Zanoni receives $5M to improve outcomes for teens with HIV in South Africa
The ATTUNE project (1UG1MD019435) led by Dr. Brian Zanoni aims to evaluate the effectiveness of long-acting injectable ART and adolescent-friendly clinics to improve outcomes for adolescents with HIV in South Africa. The study will use peer navigators and longacting injectable antiretroviral therapy in addition to baseline adolescent-friendly services in a randomized clinical trial.
Dr. Brian Zanoni, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, was awarded a $5 million grant from the NIH to conduct a 5-year multisite study in South Africa. The study, "Evaluation of Long-Acting Injectable antiretroviral therapy and teen clubs in adolescents in South Africa," aims to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of long-acting injectable ART and adolescent-friendly clinics to improve outcomes for adolescents with HIV. The study is the first of its kind to use adolescent-friendly services and peer navigation to optimize behavioral interventions before investigating long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy for adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. The hypothesis is that long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy provides for more sustained retention in care and viral suppression compared to oral daily antiretroviral therapy, but has higher costs and complex adoption procedures. Dr. Brian Zanoni has been working in adolescent HIV in South Africa since 2006 and has received NIH funding through various grants to develop transition readiness assessments and interventions to improve adolescent HIV care. Co-investigators include Moherndran Archary, an expert in pediatric and adolescent HIV in South Africa, Maryam Shahmanesh, an expert in clinical trials among youth in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Lee Fairlie, an expert in pediatric clinical trials and implementation science, and Kathy Baisley, a senior statistician with expertise in clinical trials.
