Outcomes
SECONDARY
The primary outcome was viral suppression at 24 weeks defined by HIV‐1 RNA<400 copies/ml, based on available assays in country and to avoid misclassification of low‐level viral blips as non‐suppression. A 24‐week endpoint was selected to align with participants’ standard HIV care visits to minimize inconvenience, travel time and cost to participants, as well as a burden on clinic study sites and to allow time for effect of the 12‐week counselling visit. In primary analyses, participants without an endpoint viral load were assumed to be disengaged from care and unsuppressed. Individuals who moved out of the study region, died or withdrew were excluded. A secondary outcome was unhealthy alcohol use, defined as a composite of AUDIT‐C positive (score ≥3 for women, ≥4 for men) or PEth ≥50 ng/ml at 24 weeks. This composite was used to increase the overall sensitivity by combining two measures with high specificity.