#aware.hiv Europe
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Supporting healthcare professionals to find undiagnosed HIV in European hospitals. An implementation project
IRAS ID
355047
Contact name
Tristan Barber
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Erasmus Mc
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
While effective antiretroviral therapy has improved HIV management and outcomes, delayed diagnosis due to persisting undetected cases increases HIV associated mortality, disease burden, healthcare costs, and transmission rates.
International health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and EuroTEST highly recommend unbiased HIV testing among individuals exhibiting HIV indicator conditions as a crucial strategy for ensuring timely diagnosis.
Although HIV indicator-based testing is regarded routine clinical care, the reality is that a significant number of patients with indicator conditions remain untested for HIV despite the presence of these clinical guidelines, showing a relevant implementation gap.
The #aware.hiv project has started in the Netherlands to support guideline implementation regarding routine HIV testing practices in hospitals. The study protocol to evaluate the clinical benefit was approved by the Ethical Committee at the Erasmus University Medical Center as not falling under the Dutch Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act. The project was exempt from requiring informed consent from patients to use the data based on predefined criteria by the GDPR and the Dutch Medical Treatment Contracts Act waiving this need. During this project, we demonstrated the efficacy of a proactive approach within routine hospital care utilizing HIV teams led by HIV medical specialists who advice on HIV testing to colleague healthcare professionals caring for patients with HIV indicator conditions that, in retrospect, remained unrecognized. This approach resulted in a substantial, sustainable, and significant increase in HIV testing rates in this patient group.
This protocol outlines the methodology for implementing HIV teams in hospitals throughout Europe. The hypothesis is that HIV teams improve HIV diagnostics and care ensuring adherence to guidelines, including both linkage to treatment as well as prevention.REC name
Wales REC 1
REC reference
25/WA/0177
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion