Peer-reviewed article
Bridges-Round 2: A study protocol to examine the longitudinal HIV risk prevention and care continuum outcomes among orphaned youth transitioning to young adulthood
Proscovia Nabunya, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Torsten B. Neilands, Noeline Nakasujja, Phionah Namatovu et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a study protocol describing a longitudinal follow-up of orphaned youth in Uganda who were previously enrolled in the Bridges to the Future intervention. The original study tested a family-based economic empowerment programme combining child development accounts, financial literacy training, income-generating activities and peer mentorship among adolescents aged 10-16. The follow-up phase will track participants into young adulthood over four years to examine long-term impacts on HIV prevention, mental health, school outcomes and engagement in HIV care, using quantitative, qualitative and biomedical data.
Key points
- The original Bridges study (2012-2018) found that economic empowerment significantly improved mental health, school retention and performance, and sexual health among 1,383 orphaned adolescents
- The follow-up study will track the same cohort for an additional four years (2022-2026) as they transition to young adulthood
- The protocol includes new qualitative components, biomedical data collection for sexual health outcomes, and cost-benefit analysis
- The study aims to examine whether modest economic resources provided in childhood offer long-term protection against HIV risks and improve treatment engagement
Limitations
This is a study protocol rather than results, so it describes planned methods but cannot demonstrate whether the intervention actually produces the anticipated long-term effects. The document does not provide baseline characteristics, comparison group details, or outcome data from the follow-up phase.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Youth orphaned by HIV in sub-Saharan Africa experience immense hardships including social disadvantage, adverse childhood events and limited economic prospects. These adversities disrupt the normative developmental milestones and can gravely compromise their health and emotional wellbeing. The Bridges to the Future study (2012-2018) prospectively followed 1,383 adolescents, between 10-16 years, to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a family-based economic empowerment intervention comprising of child development accounts, financial literacy training, family income generating activities and peer mentorship. Study findings show efficacy of this contextually-driven intervention significantly improving mental health, school retention and performance and sexual health. However, critical questions, such as those related to the longitudinal impact of economic empowerment on HIV prevention and engagement in care remain. This paper presents a protocol for the follow-up phase titled, Bridges Round 2. METHODS: The Original Bridges study participants will be tracked for an additional four years (2022-2026) to examine the longitudinal developmental and behavioral health outcomes and potential mechanisms of the effect of protective health behaviors of the Bridges cohort. The study will include a new qualitative component to examine participants' experiences with the intervention, the use of biomedical data to provide the most precise results of the highly relevant, but currently unknown sexual health outcomes among study participants, as well as a cost-benefit analysis to inform policy and scale-up. DISCUSSION: Study findings may contribute to the scientific knowledge for low-resource communities on the potential value of providing modest economic resources to vulnerable boys and girls during childhood and early adolescence and how these resources may offer long-term protection against known HIV risks, poor mental health functioning and improve treatment among the HIV treatment care continuum.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Family-based economic empowerment comprising child development accounts, financial literacy training, family income-generating activities and peer mentorship
- Population
- Orphaned adolescents aged 10-16 in Uganda (1,383 participants in original study)
Key finding
Original Bridges study (2012-2018) found significant improvements in mental health among orphaned adolescents
Nabunya et al. · Prof. Fred M. Ssewamala (OpenAlex works) · 10 May 2023