# Innovative strategies to increase ART Initiation and viral suppression among HIV+ men in Malawi

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $142,405

## Abstract

Project Summary
Men continue to be missed by HIV testing and treatment services. Index partner testing is a critical strategy for
reaching men. Index HIV self-testing (HIVST), whereby ART clients take HIVST kits home to their sexual partners
for testing, is a new strategy that dramatically increases index testing among men, and is being taken to scale
across Malawi. However, only 25% of men identified as HIV-positive through Index HIVST initiate ART after 6-
months. Innovative strategies to increase ART initiation and retention among men are urgently needed. The
overarching goal of the proposed K01 is to develop and pilot a home-based ART intervention (ART initiation +
3-months ART care) to increase ART initiation (primary outcome) and 6-month viral suppression (secondary
outcome) among men who test HIV-positive through Index HIVST in Malawi. Candidate: I am a social scientist
with a background in HIV research in sub-Saharan Africa. My long-term goal is to transition from observational
social science to clinical trials research in innovative HIV service delivery models among hard-to-reach
populations, such as men. I am applying for a five-year K01 award to obtain training, mentorship, and research
experience. Mentoring: I have an exceptional multi-disciplinary mentoring team with extensive experience in
HIV care and management and clinical trials in the region. The team has complementary expertise in social
science and clinical trials in HIV service delivery models (Dr. Thomas Coates – Primary Mentor), best practices
in HIV care and management and differentiated models of care in Malawi (Drs. Judith Currier and Risa Hoffman),
scalability and sustainability of interventions (Dr. Sundeep Gupta – Malawi-based), and advanced biostatistics
(Dr. Ron Brookmyer). Career Development: To achieve my long-term goals, we have developed a detail plan
to build skills in four additional areas: (1) best clinical practices for ART care and maintenance; (2) clinical trials
in novel approaches to HIV service delivery; (3) advanced statistical methods; and (4) ethics in clinical trials
research in low-resource settings. Research Activities: The specific aims accompanying the career
development plan are to: (1) Develop a home-based ART intervention for male partners tested through Index
HIVST, using in-depth interviews with male Index HIVST users (n=15-20) and their partners (n=15-20), and focus
group discussions with key informants (n=18-30). (2) Determine the potential effectiveness of home-based ART
versus standard facility-based ART (on ART initiation (primary outcome) and 6-month viral suppression
(secondary outcome) among male Index HIVST users in a pilot trial with 200 HIV-positive men. Expected
Outcomes: Results from this study will inform definitive trial to test home-based ART services for men identified
as HIV-positive through index HIVST strategies. The project will also give me the additional skillsets needed to
become an independent investigator in clini...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10018124
- **Project number:** 5K01TW011484-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathryn L Dovel
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $142,405
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-16 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10018124

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10018124, Innovative strategies to increase ART Initiation and viral suppression among HIV+ men in Malawi (5K01TW011484-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10018124. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*