Implementing organisation: Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE2RO)
Study objectives: We aim to (1) Recruit a cohort of individuals who will comprise a “B-Hub” for assessing the likely effectiveness of behavioural nudges; (2) Explore knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of healthcare workers, care recipients and community members on candidate interventions; and (3) Test the usability and relevance of interventions prior to evaluating and scaling in a larger population.
Intervention description: Incorporating perspectives of care recipients, community members and healthcare workers in the case of HIV service delivery – can be vital for designing effective interventions such as health messages and other behavioural interventions. The Indlela team proposes the formation of a Behavioural Insights Test (BIT) B-Hub to assemble a group of individuals, or B-Hub, to provide feedback on the BIT project development process. A BIT is a project that will implement and test low-cost, scalable interventions or service delivery innovations that are informed by behavioural economics and have the potential to overcome behavioural barriers to essential HIV services. The views of the B-Hub will be key to ensuring that the BIT projects meet community needs and will test the usability and relevance of the proposed interventions.
The study will take place in two phases:
Phase 1 – B-Hub recruitment
We will compile a database of participants who are interested in taking part in the B-Hub.
Phase 2 – B-Hub activities
During this phase, we will invite B-Hub members to take part in activities to assess knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of the proposed HIV-related and COVID-19 vaccination interventions. Participants will also provide feedback on the usability and relevance of proposed interventions prior to implementation.
Evaluation description: This will be an exploratory study design with two phases that will take place concurrently, as described above.
Study outcomes: The project outcomes will include: 1) enrol healthcare workers,care recipients and community members into a B-Hub; 2) assess knowledge of behavioural challenges to accessing HIV care and COVID-19 vaccination programmes; 3) assess attitudes and beliefs toward HIV care and COVID-19 vaccination programmes 4) explore perceptions of HIV-related and COVID-19 vaccination interventions and data collection tools specific to the BIT projects
Study site: Recruitment will include, but is not be limited to Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo provinces.
Target population:
Healthcare workers inclusion criteria:
- Based at selected private or public health facilities
- Cadre of staff can include doctors, nurses, community health workers, outreach teams, HTS counsellors, data capturers and admin clerks
- Has access to a mobile phone
- Age ≥18 years old
Care recipients inclusion criteria:
- Attending the selected private or public health facilities and presenting at key entry points for routine services
- Have access to a mobile phone
- Age ≥18 years old
- Able to communicate in one of the study approved languages
Target sites: We will liaise with HE2RO research teams that are based in the selected provinces to recruit for the B-Hub.
Updates: We completed phase 1 of the study in early September, which entailed enrolling 550 participants to the B-Hub. We have started our first B-Hub project, data collection is in progress. Look out for the results and other studies that will be done with our B-Hub panelists.