Evaluating the integration of health services for chronic diseases in Africa
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN43896688 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN43896688 |
| ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT) | Nil known |
| Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) | Nil known |
| Protocol serial number | 19-100 |
| Sponsor | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
| Funder | European Union |
- Submission date
- 04/04/2020
- Registration date
- 21/04/2020
- Last edited
- 09/09/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Infections and Infestations
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
In Africa, chronic diseases such as high blood pressure (hypertension) and high blood sugar (diabetes) are now common and require treatment for life. HIV-infection is also common and also requires life-long treatment.
At the moment, in most African countries, health services for hypertension, diabetes and HIV infection are provided in separate clinics or on separate days. Given the growing need for these services, the researchers don’t know if this is the best way or whether services for these conditions should be provided together (i.e. all provided in one clinic). The researchers call bringing these services under one roof, integrated care. Integrating these services under one roof could be easier for patients and for health services but it might put pressure on the health worker seeing people with different conditions.
The goal is to compare a model of integrated care for people living with HIV-infection, diabetes or hypertension against the current standard model of separate clinics for each of these conditions.
The researchers will compare these models in terms of various health indicators measured among people with these conditions and the costs that both patients and the health services incur.
The researchers are working closely in partnership with health policy makers in Tanzania and Uganda. They will be the principal users of the research. They will use the information from the study to decide how future health care should be organised for chronic conditions.
Who can participate?
Adults aged over 18 years with confirmed HIV infection, diabetes, hypertension or any combination of these
What does the study involve?
The researchers want to generate clear evidence that can feed into consideration of future policy. In this trial, some health facilities will be asked to provide integrated care, and some will continue with the current stand-alone care. Health facilities will be randomly assigned (i.e. by chance) to deliver one of the two options of care. This is called a cluster-randomised trial.
Within each health facility, patients will be selected systematically for the study. They will be invited to join if they meet the criteria (for example that they live within reasonable distance). They will receive care from the regular health workers who will receive refresher training on how to manage HIV-infection, hypertension and diabetes. Participants will be followed up over 12 months to work out how well their disease has been managed, the financial costs that they incurred to come to the health facility, costs incurred by the health services to provide the care, and other indicators.
The researchers plan to enrol 32 health facilities in the two countries and a total of about 220 participants at each facility with one of the target diseases (HIV-infection, high blood pressure or high blood sugar). These participants will be included in the main overall evaluation of the two models of care.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no direct or immediate benefits to participants but the information from this study will help the Ministry of Health to decide on how to provide service for people who need chronic care.
Where is the study run from?
1. Medical Research Council/Uganda Viral Research Institute/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit (Uganda)
2. The AIDS Support Organisation (Uganda)
3. National Institute for Medical Research (Tanzania)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2020 to May 2022
Who is funding the study?
European Union
Who is the main contact?
Prof. Shabbar Jaffar
s.jaffar@ucl.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
Institute for Global Health, University College London, 30 Guildford Street
London
WC1N 1EH
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-9615-1588 |
|---|---|
| Phone | None provided |
| s.jaffar@ucl.ac.uk |
Scientific
Department of International Public Health
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Pembroke Place
Liverpool
L3 5QA
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-5466-1611 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 151 702 9361 |
| Joseph.Okebe@lstmed.ac.uk |
Scientific
Institute for Global Health, University College London, 30 Guildford Street
London
WC1N 1EH
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0003-2305-3749 |
|---|---|
| Phone | None provided |
| a.garrib@ucl.ac.uk |
Scientific
Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital
Dar es Salaam
-
Tanzania
| ORCID ID |
0000-0003-3309-5395 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +255 753333332 |
| ceo@hc.shm.or.tz |
Scientific
National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)
Muhimbili Centre
Dar es Salaam
-
Tanzania
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-9067-2684 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +255 784755632 |
| gsmfinanga@yahoo.com |
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Multi-centre open-label parallel two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Integrating HIV, diabetes and hypertension services in Africa: a cluster-randomised trial in Tanzania and Uganda |
| Study acronym | INTE-AFRICA |
| Study objectives | Integration of chronic care services will lead to improved outcomes for people living with diabetes or hypertension and will not compromise outcomes among people living with HIV infection. |
| Ethics approval(s) | 1. Approved 16/01/2020, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) Governance and Ethics Committee (Pembroke Place, L3 5QA, Liverpool, UK; +44 (0)151 705 3762; lstmrec@lstmed.ac.uk), ref: 19-100 2. Approved 23/03/2020, National Health Research Ethics Sub-Committee (3 Barack Obama Drive, P.O.Box 9653, 11101, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; +255 222 121 400; nimrethics@gmail.com), ref: NIMR/HQ/8.a/Vol. IX/3394 3. Approved 03/02/2020, The AIDS Support Organisation ethics committee (Mulago Hospital Complex, P.O.Box 10443, Kampala, Uganda; +256 414320385/6, mijumbia@tasouganda.org), ref: TASOREC/090/19-UG-REC-009 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | HIV-infection, diabetes, or hypertension or combinations of these conditions |
| Intervention | Experimental arm: Integrated health service provision at health facilities providing primary care for HIV infection, diabetes and hypertension. Control arm: standard care – separate stand-alone services for HIV infection, diabetes or hypertension. Integration will involve - A single one-stop clinic where patients with either HIV infection, diabetes or hypertension will be managed. Patients can have one or more of these conditions. - They will be seen and managed by the same clinicians, nurses, counsellors and other staff - There will be one pharmacy where dispensing is integrated - Patient records will be the same – a similar card will be used for all patients - Laboratory tests will be done by the same laboratory service Participants will be followed up from enrolment into the study for a period of 12 months. Randomisation of the health facilities will be stratified in each country by location, type of health facility (as defined by the clinical infrastructure available at the health facility) and by patient load at the health facility (i.e. the numbers of patients attending the facility on a monthly basis). Within each stratum, the researchers will randomise in a 1:1 ratio to either the experimental integration arm or the standard care arm using a computer-generated randomisation list. |
| Intervention type | Mixed |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
1. Retention in care for patients on diabetes and hypertension management measured using patient records at 12 months |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
1. Cost-effectiveness measured using a decision analytical model at 12 months |
| Completion date | 16/05/2022 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 7040 |
| Total final enrolment | 7030 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Adults aged 18 years and above 2. Confirmed HIV infection, diabetes, hypertension or any combination of these 3. Living within the catchment population of the health facility 4. Likely to remain in the catchment population for 6 months 5. Willing to provide written informed consent |
| Key exclusion criteria | Sick patients requiring immediate hospital care at time of assessment |
| Date of first enrolment | 02/07/2020 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/04/2021 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Tanzania
- Uganda
Study participating centres
Entebbe
P.O. Box 49
Uganda
Kampala
P.O. Box 10443
Uganda
Dar es Salaam
P.O. Box 9653
Tanzania
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in non-publicly available repository |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a non-publically available repository. The LSTM subscribes to the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. All datasets from research are committed to the Electronic Data Repository with associated study documentation as well as metadata. Currently, this repository is only accessible to staff. Interested parties can request for metadata of projects in certain disease areas or keywords by contacting the Data controller via email. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | 07/10/2023 | 04/04/2024 | Yes | No | |
| Protocol article | Protocol of qualitative process evaluation | 07/10/2020 | 14/10/2020 | Yes | No |
| Protocol article | Protocol of RCT | 13/10/2021 | 15/10/2021 | Yes | No |
| Other publications | Process evaluation | 02/06/2023 | 05/06/2023 | Yes | No |
| Other publications | Qualitative study in women living with HIV | 02/12/2022 | 04/04/2024 | Yes | No |
| Other publications | Qualitative-observational study understanding stigma | 09/01/2023 | 04/04/2024 | Yes | No |
| Other publications | Cost-minimisation analysis | 09/09/2025 | 09/09/2025 | Yes | No |
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
| Study website | Study website | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
Editorial Notes
09/09/2025: Publication reference added.
04/04/2024: The following changes have been made:
1. Publication references added.
2. Scientific contact information was updated.
05/06/2023: Publication reference added.
19/05/2022: The following changes have been made:
1. The overall trial end date has been changed from 31/05/2022 to 16/05/2022.
2. The total final enrolment number has been changed from 7047 to 7030.
21/04/2022: The following changes have been made:
1. The overall trial end date has been changed from 30/04/2022 to 31/05/2022 and the plain English summary has been updated to reflect this change.
2. The intention to publish date has been changed from 30/09/2022 to 30/10/2022.
15/10/2021: Publication reference added.
22/09/2021: The IPD sharing statement has been added and participant level data has been changed from "To be made available at a later date" to "Stored in a repository".
06/04/2021: The following changes have been made:
1. The recruitment end date has been changed from 31/01/2021 to 01/04/2021.
2. The overall trial end date has been changed from 31/01/2022 to 30/04/2022.
3. The intention to publish date has been changed from 30/06/2022 to 30/09/2022.
4. The final enrolment number has been added.
04/12/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 30/11/2020 to 31/01/2021.
2. The recruitment start date was changed from 19/03/2020 to 02/07/2020.
14/10/2020: Publication reference added.
13/07/2020: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 29/06/2020 to 30/11/2020.
2. The overall trial end date was changed from 30/04/2021 to 31/01/2022.
3. The intention to publish date was changed from 30/11/2021 to 30/06/2022.
20/04/2020: Trial’s existence confirmed by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
