Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 6;19(1):801.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4675-z.

Effectiveness of health care workers and peer engagement in promoting access to health services among population at higher risk for HIV in Tanzania (KPHEALTH): study protocol for a quasi experimental trial

Elia John Mmbaga  1 , Germana Henry Leyna  2 , Melkizedeck Thomas Leshabari  3 , Britt Tersbøl  4 , Theis Lange  3   4 , Neema Makyao  5 , Kåre Moen  6 , Dan Wolf Meyrowitsch  4
Affiliations

Effectiveness of health care workers and peer engagement in promoting access to health services among population at higher risk for HIV in Tanzania (KPHEALTH): study protocol for a quasi experimental trial

Elia John Mmbaga et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: While there are indications of declining HIV infection rates in the general population globally, Tanzania included, men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW) and people who inject drugs (PWID), now called Key Populations (KP) for HIV epidemic have 2-20 times higher infections rates and contributes up to 30% of new HIV infection. Tanzania have developed a Comprehensive Guideline for HIV prevention among key population (CHIP) to address the epidemic among KPs. However, these populations are stigmatized and discriminated calling for innovative approaches to improve access to CHIP. This project seeks to test the effectiveness of healthcare workers and peer-to-peer engagement in promoting access to CHIP among HIV at risk populations in Tanzania.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design involving Dar es Salaam City as an intervention region and Tanga as a control region will be done. Using respondent driven sampling, 1800 at risk population (900 from Intervention site and 900 from control site) will be recruited at baseline to identify pull and push factors for health services access. Stakeholder's consultation will be done to improve training contents for CHIP among health care workers and peers. Effectiveness of healthcare workers training and peer engagement will be tested using a quasi-experimental design.

Discussion: The results are expected to co-create service provision and improve access to services among KPs as a human right, reverse HIV infection rates among KPs and the general population, and improve social and economic wellbeing of Tanzanian.

Trial registration: Retrospectively registered on 28th August, 2019 with International Standard Randomized Clinical Trial Number ( ISRCTN11126469 ).

Keywords: HIV; Health services access; Injecting drugs; Men who have sex with men; Sex work; Tanzania.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of Project timelines
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNAIDS . UNAIDS DATA updates: Strate of the epidemic. In. Geneva: UNAIDS; 2018.
    1. Mmbaga EJMK, Makyao N, Mpembeni R, Leshabari MT. HIV and STI s among men who have sex with men in Dodoma municipality, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study. Sex Transm Infect. 2017;93(5):314–319. - PubMed
    1. Mmbaga EJMK, Leyna GH, Mpembeni R, Leshabari MT. HIV prevalence and associated risk factors among men who have sex with men in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2018;77(3):243–249. - PubMed
    1. Mmbaga EJMK, Makyao N, Leshabari M. Prevalence and predictors of human immunodeficiency virus and selected sexually transmitted infections among people who inject drugs in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: a new focus to get to zero. Sex Transm Dis. 2017;44(2):79–84. - PubMed
    1. Ouedraogo HGK-ZO, Grosso A, Goodman S, Samadoulougou BC, Tarnagda G, Baguiya A, Tiendrebeogo S, Lougue M, Sawadogo N, Traore Y, Barro N, Baral S, Kouanda S. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among men who have sex with men: results of the first integrated biological and behavioral survey in Burkina Faso West Africa. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):5. - PMC - PubMed