HSRC and partners to embark on a joint HIV and TB pilot study The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and its partners will be conducting a joint TB and HIV pilot study in KwaZulu-Natal between the 26th of August and the 20th of September. The purpose of the pilot study is to determine the feasibility of conducting a larger joint Tuberculosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (TB/HIV) survey. The project will: • determine survey uptake of combined HIV and TB testing • assess data quality of collected interview and biomarker measures • estimate the costs of a (scaled-up) joint population-based TB/ HIV impact assessment (PHIA) survey • document operational lessons learned to inform scale up of future joint TB-HIV surveys. The survey will be taking place in 2 communities (called clusters for the purpose of the study) in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, namely Marburg and The Ridge (Umgayi). There will be 2 phases to the project: 1. Household phase, where all eligible individuals up to 500 adults (≥ 15 years as per the South African TB prevalence survey), plus their accompanying children (300 children 15 years per cluster) will be asked to participate by answering a questionnaire. In each cluster, all households will be selected for inclusion into the pilot survey. The people who will be invited to participate will be people of all ages who have slept in that respective household for at least five nights of the previous two weeks. 2. Hub phase, where all participants who are potentially at risk of having TB will be asked to participate by having various health checks including a TB and HIV test. Where participants need to be referred to treatment and support, they will be linked to a local clinic. The survey will be anonymous, meaning that all personal identifiers will be delinked once the survey has been completed. The study aims to reach a total of 1,600 people in Kwazulu-Natal. Field workers will visit specific homes to invite members of households within the selected areas, to participate in the survey. They will also provide more information about the exact venue, date and times that the survey will be in your area. This pilot survey is very important to South Africa, as it will give an indication if HSRC and its partners can implement a larger survey in order to support efforts to find the best methods to fight TB and HIV. Community members are requested to welcome field workers, identified by their branded bibs and name tags, into their homes, and to support them in this process. For further information call: Team Leader: Ms Tsatsi Mkhombo: 081 848 9985 Project Director: Mr Shandir Ramlagan: 082 355 2379 Project PI: Dr Sizulu Moyo: [email protected] For media enquiries or to set up interviews, please contact Adziliwi Nematandani (HRSC), 0827659191, email: [email protected]. Join the conversation: South Africa MUST end TB and HIV #itsinourhands #endTB #endHIV # ourSouthAfrica Knowledge through research = Action