Bio Mechanism Study
Biological mechanisms linking contraceptive use and HIV
- The primary goal of ECHO is to compare the risk of HIV infection among women assigned to use three different contraceptive methods (copper IUD, Jadelle implant, DMPA Injectable)
- By addressing this goal, we will still not answer the question about how any of these contraceptives could increase HIV risk.
- Studies of biological mechanisms will permit to investigate possible pathways through which contraceptives could increase HIV risk
- In addition, these studies will provide important information for the development of new contraceptives and products that combine contraception with HIV prevention (called MPT or multipurpose prevention technologies
- To participate in the ancillary study, participants must be consented to protocol v3.0 or higher in ECHO.
- The consent form used for protocol v3.0 + includes the additional samples being collected for the ancillary study (BM).
ECHO biological mechanisms working group (BMWG)
- Liaises with ECHO ops committee and management committee
- Developed 1 standard set of samples to be collected at each participating site
- Membership is open to any ECHO team members (you can join if you want)