Project Masihambisane: a cluster randomised controlled trial with peer mentors to improve outcomes for pregnant mothers living with HIV.

Abstract
BACKGROUND Pregnant women living with HIV WLH face daily challenges maintaining their own and their babies health and mental health Standard Prevention of Maternal to Child Transmission PMTCT programs are not designed to address these challenges METHODS DESIGN As part of a cluster randomized controlled trial WLH are invited to attend four antenatal and four postnatal small group sessions led by a peer WLH a Peer Mentor The WLH and their babies are assessed during pregnancy and at one week six months and twelve months post birth Mobile phones are used to collect routine information complete questionnaires and remain in contact with participants over time Pregnant WLH N 1200 are randomly assigned by clinic N 8 clinics to an intervention program called Masihambisane n 4 clinics n 600 WLH or a standard care PMTCT control condition n 4 clinics n 600 WLH DISCUSSION Data collection with cellular phones are innovative and effective in low resource settings Standard PMTCT programs are not designed to address the daily challenges faced by WLH Peer Mentors may be useful in supporting WLH to cope with these challenges TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials gov registration NCT00972699
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Keywords
Rural populations, Women (only), Facility-based health worker, Communication roadblocks, At risk for a particular disease or infection, Stigma, Pilot, Effectiveness, Experimental, Randomized, Pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, Mental health, Health education or promotion, Voice, SMS, Text, Digital form
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