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  • Research
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Countries

Programs

Research and Clinical Trials

NIMH Project Accept

Project Accept is an NIMH-funded HIV prevention trial in 48 communities at five sites in South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. Randomized communities receive either a community-based HIV voluntary counseling and testing (CBVCT) intervention plus standard clinic-based VCT (SVCT), or SVCT alone.

The CBVCT intervention has three major strategies: 1) to make VCT more available in community settings; 2) to engage the community through outreach; and 3) to provide post-test support.

These strategies are designed to change community norms and reduce risk of HIV infection among all community members, whether they participated directly in the intervention or not. This is the first international, randomized, controlled Phase III trial to determine the efficacy of a behavioral/social science intervention with an HIV incidence endpoint.

UCLA serves as the multi-site coordinating center for Project Accept, and partners with sites in Soweto and Vulindlela, South Africa.

For more information, visit the project Accept website: www.cbvct.med.ucla.edu

Policy and Practice Implications of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

In 2004, Dr. Thomas J. Coates, along with the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), received funding from Northern California Grantmakers/AIDS Partnership California (NCG/APC) to prepare an in-depth monograph on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the first of its kind on this topic. The monograph, "Anticipating the Efficacy of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and the Needs of At-Risk Californians", provided a current summary of PrEP knowledge, the status of clinical trials, and outlined the key clinical, prevention, and economic/policy issues to be addressed once PrEP data become available.

In May 2006, the Program in Global Health held a cross-disciplinary think tank to develop consensus on contingency planning to best adapt to the various possible outcomes of the PrEP research currently underway. A transcript and policy monograph outlining the key outcomes of the meeting will be released in fall 2006.