NCT04798534

Brief Summary

Vietnam is currently decentralizing its methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) dispensing network to its local commune health centers (CHC), which provides a window of opportunity to study decentralization of harm reduction and HIV-related healthcare services into community-based healthcare settings. Commune health workers (CHW) in Vietnam have widespread misconceptions about harm reduction and perceived significant challenges associated with treating people who use drugs. Intervention effort is needed to address these issues to ensure a smooth implementation of the decentralized service model. This study is to pilot testing an intervention with a primary focus on process optimization in six CHC-based MMT distribution sites with 30 CHW and 90 MMT patients. The six CHC in Thai Nguyen Province of Vietnam will be randomized to either an intervention condition or a control condition. The intervention will be executed through a combination of in-person training and mobile phone application utilization. The intervention outcomes on CHW and MMT clients will be evaluated at baseline, 3-, and 6-months.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
120

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Aug 2020

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 28, 2020

Completed
6 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

March 4, 2021

Completed
11 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 15, 2021

Completed
15 days until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 30, 2021

Completed
1.4 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

August 31, 2022

Completed
Last Updated

May 31, 2023

Status Verified

May 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

7 months

First QC Date

March 4, 2021

Last Update Submit

May 27, 2023

Conditions

Keywords

VietnamService DecentralizationMethadone maintenance therapyHIVCommunity health setting

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

  • CHW's service provision for MMT providers

    This outcome will be evaluated using the change in CHW's self-reported number of hours in a typical week they spend on providing services for their MMT patients in the following areas: treatment adherence and retention, physical and mental health, employment status, family issues, STI/HIV risk reduction, and healthcare utilization.

    From baseline to 3-month

  • CHW's service provision for MMT providers

    This outcome will be evaluated using the change in CHW's self-reported number of hours in a typical week they spend on providing services for their MMT patients in the following areas: treatment adherence and retention, physical and mental health, employment status, family issues, STI/HIV risk reduction, and healthcare utilization.

    From baseline to 6-month

  • Patients' adherence to MMT

    This outcome will be measured using the change in the number of days the client received an MMT dosage divided by the total number of days during an observation period. Any occurrence of a special event (including termination of MMT, a positive urine test, and/or a dosage change) will be documented in detail.

    From baseline to 3-month

  • Patients' adherence to MMT

    This outcome will be measured using the change in the number of days the client received an MMT dosage divided by the total number of days during an observation period. Any occurrence of a special event (including termination of MMT, a positive urine test, and/or a dosage change) will be documented in detail.

    From baseline to 6-month

Secondary Outcomes (18)

  • Patients' level of satisfaction with community-based services

    From baseline to 3-month

  • Patients' level of satisfaction with community-based services

    From baseline to 6-month

  • Patients' service preference

    From baseline to 3-month

  • Patients' service preference

    From baseline to 6-month

  • Patients' addiction and HIV-related service utilization

    From baseline to 3-month

  • +13 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (4)

  • MMT patients' mental health

    From baseline to 3-month

  • MMT patients' mental health

    From baseline to 6-month

  • MMT patients' heroin use

    From baseline to 3-month

  • +1 more other outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

CHW in the intervention arm will receive intervention through a combination of in-person training sessions and internet support. MMT patients in the intervention arm can use a specially designed online platform to communicate with their CHW.

Behavioral: Service decentralization facilitation intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

The control group CHW will perform business as usual. Both control group CHW and MMT patients do not have access to the online platform.

Interventions

The intervention CHW will participate in three 60-minute intervention weekly sessions. During the intervention, CHW will be provided with the knowledge and skills to serve their MMT patients. The intervention sessions will also focus on enhancing the current service decentralization workflow so that the CHW can work with both their peer providers and their patients more efficiently. Two-times booster sessions will be offered before the 3- and 6-month survey for continued skill building for problem-solving. In addition to the group sessions, the intervention arm CHW will be encouraged to use a specially designed online platform to review the current policy and scientific findings, review their patients' treatment status, communicate with other providers, and provide instant consulting to their MMT patients. The MMT patients in the intervention condition can use the online platform to communicate with their CHW and view education materials disseminated by their MMT providers or CHW.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age 18 or over
  • Currently seeking MMT services in one of the participating commune health centers
  • Voluntary informed consent

You may not qualify if:

  • Having psychosis or neurological damage, or cannot understand the study purposes as judged by the recruiter in consultation with a clinic supervisor.
  • Inability to give informed consent
  • CHW (n=30):
  • Age 18 or over
  • Currently working in one of the participating commune health centers and have direct contact with MMT clients
  • Providing informed consent
  • Inability to provide informed consent

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology

Hanoi, Vietnam

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Opioid-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Narcotic-Related DisordersSubstance-Related DisordersChemically-Induced DisordersMental Disorders

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

March 4, 2021

First Posted

March 15, 2021

Study Start

August 28, 2020

Primary Completion

March 30, 2021

Study Completion

August 31, 2022

Last Updated

May 31, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

After all data are de-identified, cleaned, and validated, and main findings are published, the study team will make study data available upon request with the scientific community. Data sets will be made available to those who make a direct request to the PI and indicate the data will be used for the purposes of research. No identifiers will be included in these data sets. Depending on the request, data may be made available only in the form of codebooks and aggregated frequencies, to protect participant confidentiality. The names of the communes where data are collected may not be released beyond the immediate study team to further protect the privacy of participants.

Time Frame
Upon request

Locations