Reducing Stigma and Building Employability Skills for Young People With HIV in Zambia

Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Study ID
NCT07732660
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • HIV
  • Mental Health
  • Treatment Adherence

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 24 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Stigma Reduction Support Group (SRSG) — BEHAVIORAL
    Eight weekly, 2-hour, peer-led SRSG sessions delivered only to participants in the experimental condition. Sessions address internalized, anticipated, and enacted HIV- and poverty-related stigma through socioemotional skill-building activities, including self-care, resilience, affirmation, and coping strategies. Unlike the financial literacy training, this component is recurring (8 sessions vs. 1) and focuses on psychosocial and stigma-related content rather than financial knowledge. Unlike the TVET voucher, it is delivered directly by study-affiliated peer health educators rather than an external training partner, and does not involve vocational skill acquisition.
  • Financial Literacy — BEHAVIORAL
    A single, one-time, 2-hour group-based session covering budgeting, savings, credit, and financial goal-setting, delivered by peer health educators during week 1. This is the only intervention component common to both study arms: it is administered identically to participants in the experimental (Kupambana) and control (usual care) conditions to increase comparability between groups and isolate the effects of the additional experimental components. Unlike the SRSG, it is a single session rather than a recurring series, and unlike the TVET voucher, it involves no referral to an external training institute or ongoing skills instruction.
  • Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) — OTHER
    A voucher, provided only to participants in the experimental condition, covering enrollment in a vocational or entrepreneurship training course of the participant's choosing (e.g., agriculture, mechanics, carpentry, tailoring) at a partner training institute for up to 12 weeks. Unlike the financial literacy training and SRSG, this component is delivered by staff external to the research team at a separate partner institute, allows participants to choose their trade/course, and provides a direct economic asset (subsidized access to training) rather than group-based instruction or peer support.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a program called Kupambana can improve mental health and HIV care outcomes in young people with HIV in Zambia by combining stigma-reduction support with financial and job-skills training. The main questions it aims to answer are whether Kupambana is feasible and acceptable to young people with HIV and whether it improves mental health, reduces stigma, and improves progress along the HIV care continuum, such as staying in care and taking HIV medicine as prescribed. Researchers will compare young people who participate in Kupambana with those who receive a one-time financial literacy training session (usual care) to determine whether Kupambana leads to greater improvements in stigma, mental health, and HIV care outcomes. Participants will complete a baseline questionnaire and then be randomly assigned to either the Kupambana program or the one-time financial literacy training. Those assigned to Kupambana will attend eight weekly peer-led support group sessions focused on reducing HIV- and poverty-related stigma, receive a voucher for technical and vocational education and training, and attend a one-time financial literacy session. Those assigned to the comparison group will attend only the one-time financial literacy session. All participants will complete follow-up surveys at the end of the program and again 3 and 6 months later.

Key Dates

First listed
Jul 29, 2026
Start date
Sep 3, 2026
Status verified
Aug 2026
Primary completion
Oct 31, 2027
Completion
Oct 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
100 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Arms

  • Experimental: Kupambana
    Participants receive the full Kupambana intervention package over approximately 9-12 weeks. All experimental participants attend one 2-hour group-based financial literacy training session (covering budgeting, savings, credit, and goal-setting) during week 1, delivered by peer health educators. Participants also attend eight weekly 2-hour peer-led stigma-reduction support group (SRSG) sessions addressing internalized, anticipated, and enacted HIV- and poverty-related stigma through socioemotional skill-building, including self-care, resilience, affirmation, and coping strategies. Additionally, participants receive a voucher for up to 12 weeks of technical and vocational education and training \[TVET\] (e.g., agriculture, mechanics, carpentry, tailoring) at a partner training institute, delivered by institute staff. Together, these components target intersecting HIV- and poverty-related stigma to improve mental health and HIV care continuum outcomes.
  • Other: Treatment-as-Usual
    Participants attend one 2-hour group-based financial literacy training session (covering budgeting, savings, credit, and goal-setting) during week 1, delivered by peer health educators.

Primary Outcome Measure

HIV Continuum of Care: Linkage, Receipt, Retention, and Viral Suppression [ Time Frame: Baseline; 7 months after baseline (end of program); 10 months after baseline (3 months after end of program); and 13 months after baseline (6 months after end of program) ]

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