipala. “We are scaling up our efforts to train and certify health care providers in using VIA and ablative treatments throughout the country. In addition to VIA and ablative treatments, we have also expanded training and certification to include LLETZ and cervical biopsies, which allows us to treat patients who may not be eligible for ablative treatments.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to adjustments in the way trainings are provided for the safety of facilitators and participants and to aid in pandemic control efforts. In response, I-TECH supported a virtual MOHSS VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid or VIA) screening training for nine, newly recruited cervical cancer screening health care providers. Since the program began in 2018, I-TECH and MOHSS have trained 249 health care providers.

Creating a Suite of Informational Materials

This Cervical Cancer Prevention brochure is one of several pieces in a suite of materials created by I-TECH.

I-TECH, in collaboration with stakeholders, has developed a suite of materials—flyers, brochures, and posters—for patients and providers to complement the outreach and training efforts.

The materials highlight the importance of screening, encourage women to make an appointment, explain the method of screening, and provide information about the treatment options that are offered through the program.

The materials will be used by health care providers during health education sessions with patients, distributed to women when they visit their health care facility or ART clinic, and following screening and/or treatment appointments. Some of the materials will also be displayed at health facilities and referral hospitals to advertise screening availability.

“We applaud the Ministry for highlighting the need for cervical cancer prevention, screening, and treatment despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and taking action by collaborating in the development of resources, adopting guidelines for providers, and supporting training for health care providers,” says Dr. Muzingwani.

I-TECH Presents Posters at AIDS 2020: Virtual

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Cervical Cancer Gabrielle O'Malley HIV Care and Treatment Malawi Male Circumcision Mental Health Namibia Zimbabwe
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The International AIDS Society (IAS) virtually hosted their 23rd International AIDS conference (AIDS 2020: Virtual) on 6-10 July 2020. The AIDS 2020: Virtual theme was resilience, to celebrate and acknowledge the strength of the HIV community and the significant advances in treatment, while also addressing gaps in treatment, prevention, and care.

Representatives from the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) virtually presented the following posters with accompanying audio recordings:

In addition to the I-TECH representatives presenting their posters, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Alliance International (HAI) also presented data from I-TECH programs in Malawi and Mozambique.

Expanding Two-Way Texting to Reduce Follow-Up Appointments for Male Circumcision Patients

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Male Circumcision South Africa Zimbabwe
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This piece was first posted on the University of Washington Department of Global Health’s (DGH) website.

A new five-year research project will study two-way texting as a means of communication between healthcare providers and male circumcision (MC) patients in South Africa. It will build on previous research conducted in Zimbabwe.

Caryl Feldacker is the Principal Investigator (PI) on this RO1, which will support research through 2025. The multi-stage implementation science study is based out of the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), and will be implemented with Dr. Geoffrey Setswe, PI for South Africa partner, Aurum Institute, and with technology partner, Medic Mobile.

“Previous research shows that healthcare workers waste a lot of time and money reviewing MC clients without complications,” Feldacker said. “So, in partnership with Medic Mobile, we developed a two-way texting (2wT) system to identify and refer men with potential medical issues to in-person care while allowing the vast majority to opt-out of routine post-operative visits.”

Programs providing voluntary medical male circumcision (MC) in sub-Saharan Africa are struggling to meet the annual goal of 5 million MCs. However, chronic human and financial resource shortages threaten achievement of MC targets, reducing impact of this effective HIV prevention intervention. Although MC is safe with an adverse event (AE) rate of less than 2% , global MC guidelines require one or more in-person, post-operative visits within 14 days of MC for timely AE identification. With low AE rates, overstretched clinic staff likely waste invaluable resources conducting unnecessary routine reviews for MC clients without complications while men healing well needlessly pay for transport, miss work, and wait for reviews, discouraging MC uptake.

With this background, Dr. Feldacker’s prior randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Zimbabwe tested whether 2wT between patients and providers during the critical 13-day post-operative period (instead of routine in-person reviews) could ensure patient safety while reducing provider workload. 2wT safely reduced client visits by 85%, increased AE identification, and cut follow-up costs, suggesting that 2wT could make a dramatic difference in MC programs operating at scale. Plus, providers and patients found the 2wT follow-up approach highly usable and acceptable. “These daily text exchanges really empowered men to be partners in their healing process, creating a win-win for providers and patients.”

Read the entire story on the DGH website.

I-TECH Awarded Funding For COVID-19 Response and Activities

Post categories: COVID-19 HIV Care and Treatment Kenya Malawi
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Illustration of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Image credit: CDC

Many of the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) country offices have received supplemental funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or pivoted portions of current CDC funding to implement and support activities related to the global COVID-19 response, such as contact tracing efforts, provider education, vaccine preparedness, and infection prevention and control (IPC).

To date, I-TECH has received over $500,000 of new funding for IPC of COVID-19 in Kenya and Malawi, while several other offices have submitted proposals for additional funding.

CDC has also redirected $83,000 of I-TECH Tanzania’s funding to support training on COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing teams specifically for field epidemiology and training program graduates and community health care workers.

“The funding and support that we have received from CDC will allow us to apply our decades of implementation knowledge and expertise from combating the HIV epidemic to the current global COVID-19 response,” says Ivonne Butler, MPH, Associate Center Director for I-TECH. “We look forward to working with other implementing partners and local ministries of health to provide comprehensive training, technical assistance, and learn from one another to effectively respond to this evolving pandemic.”

In addition to new funding and funding shifts, I-TECH has been invited by local governments and ministries of health to collaborate in their COVID-19 responses. So far, I-TECH has aided in the creation of standard operating procedures, contributed to public pandemic preparedness materials, and supported hospitals with COVID-19 IPC. Leveraging existing processes and programs — such as warm lines and distance learning platforms — has allowed I-TECH to rapidly respond to the emerging needs of health care workers and providers.

The newly established independent local Zimbabwe office, Zim-TTECH (Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training, and Education Center for Health), also received $579,000 for vaccine preparedness and disease prevention for the rapid scale-up and implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (when available) as well as IPC triaging at 250 sites throughout the country.

Ensuring Continuity of HIV Care

I-TECH’s programs are now faced with the difficult task of ensuring the continuity of HIV care and treatment for people living with HIV (PLHIV) during the pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries are facing disruptions in antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication supply, an inability for PLHIV to pick up ART medication at pharmacies or hospitals, and a diverted focus from HIV testing due to lack of personal protective equipment and safety concerns.

“Our programs are committed to continuing to provide quality HIV care and treatment while maintaining a safe environment for those for staff and patients,” says Butler. “Our teams and programs have had to adapt and bring innovative delivery of uninterrupted HIV care and treatment services to people living with HIV. They have done an outstanding job in their rapid responses during this unprecedented time.”

Some examples of the innovative way teams are delivering HIV care during the COVID-19 pandemic is through text messaging as a way to reach PLHIV, coordinating community ART refill groups, educating and training providers via distance learning platforms, and using warm lines and WhatsApp to support providers.

I-TECH Ukraine Hosts First Index Testing Forum Following Launch of National Index Testing Program

Post categories: Index Testing/Partner Notification Ukraine
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Attendees brainstorm at the Index Testing Forum in Ukraine.
A group of forum attendees meet to brainstorm and discuss the index testing program. Photo credit: I-TECH Ukraine.

On December 18, 2019, I-TECH Ukraine facilitated its first forum on index testing, a key strategy used to identify and support HIV-positive individuals. Service providers, as well as representatives from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Center (PHC) of the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Ukraine, attended the forum and participated in discussions detailing the best ways to implement and adapt proven index testing methodologies in Ukraine.

I-TECH Ukraine rolled out its national program in October 2019, after shifting its programmatic focus to provide index testing development and quality assurance. The program was launched at 39 antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics in 11 PEPFAR priority regions across the country.

The recent forum included a review of early program performance; identification of best practices that can be scaled up to improve index testing and partner notification performance; and solutions to key challenges that index testing providers are currently facing in Ukraine.

“The index testing strategy gives us all high hopes that we can reach out to the most affected groups of people living with HIV and identify many individuals in need of care much earlier than it happens currently in Ukraine,“ says Anna Shapoval, I-TECH Ukraine Country Representative. “As always, I-TECH is proud to build this new programming not just on the vast evidence and globally acknowledged best practices but also on the mountain of successful experiences in other countries where index testing programs have been initiated and implemented by I-TECH in previous years.”

To strengthen the programmatic response, the forum included a number of speakers and index testing subject matter experts. Dr. Serhii Riabokon, an infectious disease doctor in the PHC’s department of the coordination of treatment programs on HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections, presented the current legal framework and the state of index testing program implementation in Ukraine. I-TECH’s program and evaluation teams also gave a brief overview of the program including the design as well as the successes and challenges to date. Four well-performing regional sites were also able to share the best practices they used during early program implementation.

Dr. Matthew Golden presents at the Index Testing Forum in Ukraine.
Dr. Matthew Golden shares his experiences in partner services implementation, scale up, and development around the world. Photo Credit: I-TECH Ukraine.

In addition to the index testing program-specific presentations, the forum also included presentations by experts who shared their valuable experiences in partner services implementation, scale-up, and development:

  • Matthew Golden, MD, MPH, Professor at the University of Washington (UW) Department of Medicine’s Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and I-TECH faculty member, reviewed the development and challenges of partner services programs around the world, as well as voiced practical recommendations for Ukrainian index testing advancement.
  • Nancy Puttkammer, PhD, MPH, I-TECH faculty and DIGI faculty lead, and Jason Beste, MD, MPH, I-TECH International Clinical Advisor, were on a panel discussion on the ways of overcoming key challenges in index testing implementation.

“A key part of the program is to ensure quality results,” says Shapoval, “and consistent and collaborative learning is paramount to building local capacity.”

December’s forum is just the first of planned, quarterly forums designed to further build local capacities around index testing and quality assurance.

THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER U91HA06801, THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER (IAETC). THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

Expanding HIV Care and Treatment in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Cervical Cancer Differentiated Care Gender/Women & Girls Health Systems Strengthening HIV Care and Treatment Index Testing/Partner Notification Key Populations PrEP Stefan Wiktor Zimbabwe
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The ZimPAAC consortium collaborates with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in Zimbabwe to meet the following primary HIV epidemic control objectives:

  • Diagnose 95% of all persons living with HIV through integrated testing
  • Ensure 95% of individuals diagnosed with HIV are initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART), retained in care, and are virally suppressed using differentiated service delivery models

Using a Differentiated care model, a patient-centered model of service delivery designed to meet the diverse needs and expectations of all people living with HIV, ZimPAAC oversees activities such as:

  • facility and community-based HIV testing;
  • HIV self-testing, index case testing;
  • ART initiation; and
  • ART delivery through multi-month refills for stable patients, Family ART Refill Groups, and Community ART Refill Groups (CARGs). CARGs benefit group members—through decreasing health center visits, offering peer support, and allowing clients to take responsibility for their health—and staff, by decreasing workload and allowing greater time for patient care.
I-TECH Zimbabwe Care and Treatment Sites and Districts
A map of I-TECH’s Care and Treatment Sites and Districts in Zimbabwe.

In addition to differentiated service delivery, ZimPAAC conducts site-level mentoring at health facilities to strengthen health service delivery towards the “95-95-95” UNAIDS targets by improving patient linkages between HIV testing, initiation on treatment, and retention in care rates. This is accomplished in part by several hundred dedicated HIV testers and nurses who support ART initiation and management of opportunistic infections alongside MoHCC staff.

ZimPAAC also supports index testing through community linkages activities that help clients access HIV testing, especially sexual partners and biological children of existing HIV-positive clients who present to the health facilities. In an effort to improve index testing within MoHCC health facilities, ZimPAAC has implemented an assisted partner service model, known as Enhanced Index Case Testing. This program emphasizes reaching clients recently diagnosed with HIV and those whose blood tests show a high HIV viral load. Quality Improvement activities are a key part of ZimPAAC’s approach to improving outcomes for index testing. In 2019, a “change package” describing the interventions that have improved index testing was developed by ZimPAAC for national scale-up of the model.

ZimPAAC program activities also support retaining people living with HIV in care. Programs engage community linkage facilitators who work with facilities and communities to identify patients who have defaulted from treatment and return them to services.

In addition to HIV care and prevention for adults, ZimPAAC supports increased access to services for children and adolescents through Africaid’s community adolescent treatment supporters (CATS). CATS are HIV positive 18-to-24-year-olds trained to provide peer support, conduct demand-creation activities, build community engagement, and mobilize targeted HIV testing and outreach activities to bring services to this hard-to-reach group.

In addition to the first two objectives, ZimPAAC collaborates with MoHCC towards two additional objectives:

  • Strengthen and expand access to cervical cancer screening and treatment of precancerous cervical lesions among women living with HIV
  • Increase uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services through training, technical assistance and direct client support

In 2019, ZimPAAC began the expansion of cervical cancer screening for women living with HIV, beginning with a situational analysis to identify sites for implementation of a program serving women with visual inspection with acetic acid and cerviography.

Under the direction of PZAT, ZimPAAC also works closely with the MoHCC to support key-population-friendly programming in the public health sector facilities in Harare. PZAT supports health worker training at selected facilities and builds demand and knowledge of these services through community champions and engagement with vulnerable populations and advocacy and civil society organizations. PZAT also works to promote PrEP services for adolescent girls and young women in Mazowe district and among key populations in Harare.

Using Innovative Technology for Better Data in Zimbabwe

Post categories: eLearning/Distance Learning Health Information Systems Stefan Wiktor Zimbabwe
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The ZimPAAC consortium has supported high-quality health care worker (HCW) knowledge and skills in Zimbabwe with technologies such as applications with clinical resources for clinicians, tablet-based data collection, and self-study modules. Through the use of self-study courses, HCWs complete learning activities using case scenarios in either prevention of mother-to-child transmission client retention, HIV testing services for children and adolescents, or viral load testing. ZimPAAC also uses WhatsApp messaging groups as a training intervention during self-study for peer-to-peer learning and support. Tablet-based data collection has now become the norm for most sites.

ZimPAAC also continually works to strengthen its program monitoring systems, such as the deployment of TrainSMART as the national training database. Recently, ZimPAAC developed and introduced the ZimPAAC Data Improvement Plan (ZDIP)—a new system of electronic data collection tools that will improve reporting and give facility and district staff better access to data. The new digital forms in ZDIP offer built-in data quality checks, the ability to view graphs, and provides faster feedback to sites so they can use the data for facility-based improvements.

Reducing HIV through Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker HIV and STI Prevention Male Circumcision Quality Improvement Scott Barnhart Zimbabwe
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Since 2013, the ZAZIC Consortium has been implementing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) as part of a combination HIV prevention package approved by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in Zimbabwe. Unlike other VMMC programs in the region, the ZAZIC model uses an integrated approach, blending local clinic staff supported by MOHCC with partner staff. The ZAZIC consortium supports:

  • Training using MoHCC approved curricula, health workers in the supported districts are trained on the surgical technique as well as on demand creation
  • Development and implementation of age appropriate demand creation strategies
  • Support service delivery in 13 districts from consent procedures to post-surgical care and linkage to other services
  • Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation including continuous quality improvement and operations research

From 2013-2018, ZAZIC performed over 300,000 VMMCs with a reported moderate and severe adverse event rate of 0.3%. The safety, flexibility, and pace of scale-up associated with the integrated VMMC model appears similar to vertical delivery with potential benefits of capacity building, sustainability and health system strengthening. Although more complicated than traditional approaches to program implementation, attention should be given to this country-led approach for its potential to spur positive health system changes, including building local ownership, capacity, and infrastructure for future public health programming. Over 80% of the circumcisions occur in outreach settings, an approach that ensures wide coverage and expanded services in hard-to-reach locations.

Two-Way Texting for Post-Operative VMMC Follow-Up RCT in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Health Information Systems HIV Care and Treatment Male Circumcision Zimbabwe
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Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is considered safe and the vast majority of men heal without complication. However, guidelines require multiple follow-up visits, which can burden staff and facilities with clients who are typically healing well. With funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ZAZIC recently conducted a prospective randomized control trial (RCT) to determine if two-way texting (2wT) was as safe as routine post-operative visits and if it reduced workload in two high-volume VMMC sites near Harare, Zimbabwe.

Image of the 2wT App used to support the study.

Both clients and providers felt satisfied with the 2wT system and felt it could be ready for scale. Many clients reported feeling confident, comfortable, satisfied, and safe with text follow-up. Importantly, clients felt that 2wT saved them time and money. Providers also noted 2wT saved them time, empowered their clients to engage in the healing process, and addressed gaps in MC service quality.

The results strongly suggest that 2wT is highly usable and acceptable for providers and patients. Men with concerns appeared confident and comfortable to receive guidance via text and providers noted that men engaged proactively in their healing.

It was recommended in the study that 2wT between providers and patients should be considered for future adaptation in other short-term care contexts. 2wT also appears far less expensive than active follow-up to improve patient safety: on average, post-VMMC follow-up under 2wT was $0.098 compared to $0.955 under routine care. 2wT was both less costly and more effective in identifying AEs relative to the expected rate of AEs.  As such, I-TECH aims to scale 2wT in further testing among rural clients and guardians to improve patient care at lower cost.

The trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, trial NCT03119337, and activated on April 18, 2017. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03119337. This RCT was supported by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21TW010583.