# Engaging men through HIV self-test and differentiated care models to increase ART initiation and viral suppression in Malawi

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2022 · $515,387

## 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 R01 is to test a home-based ART intervention (ART initiation + 3-months ART
care) plus motivational interviewing to increase ART initiation and 6-month viral suppression among men who
test HIV-positive through Index HIVST in Malawi. The specific aims are: (1) test the effectiveness of home-based
versus facility-based ART on ART initiation and 6-month viral suppression among male partners who test through
Index HIVST; (2) Identify predictors of ART initiation and 6-month viral suppression; and (3) Determine the cost
and cost-effectiveness of home-based ART versus facility-based among male partners using Index HIVST. The
trial will provide urgent information on innovative HIV service delivery strategies for hard-to-reach-populations,
such as men. Findings are expected to inform national policy and international recommendations around
combined differentiated models that reach across the HIV treatment cascade.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10415983
- **Project number:** 5R01MH122308-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas J. Coates
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $515,387
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-17 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10415983

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10415983, Engaging men through HIV self-test and differentiated care models to increase ART initiation and viral suppression in Malawi (5R01MH122308-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10415983. Licensed CC0.

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