Support to help adolescent girls and young women stick with oral, injectable, or ring PrEP in South Africa and Zimbabwe
CARES: An adherence support intervention for multiple PREP methods among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa and Zimbabwe
This project offers counseling, biomarker feedback, and options like support clubs, phone check-ins, and SMS to help adolescent girls and young women in South Africa and Zimbabwe stay on oral, injectable, or ring PrEP.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Triangle Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Research Triangle Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11373287 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you would receive personalized counseling and practical supports to help you use daily oral PrEP, bimonthly injectable PrEP, or the monthly ring. The program provides adherence biomarker feedback so you can see whether a method is protecting you and lets you choose extra supports such as group clubs, phone calls, or SMS reminders. The team will adapt the CARES approach so it can be delivered in routine clinics and community programs and will include injectable PrEP in the menu of options. Researchers will then offer the adapted program at sites in South Africa and Zimbabwe to see whether it helps people continue PrEP and is acceptable and feasible for local services.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adolescent girls and young women in South Africa and Zimbabwe who are starting or currently using oral, injectable, or ring PrEP are the ideal participants.
Not a fit: People who are not at risk for HIV, not using or considering PrEP, or living outside the participating regions are unlikely to benefit directly from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help more young women maintain protective PrEP levels and reduce their risk of HIV.
How similar studies have performed: A prior trial (MTN-034) that used CARES showed substantially higher protective adherence (about 57% of visits) than comparable studies, but adapting CARES from a highly resourced trial setting to routine programs is a new step.
Where this research is happening
Research Triangle Park, United States
- Research Triangle Institute — Research Triangle Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Roberts, Sarah Tyler — Research Triangle Institute
- Study coordinator: Roberts, Sarah Tyler
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.