Sandfort HPTN075

HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 075: The Feasibility of HIV Prevention Cohort Studies among Men who have Sex with Men in sub-Saharan Africa

Principal Investigator(s): 

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD

Myron Cohen, MD

Protocol Chair:

Funding Agency:

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Study Location:

Kisumu, Kenya

Blantyre, Malawi

Cape Town, South Africa

Soweto, South Africa

Description:

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) are at alarmingly high risk of HIV acquisition and transmission, and face two distinct structural disadvantages to accessing prevention and treatment. First, the major HIV prevention programs in SSA target heterosexual persons and pregnant women, and thus do not meet the specific prevention needs of MSM. Second, in many parts of SSA, MSM cannot safely seek HIV prevention or treatment services because of the social, cultural, and legal aspects of stigma, discrimination, and criminalization.

HPTN 075 aims to determine the feasibility of recruiting and retaining men who have sex with men (MSM) in a multi-country prospective cohort study in preparation for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention studies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants will be accrued over six months at four sites in SSA using convenience sampling strategies, with no replacement for participants lost to follow-up. Each participant will be followed for 12 months, during which five study visits involving structured HIV behavioral assessments, medical examinations, and collection of biological samples will be conducted (including enrollment and quarterly follow-up visits). Participants who do not complete 12 months of follow-up will be contacted to explore reasons for no longer participating.