Ethics statement
ADVERSE EVENTS, SECONDARY
This study was approved by the National Health and Sciences Research Committee in Malawi and the Institutional Review Board at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles (California, United States of America) (Protocol #1664). Individuals who provided oral consent for screening were screened and, if eligible, completed written informed consent for study participation.We conducted an individually randomized, unblinded trial among ART clients and their partners in Malawi between March 28, 2018 and January 5, 2020. The primary outcome was partner status ascertainment 4 weeks after enrollment, measured through secondary reports by ART clients. Secondary outcomes included: HIV positivity rates, ART initiation among those reported as having a reactive test, usability and acceptability of index partner HIVST, and presence of adverse events, defined as self-reported presence of IPV and/or termination of romantic relationship. This study is reported as per the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guideline (see 