Appropriateness

AIM: To evaluate the integration of point-of-care etiological STI testing, cognitive behavioral counselling (CBC), and sexual partner engagement strategies to improve STI management, PrEP uptake and 3-month PrEP persistence among pregnant and postpartum women PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the intervention on 3-month PrEP persistence among pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Determine the proportion of PPW initiating PrEP Determine the prevalence of STIs among pregnant and postpartum women Determine the feasibility and acceptability of aetiological STI testing within the antenatal and postnatal clinical workflows by HCPs Determine the acceptability and uptake of HIV/STI services by partners of pregnant and postpartum women STUDY DESIGN AND POPULATION: One-site, two-arm, individually randomized controlled type-1 hybrid implementation pilot This pilot study will follow a type-1 hybrid implementation-effectiveness design to be implemented at a public sector primary healthcare centre with a high HIV/STI burden (Gugulethu Community Health Centre). Enrollment: 120 pregnant women attending a routine care visit. Follow-up visits may fall in the post-partum period depending on age of gestation upon enrollment. Inclusion criteria include: 1) age ≥18 years; 2) HIV-negative, 3) minimum gestational age of 18 weeks for pregnant women, and 4) eligible for PrEP as per South African guidelines. Exclusion criteria include: 1) inability to provide informed consent, 2) medical contraindications to PrEP. Sexual partners of PPW will be engaged through the distribution of HIV/syphilis self-test kits, and 10 healthcare providers will participate in cognitive behavioral counselling (CBC) training and competency assessments.

The aim of this study is to develop, study and validate a rigorous and sustainable method for assessing the clinical appropriateness of the decision taken in the Emergency Department to admit or not to admit patients.

The goal of this study is to learn if the New Beginnings Podcast can help children whose parents are going through a divorce or separation. The podcast shares parenting strategies that have been shown to help in past in-person and online programs. This study will also look at how easy it is for parents to use the podcast and how helpful they find it. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Do parents find the podcast easy to use, helpful, and relevant? 2. Does listening to the podcast improve children's mental health? 3. Does the podcast help parents build stronger relationships with their children and reduce conflict between parents? Researchers will compare families who use the podcast to families on a waitlist to see if the podcast makes a difference. Participants will: 1. Listen to podcast episodes over the course of the study 2. Answer questions about their experiences with the podcast 3. Complete surveys about their child's well-being, their parenting, and family relationships This study will include 80 parents and their children.