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Article History

Received: 11 February 2024

Accepted: 9 May 2025

First Online: 3 July 2025

Declarations

:

: The intention to conduct this follow up exercise was outlined within the protocol for the AMETHIST group of studies, which received ethical approval from the ethics committee of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (19-115RS) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (19123). This exercise was a programme improvement initiative, making use of contact information that FSWs who visit a Sisters clinic provide voluntarily to enable follow up in the event they defaulted. This exercise and its record-keeping align with standard programme objectives and activities, such as the active follow-up of FSWs on ART or PrEP who discontinue care. The use of data from the Sisters programme in statistical analyses for research publications, as well as for programme learning and adjustments, is authorised by a waiver from the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe (MRCZ/E/266), who reviewed and approved our application to conduct secondary statistical analysis of programme data. The exercise was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles enshrined in the Declaration of Helsinki ().Relevant contact information routinely collected and kept securely (with written consent) is used by the programme for clinical follow up and includes names, alternative names, phone numbers, residential addresses, and a unique identifier code for identification of re-engagement with care at other Sisters clinics. The locator form employed in the programme obtains written consent from the FSWs, authorising the programme to undertake follow up and use provided phone numbers to locate them if necessary. FSWs were not contacted if they had indicated that they did not want to be, but were not otherwise asked for informed consent once contacted.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.