Strengthening Families Living With HIV in Kenya

Strengthening Families Living With HIV in Kenya

This study seeks to use a group-based microfinance/internal lending model to develop social capital among people with HIV in Kenya. This will create a context to deliver validated curriculum targeting intimate partner violence, positive parenting, agriculture, small business entrepreneurship, group-interpersonal therapy, and other determinants of well-being and ART adherence among people with HIV. The primary outcomes are viral suppression, ART adherence, and common mental disorders.

It is anticipated that involvement in an internal savings and lending program will create social capital among people with HIV and their guardians (in case of adolescents w HIV). This social capital accrual will be leveraged to support and disseminate social skills (i.e. positive parenting, conflict resolution), economic skills (i.e. entrepreneurship, farming), and health skills (i.e. ART adherence, retention in care to produce viral suppression). The overall outcome is improved social, health, and economic well-being.

Inclusion Criteria:

Criteria for inclusion of subjects include:

• testing positive for HIV, confirmed by the Ministry of Health clinics
• being at or older than 13 years of age
• initiating care at a qualified Ministry of Health clinic in the catchment area, or intending to initiate care at such a clinic (see below for definition)
• Any gender, age (13+ years), and comorbid disease states
• Provide informed consent if adult, emancipated minor or mature minor
• Provide assent if minor with guardian, who must provide informed consent

Qualified clinical locations include

• those with accessible and usable public land to convene weekly meetings,
• no current program targeting families with HIV known to the Ministry of Health

Exclusion Criteria:

• Refusal to participate
• Current participation in a similar program
• Residing in a location with a similar program targeting patients with HIV
• Not covered by inclusion criteria.