Medical drones to deliver HIV medicines and lab samples in the Kalangala islands

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

Researchers will run a cluster-randomized trial in Kalangala District, randomizing 64 landing sites to either drone delivery or standard-of-care delivery (boat/facility pick-up) so that everyone at a landing site receives the same delivery method. Adults and emancipated minors on ART who join decentralized service delivery groups will be followed for 12 months to compare the proportion with undetectable HIV viral load between arms. The protocol includes stratification by distance from the drone base and number of DSD groups to reduce bias, and avoids contamination by using landing sites as the unit of randomization. The study also incorporates cost-effectiveness and carbon footprint analyses plus a qualitative process evaluation of acceptability and potential additional use cases.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult (\>18 years) living with HIV
* Emancipated minor (15-17 years) who is living with HIV
* Receiving antiretroviral therapy in Kalangala District
* Be a resident in Kalangala district for at least the preceding 6-12 months
* Willing to stay for a minimum next 24 months
* Willing to disclose HIV status to an expert peer or village health team member.
* Willing to join discentralised Service Delivery model groups

Exclusion Criteria:

* Potential participants below 15 years with care providers not receiving care from DSD.
* No active opportunistic infection (including but not limited to TB) in health centre records or self-report or suspected by the study team at enrolment (will be referred back to health facility for investigations and can be enrolled if no infection confirmed).
* Patients with mental illness or any other medical condition that compromises decision making process (as determined by medical records at facility and direct questioning to participant)
* Any other clinical condition that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would make the participant unsuitable for the study or unable to comply with dosing requirements.
* For stage three, participants residing in areas that took part in stage 2 drone delivery eg Bufumira island

Where it's running

• Bwendero Health Centre
  Kalangala, Ssese, Uganda Recruiting
• Mugoye health Centre III
  Kalangala, Ssese, Uganda Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Rosalind Principal Investigator, MBBS, MA Hons, MRCP, Ph.D
• Email: rratanshi@idi.co.ug
• Phone: +256312211422

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Project SHIELD 2.0: Police Education to Support Public Health in Kentucky

  Aimed at police in Kentucky, this program tests whether SHIELD training given to officers, with health workers helping deliver it, can reduce drug-related arrests and steer people who use drugs toward MOUD and other health services.

  Recruiting Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Lexington, Kentucky · NCT07804121

• New ways to diagnose lymphoma and multicentric Castleman disease in people living with HIV

  This study tests a quick, point-of-care nucleic acid test to help diagnose lymphoma and multicentric Castleman disease in people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

  Recruiting Indiana University · Lilongwe · NCT07793006

• Bridge to Belonging: A Peer‑Led Program to Reduce Loneliness and Depression in older gay and bisexual men with HIV

  This program tests a peer-delivered, manualized approach to help men aged 50+ with HIV connect to LGBTQ+-affirming elder services to see if it reduces loneliness and depressive symptoms.

  Recruiting Fenway Community Health · Boston, Massachusetts · NCT07762066

• HIV vaccine test in healthy adults using CH505 nanoparticles and mRNA boosters

  This early-stage study will test the safety and immune responses of CH505 vaccine regimens in healthy adults to see if they can trigger HIV-specific immune protection.

  Recruiting at 2 sites Phase 1 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · San Francisco, California and 7 other locations · NCT07757802

• Stigma-reducing program to help women who use drugs stay in HIV care

  This test checks whether a stigma-reduction program helps women living with HIV who use drugs stay engaged in HIV care in Ukraine.

  Recruiting Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast · NCT07751978

• Platelets and HIV Reservoirs: A look at how platelets might harbor HIV in people living with HIV

  This observational study tests whether HIV can be found inside platelets in adults with suppressed HIV on therapy.

  Recruiting Tourcoing Hospital · Tourcoing · NCT07745530

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.