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Category: Male Circumcision

Zim-TTECH’s Innovative Programs Increase Male Circumcision Uptake for HIV Prevention

Post categories: Gabrielle O'Malley HIV and STI Prevention Male Circumcision Namibia Uncategorized
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Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) decreases the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission by about 60%.[1]  I-TECH Network partner the Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training, and Education Center for Health (Zim-TTECH) supports innovative VMMC engagement solutions that are tailored to the populations they serve.

Caravans Allow for Mobile Services and Door-to-Door Outreach

VMMC Mobilizers engage with men at a farm compound in Goromonzi District. Photo credit: Zim-TTECH

Makumbe Hospital in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe, serves a population of more than 100,000 people, including the rapidly expanding population of surrounding townships. Zim-TTECH-led consortium ZAZIC has run the Makumbe Hospital site since October 2018 and supports the VMMC team there.

This population within the hospital’s catchment area primarily comprises informal traders selling necessities such as groceries, garden produce, or second-hand clothes, while others run at-home small businesses that manufacture furniture, iron and steel products, and other wares.

“It’s difficult for economically active young men to leave their businesses and attend to VMMC at a venue away from their premises or market,” said Lewis Masimba, VMMC Program Manager at Zim-TTECH.

In light of this challenge, the team implemented a mobile caravan, which could increase the number of men receiving circumcisions by taking services out of the medical facility and bringing them closer to the concentrated settlements of Domboshava Showground, Mungate, and Mverechena townships and nearby farm compounds.

The caravan has been in use in the district since January 2023, and it has vastly shortening the period between client engagement and service delivery. In most cases, two mobilizers at a time will engage with potential clients within the townships, while another three will conduct intensive door-to-door visits in residential areas.

Mobilization efforts include one-on-one and small group discussions at market stalls, small businesses, and drinking spots, where mobilizers will answer questions and distribute information about VMMC. Sometimes the caravan is supported by a roadshow van and dancers who disseminate VMMC information through edutainment.

“The caravans have so many advantages,” said Mr. Masimba. “Men are able to access the VMMC services near their workplaces, minimizing disruptions to their daily routines. The caravan has also brought convenience and privacy to those who did not feel comfortable being ferried in program vehicles to and from the hospital.”

Fig 1: Outputs three months before receiving the caravan and three months after receiving the caravan

Since the site started utilizing the caravan, the number of men who have received VMMC each month has increased from 159 to 233 (Fig. 1).

On the heels of this success, the ZAZIC teams will continue exploring other combination approaches involving engagement activities such as pool/snooker, soccer, and music roadshows to reach hard-to-convince men in their localities.

Peer-to-Peer Learning Takes Center Stage in Performing Arts Program for Adolescents

Eight secondary schools enrolled in the drama competition. Photo credit: Zim-TTECH

The performing arts have been used since time immemorial as motivators to rally communities toward common goals, to relieve stress, and as an effective teaching tool across diverse cultures and religious settings. They are a particularly effective method for engaging adolescents both in and out of schools. As teens seek independence from their parents, the influence of peers becomes increasingly important, and performing arts are a fantastic way to employ peer-to-peer learning strategies.

Harnessing these strategies, ZAZIC uses drama in several districts to complement efforts already made by VMMC teams and teachers who have previously used sporting events and lectures to communicate with students.

In a particularly successful case, Hurungwe District chose to use a drama competition to communicate VMMC and other health messages to adolescents. The goals of the competition included effective peer-to-peer learning, outreach to a large audience, and the demystification of VMMC.

Roadshows to promote the competition were held at major townships to create awareness of the event and invite members of the public to attend. Eight secondary schools enrolled in the competition, and teams of adolescents led the process of writing and directing short, 30-minute performances incorporating messages in a provided guide.

The guide emphasized use of appropriate language, the need to double-check facts; and encouragement of uptake of VMMC and related services, such as HIV testing and counseling and cervical cancer screening.

More than 1,000 people attended, including students, parents, and staff from all competing schools.

“Matawu Secondary School ultimately won the drama competition, but all of the schools did a wonderful job explaining VMMC and its benefits,” said Mr. Masimba. “Messaging also emphasized abstinence for adolescents, the importance of the HPV vaccine for girls, and details about the VMMC procedure. The level of accuracy of information was extremely high.”

Importantly, two of the performances highlighted communities that reject medical interventions and stressed the need for participation by all.

A total of 182 VMMCs were attained by adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old immediately after the competition. Those who were not ready were booked for the procedure and will be followed up with by school health masters and community mobilizers.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7210a2.htm

 

 

 

Expanding Two-Way Texting for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Clients in South Africa

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Male Circumcision South Africa
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I-TECH, in close partnership with voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) implementing partner, the Aurum Institute and technology partner, Medic, is conducting a five-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health to further evidence on the efficiency, safety, and scalability of two-way text-based (2wT) follow-up for VMMC services.

An example of the 2wT tab display options.
An example of the 2wT tab display options. Image Credit: © 2022 Marongwe et al. via PLoS Digital Health, Transitioning a digital health innovation from research to routine practice: Two-way texting for male circumcision follow-up in Zimbabwe.

2wT is SMS-based telehealth, providing direct patient to provider communication that improves the quality of post-operative VMMC care. A daily educational message is sent to each participant, requesting a response to report potential complications. 2wT allows the nurse to triage men to care when needed or desired while supporting most men to heal independently at home. 2wT-based follow-up dramatically reduces unnecessary post-operative visits, saving patient and provider costs, while improving patient care quality through swift identification and referral for potential adverse events. In South Africa, the 2wT intervention benefits were similar across routine VMMC programs in both rural and urban settings.

This 2wT intervention in South Africa builds on the I-TECH work previously done in Zimbabwe, which found that “2wT reduced client visits by 85%, increased AE identification, and reduced costs.”

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 Zimbabwe Office Transitions to Local Organization

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker HIV Care and Treatment Male Circumcision Scott Barnhart Stefan Wiktor Transition & Sustainability Zimbabwe
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Zim-TTECH staff supports Kowoyo Clinic in Goromonzi District, Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe. Photo credit: Macpherson Photographers.

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) has transitioned another office to an autonomous entity. The Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training and Education Center for Health (Zim-TTECH) was officially launched on April 1, 2020, as a locally registered health trust. Zim-TTECH is the administrative and managing partner for the two existing I-TECH CDC/PEPFAR funded grants in Zimbabwe, each grant having a consortium of local partners:

  • ZimPAAC (Zimbabwe Partnership to Accelerate AIDS Control) is a partnership between Zim-TTECH, Africaid, Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust, and I-TECH. ZimPAAC collaborates with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) on context-appropriate health interventions to improve access to, as well as strengthen the quality of HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services. ZimPAAC provides services at 373 facilities in 17 districts.
  • ZAZIC is a partnership between Zim-TTECH, I-TECH, and two local implementing partners—Zimbabwe Association of Church Related Hospitals (ZACH) and Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research Project (ZiCHIRe). ZAZIC supports voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services at 38 static facilities in 13 districts.

“The transition from an I-TECH country office to a fully fledged independent local organization is exciting,” states Dr. Batsirai Makunike-Chikwinya, Zim-TTECH’s Executive Director. “Zim-TTECH is committed to continue to provide high-quality support to the MoHCC and to the health sector as a whole. Special thanks go to management and staff of both I-TECH/UW [University of Washington] and UZCHS-CTRC [University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences Clinical Trials Research Centre], who played pivotal roles during this transition.”

I-TECH has worked in Zimbabwe since 2003, collaborating with the MoHCC and other partners to improve clinical services and strengthen health systems.  “It is a pleasure to support the launch of Zim-TTECH, which is the right next step toward country ownership and, importantly, recognizes the high level of skill and professionalism of the prior I-TECH country office and now Zim-TTECH team,” remarks Dr. Scott Barnhart.

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.

Increasing VMMC Delivery and Safety in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Male Circumcision Scott Barnhart Zimbabwe
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Employing modern medical male circumcision within traditional settings may increase patient safety and further male circumcision scale up efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa. ZAZIC established a successful, culturally sensitive, partnership with the VaRemba, an ethnic group in Zimbabwe that practices traditional male circumcision. The VaRemba Camp Collaborative (VCC) was created to provide safe, standardized male circumcisions and reduce adverse events (AEs) during traditional male circumcisions. ZAZIC supported the VCC by providing key MC commodities and transport to help ensure patient safety. In 2017, the VaRemba granted permission to ZAZIC doctors to provide oversight of MC procedures and post-operative treatment for all moderate and severe AEs within the Camp setting. Of the Camp residents, 98% chose medical male circumcision.

The multi-year, iterative cycle of meetings and trust building ultimately resulted in the successful VCC, a model that may be replicable for others trying to combine modern male circumcision and traditional practice.

Achieving Targets through Performance-Based Financing in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Health Systems Strengthening Male Circumcision Quality Improvement Scott Barnhart Zimbabwe
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ZAZIC employs an innovative performance-based financing (PBF) system to speed progress towards ambitious voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) targets. The PBF schedule, which started at $25 USD and now varies from $6.50-$14 USD depending on the location and the circumcision team, is continually refined to set the program up for sustainable transition. The PBF is an incentive that is intended to encourage underpaid healthcare workers (HCWs) to remain in the public sector and to strengthen the public healthcare system. The majority of the incentive supports HCWs who perform VMMC alongside other routine services; a small portion supports province, district, and facility levels.

I-TECH conducted a qualitative study to assess the effect of the PBF on HCW motivation, satisfaction, and professional relationships. The study found that the PBF appreciably increased motivation among VMMC teams and helped improve facilities where VMMC services are provided. However, PBF appears to contribute to antagonism at the workplace and create divisiveness. To reduce workplace tension and improve the VMMC program, ZAZIC increased training of additional HCWs to share the PBF incentive more widely and strengthened integration of VMMC services into routine care.

Ensuring High-Quality Service Provision in Zimbabwe

Post categories: Caryl Feldacker Implementation Science Male Circumcision Scott Barnhart Zimbabwe
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Describing Adverse Events within VMMC Programs at Scale

I-TECH works diligently to review and revise procedures to identify, manage, and report adverse events (AEs). I-TECH’s previous publications on AEs reveal efforts to maintain high quality programming and emphasize patient safety alongside achievement of targets.

An evaluation published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society found that AEs were uncommon, with 0.3% of surgical and 1.2% of PrePex (a non-surgical VMMC device) clients experiencing a moderate or severe AE. However, the evaluation also found that younger clients were at greater risk of infection.

Increasing Understanding on the Timing and Type of AEs in Routine VMMC Programs at Scale

As VMMC expands in Sub-Saharan Africa, I-TECH works to ensure program quality matches efforts to increase program productivity. I-TECH ensures patient safety through patient follow-up to identify and treat AEs. The timing of routine follow-up visits in MC programs is designed to ensure patient safety by identifying, treating, and managing complications. Although routine follow-up timing may differ by country, in Zimbabwe, three follow-up visits are scheduled to ensure quality service provision and patient care: Visit 1 (Day 2); Visit 2 (Day 7); and, Visit 3 (Day 42).

I-TECH’s implementation science efforts use routine data collected from clients with AEs and has found that AEs followed distinct patterns over time. Using these findings, ZAZIC has been improving VMMC care by 1) improving counseling about MC complications following initial visits for clinicians, clients, and caregivers ; 2) distributing wound care pamphlets to clients and caregivers; and 3) emphasizing follow-up tracing for younger boys, ages 10-14, and their caregivers to provide additional targeted, post-operative counseling on AE prevention.

Increasing AE Ascertainment through Routine Quality Assurance Efforts

To further increase ascertainment of AEs, I-TECH recently conducted a quality improvement (QI) initiative to improve provider identification and reporting of AEs. ZAZIC Gold-Standard (GS) clinicians prospectively observed 100 post-MC follow-ups per site in tandem with facility-based MC providers to confirm and characterize AEs, providing mentoring in AE management when needed.

The QI data suggested that AEs may be higher and follow-up lower than reported and ZAZIC’s Quality Assurance Task Force is replicating this QA study in other sites; increasing training in AE identification, management, and documentation for clinical and data teams; and improving post-operative counseling for younger clients. Additional nurses and vehicles, especially in rural health clinics, are currently being trained and leveraged to further improve client follow-up and AE ascertainment.

Improving Data Quality

ZAZIC undertakes weekly, monthly, and quarterly data quality audits (DQA) to ensure data correctness and completeness. Intensive DQA processes were documented and availability and completeness of data collected before and after DQAs in several specific sites was assessed with the aim to determine the effect of this process on data quality. ZAZIC found that after the DQA, high record availability of over 98% was maintained and record availability increased. After the DQA, most sites improved significantly in data completeness and ZAZIC continues to emphasize data completeness to support high-quality program implementation and availability of reliable data for decision-making.