INTUIT-SA: Integrating U=U into HIV counseling in South Africa

This NIH-funded study, conducted in collaboration with HE²RO, developed and piloted an app-based video intervention to integrate U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) messaging into HIV counseling in South Africa. Although treatment-as-prevention is the primary rationale for “test-and-treat” policies, the prevention benefits of antiretroviral therapy have not featured prominently in HIV counseling and public health messaging. The intervention aimed to provide accurate, up-to-date information on U=U, including its limitations, and sought to increase uptake of ART by reducing stigma and appealing to HIV prevention altruism, i.e. the desire to avoid transmitting HIV to others.