Testing a postpartum HIV prevention package for new mothers in Malawi

Trial details

Who runs it

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Trial code

NCT06506188

Record updated

30 September 2026

Original description

The goal of the Leveraging Infant Visit PrEP INtegration \& tasK Shifting to Improve Postpartum HIV Prevention in Malawi (LINK) study is to evaluate both the effectiveness of a postpartum prevention package ("LINK model") among post-partum women and its implementation into existing clinical care models in Lilongwe, Malawi. The main question the study seeks to answer is:Read full original descriptionShow less

UNCPM 22402 - Leveraging Infant Visit PrEP INtegration & tasK Shifting to Improve Post-partum HIV Prevention in Malawi

The goal of the Leveraging Infant Visit PrEP INtegration \& tasK Shifting to Improve Postpartum HIV Prevention in Malawi (LINK) study is to evaluate both the effectiveness of a postpartum prevention package ("LINK model") among post-partum women and its implementation into existing clinical care models in Lilongwe, Malawi. The main question the study seeks to answer is:

Do women at clinics implementing the LINK model have improved Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) persistence compared to women at clinics receiving the standard of care?

Researchers will compare the LINK model to standard of care by randomizing twelve sites to either the LINK model or the standard of care. Then researchers will review existing medical record and health surveillance data, and qualitative and quantitative data collected from intervention and control sites.

Inclusion: Female enrolled in PrEP care at a study site; Breastfeeding documented while on PrEP; Living without HIV; Female who has presented for PrEP visit at a participating clinical site at least ~6 months after initiating PrEP; Aged 15 years (assent with parental/guardian consent for women aged 15-17); Living without HIV; Female presenting with infant under 3 for under-five visit to participating clinical site; Female presenting for child vaccination to participating clinical site; Aged15 years and older (assent with parental/guardian consent for women aged 15-17); Aged 18 years and older; Involved in relevant activities pertinent to integration or provision of PrEP services such as PrEP providers, peer mothers, HIV diagnostic assistants, or clinic managers, OR policy and implementing partner stakeholders such as officials from the Malawi Ministry of Health, donors in HIV prevention (e.g. PEPFAR, the Global Fund), members of community advocacy groups, the Lilongwe DHO, and other persons involved in infant vaccine and HIV prevention program and policy development and implementation in HIV prevention in Lilongwe.

Exclusion: Decline informed consent; Non-patient key stakeholder Non-patient stakeholders relevant to intervention implementation at the clinic and national level, including clinical and policy stakeholders. Examples of clinical stakeholders may include key clinic staff working in PrEP, HIV testing, EPI, and CFL peer support mothers. Policy and implementing partner stakeholders may include officials from the Malawi Ministry of Health, donors in HIV prevention (e.g. PEPFAR, the Global Fund), members of community advocacy groups, the Lilongwe DHO, and other persons involved in infant vaccine and HIV prevention program and policy development and implementation in HIV prevention in Lilongwe; None; PrEP user survey and dried blood spot sub-group Breastfeeding women 15 years and older who are presenting ~6 months after initiating PrEP are eligible participation in study surveys and dried blood spot using fingerstick specimen collection. Women aged 15-17 will be asked to provide assent with parental/guardian consent. Every woman who is consented for the survey will also be asked about their willingness to participate in in-depth interviews. Only a subset of consenting participants, purposively sampled to reflect variety in key demographics and clinical metrics, will complete interviews; None; Postpartum women - surveys Postpartum women 15 years and older who are presenting to under-five visits with their child under 3 will be eligible for participation in study surveys. Women aged 15-17 will be asked to provide assent with parental/guardian consent. Every woman who is consented for the survey will also be asked about their willingness to participate in in-depth interviews. Only a subset of consenting participants, purposively sampled to reflect variety in key demographics and clinical metrics, will complete interviews; Decline informed consent; Postpartum women - health passport review We review use existing health records (Health passports) of postpartum women presenting to infant immunization appointments with their child. No identifying information will be collected from this group; Decline informed consent.

PrEP user cohort:; PrEP user cohort includes all adolescent and adult women >=15 years old who are on PrEP and breastfeeding, enrolled in PrEP at each of the participating 12 sites during the study follow-up period. PrEP provision and clinical management will be at the discretion of the non-study PrEP providers according to Malawi PrEP guidelines and eligibility. Data for these women are abstracted from PrEP records. We are seeking a waiver of informed consent for all health record abstraction for the LINK study.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06506188