Tuesday, February 24, 2026<\/p>\n
Study\u00a0used technology to extend reach of existing infrastructure, linking people to care.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (red\/yellow) budding and replicating from a segment of a chronically infected H9 cell (blue\/teal). Particles are in various stages of maturity; arc\/semi-circles are immature particles that have started to form but are still part of the cell. Immature particles slowly change morphology into mature forms and exhibit the classic \u201cconical or spherical-shaped core.\u201d Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland.<\/p>\n NIAID\/NIH<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n A study funded by the National Institutes of Health\u00a0(NIH)\u00a0reduced new HIV cases by 70% in rural Kenya and Uganda by\u00a0pairing digital tools with tailored HIV services delivered by community health workers and clinicians.\u00a0This successful\u00a0strategic\u00a0implementation\u00a0of existing healthcare infrastructure and available HIV prevention and treatment\u00a0options\u00a0could become a model for reducing HIV incidence in other\u00a0countries, including the United\u00a0States. The findings were presented today at the\u00a033rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections\u00a0(CROI 2026<\/a>) in Denver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe findings from this innovative study underscore the critical value of conducting implementation research\u00a0that\u00a0tests\u00a0HIV prevention and treatment strategies in real world settings,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Jeffrey\u00a0K.\u00a0Taubenberger,\u00a0M.D.,\u00a0Ph.D., acting director of NIH\u2019s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\u00a0(NIAID).\u00a0NIAID\u00a0co-funded\u00a0the study along with\u00a0NIH\u2019s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute of Mental Health; and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite the availability of\u00a0safe and\u00a0highly effective medications\u00a0to prevent and treat HIV, an estimated\u00a030,000\u00a0people in the United States and 1.3 million people globally newly\u00a0acquire\u00a0HIV each year. This gap exists largely because healthcare\u00a0and other\u00a0systems\u00a0struggle to reach, engage and\u00a0retain\u00a0people who need HIV prevention and care.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To respond to this challenge, the\u00a0longstanding\u00a0Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health\u00a0(SEARCH) consortium has been testing population-level interventions\u00a0designed to end\u00a0the\u00a0HIV\u00a0epidemic\u00a0and improve overall community health. Their latest trial involved a\u00a0tailored\u00a0approach to HIV testing, prevention and treatment implemented by existing health workers and clinicians\u00a0using\u00a0medications,\u00a0tests\u00a0and digital\u00a0technology\u00a0available in-country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The trial involved 16 remote, rural communities,\u00a0eight within each country.\u00a0After pairing communities with similar characteristics, the study team randomly assigned one community in each pair to receive a three-part\u00a0intervention designed to reduce HIV incidence,\u00a0and the other community to receive\u00a0standard HIV prevention and care.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0intervention had three components, which were delivered during a\u00a0two-year\u00a0period beginning in 2023\u00a0to people aged 15\u00a0years\u00a0and older, considered adults\u00a0in their communities. First, trained community health workers employed by the government visited each home to offer adults HIV testing.\u00a0The workers referred adults\u00a0who tested\u00a0HIV-positive to their local\u00a0health center for HIV treatment\u00a0and\u00a0referred adults\u00a0who tested\u00a0HIV-negative\u00a0but\u00a0said they were at\u00a0risk for\u00a0the virus\u00a0to\u00a0HIV prevention products and services. Second, healthcare providers at local health centers were trained to deliver personalized HIV prevention and care in a manner that was sensitive and responsive to the choices and preferences of their clients. Finally,\u00a0enhanced use of\u00a0a\u00a0ministry\u00a0of health-compatible\u00a0app\u00a0on handheld devices linked\u00a0health workers in the communities\u00a0with\u00a0clinicians,\u00a0medical\u00a0records\u00a0and services\u00a0in health centers,\u00a0facilitating\u00a0follow-up\u00a0with clients\u00a0and\u00a0community-based\u00a0delivery of\u00a0prevention\u00a0medications.\u00a0<\/p>\n Two years after the intervention began, the study team measured\u00a0HIV incidence among adults in the 16 participating communities. Seven\u00a0of about 42,000\u00a0people in the intervention communities and 22\u00a0of about 42,000 people\u00a0in the control communities had\u00a0acquired\u00a0HIV\u00a0in recent months,\u00a0indicating\u00a0that\u00a0the intervention\u00a0strategy\u00a0reduced\u00a0HIV incidence by\u00a070%. This finding was consistent across age,\u00a0sex\u00a0and country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To\u00a0better\u00a0understand\u00a0what drove\u00a0this decrease, the investigators measured the percentage of adults without HIV who had used a form of biomedical HIV prevention\u2014either\u00a0pre-exposure prophylaxis<\/a>\u00a0(PrEP) or\u00a0post-exposure prophylaxis<\/a>\u00a0(PEP)\u2014in the past six months. They found that 0.41% of adults in the control communities and 1.67% in the intervention communities had recently used\u00a0PrEP\u00a0or PEP, meaning the intervention\u00a0strategy\u00a0drove a four-fold increase in prevention uptake. This was true in both countries among men and women, regardless of age.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In\u00a0addition,\u00a0the investigators measured the percentage of people with HIV who knew their status, the percentage diagnosed with HIV who were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the percentage taking ART who were virally suppressed. The study team found\u00a0high levels\u00a0of HIV treatment and viral suppression in both\u00a0the intervention and control groups,\u00a0suggesting that\u00a0prevention uptake\u00a0in the setting of\u00a0high levels\u00a0of effective treatment\u00a0drove the decrease in HIV incidence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Most community health workers,\u00a0health care\u00a0providers and study participants\u00a0reported\u00a0finding\u00a0the intervention easy to implement,\u00a0even though\u00a0very few community health workers had experience using a smartphone or delivering HIV services\u00a0before the study\u00a0took place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n About the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):\u00a0NIAID conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and\u00a0ultimately prevent\u00a0infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.\u00a0NIAID\u00a0aims\u00a0to improve human health through an integrated,\u00a0holistic approach\u00a0to immune-mediated and infectious disease research.\u00a0For more information about NIAID, visit\u00a0https:\/\/niaid.nih.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n NIH\u2026Turning Discovery Into Health\u00ae<\/p>\n Reference:<\/p>\n \u201cThe impact of SEARCH Community Precision Health on HIV incidence in rural Kenya and Uganda.\u201d Presented\u00a0by\u00a0Gabriel Chamie, M.D.,\u00a0at\u00a0the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections\u00a0(CROI 2026)\u00a0in Denver, Colorado on Feb. 24, 2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Study\u00a0used technology to extend reach of existing infrastructure, linking people to care. 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