NCT04077047

Adolescents Living With HIV (ALWH): Social Networks, Adherence and Retention

Completed NA Last updated 2 January 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing iEngage in HIV/AIDS in 60 participants. Completed in 31 July 2025.

Timeline

1 September 2022

Primary endpoint
17 July 2025

31 July 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	60
Start date	1 September 2022
Primary completion	17 July 2025
Estimated completion	31 July 2025
Sites	2 locations across South Africa, United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• iEngage

Conditions studied

• HIV/AIDS — all drugs for HIV/AIDS →

Sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Who can join

Adults 15 to 21, any sex, with HIV/AIDS. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the second leading cause of death in Africa. Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) are at increased risk for HIV-related morbidity and mortality due to poor retention in HIV care and suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. Despite having the world's largest population of Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) (15-24 years, n=870,000), only 14% of South African ALWH are on ART, 12% are retained in HIV care 1-2 years after ART initiation, and 10% are virally suppressed. During treatment interruption, the effects of ART quickly reverse, increasing transmission risk, treatment resistance, and potentially fatal complications. Unless their treatment retention and adherence improves, ALWH will continue to transmit the virus to their sexual partners and die prematurely.

While social support is often viewed as a bridge that joins ALWH to key resources within their environments, little is known about which types of social support are most impactful and from whom within their network, particularly among ALWH in endemic countries. Moreover, many South African ALWH lack social support from key social network members due to lack of HIV status disclosure, increasing their risk for poorer HIV-related outcomes when compare to their disclosed peers. Social network interventions (i.e., those that leverage the resources within one's network to improve behaviors and outcomes) that meet the needs of both ALWH who are disclosed and non-disclosed are needed, but lacking. Such inventions have the potential to facilitate appraisal support, during which ALWH receive targeted assistance with identifying appropriate and trustworthy people in their lives. More broadly, there exists a lack empirically supported interventions aimed at improving retention in HIV care and ART adherence for ALWH in low-middle income countries.

This proposal follows the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), a comprehensive framework for optimizing and evaluating multicomponent behavioral interventions.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Accuracy of measures for antiretroviral adherence in people living with HIV.
   Smith R, Villanueva G, Probyn K, Sguassero Y, et al · · 2022 · cited 34× · PMID 35871531 · DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd013080.pub2