Risk factors, barriers and facilitators for linkage to antiretroviral therapy care: a systematic review

Utilization of and Barriers to HIV and MCH Services among Community ART Group Members and Their Families in Tete, Mozambique

Mozambique continues to face many challenges in HIV and maternal and child health care (MCH). Community-based antiretroviral treatment groups (CAG) enhance retention to care among members, but whether such benefits extend to their families and to MCH remains unclear. In 2011 we studied utilization of HIV and MCH services among CAG members and their family aggregates in Changara, Mozambique, through a mixed-method assessment. We systematically revised all patient-held health cards from CAG members and their non-CAG family aggregate members and conducted semistructured group discussions on MCH topics. Quantitative data were analysed in EPI-Info. Qualitative data were manually thematically analysed. Information was retrieved from 1,624 persons, of which 420 were CAG members (26%). Good compliance with HIV treatment among CAG members was shared with non-CAG HIV-positive family members on treatment, but many family aggregate members remained without testing, and, when HIV positive, without HIV treatment. No positive effects from the CAG model were found for MCH service utilization. Barriers for utilization mentioned centred on insufficient knowledge, limited community-health facility collaboration, and structural health system limitations. CAG members were open to include MCH in their groups, offering the possibility to extend patient involvement to other health needs. We recommend that lessons learnt from HIV-based activism, patient involvement, and community participation are applied to broader SRH services, including MCH care.

Impact on ART initiation of point-of-care CD4 testing at HIV diagnosis among HIV-positive youth in Khayelitsha, South Africa

Introduction

Despite the rapid expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in developing countries, pre-treatment losses from care remain a challenge to improving access to treatment. Youth and adolescents have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group, at greater risk of loss from both pre-ART and ART care. Point-of-care (POC) CD4 testing has shown promising results in improving linkage to ART care. In Khayelitsha township, South Africa, POC CD4 testing was implemented at a clinic designated for youth aged 12–25 years. We assessed whether there was an associated reduction in attrition between HIV testing, assessment for eligibility and ART initiation.

Methods

A before-and-after observational study was conducted using routinely collected data. These were collected on patients from May 2010 to April 2011 (Group A) when baseline CD4 count testing was performed in a laboratory and results were returned to the clinic within two weeks. Same-day POC CD4 testing was implemented in June 2011, and data were collected on patients from August 2011 to July 2012 (Group B).

Results

A total of 272 and 304 youth tested HIV-positive in Group A and Group B, respectively. Group B patients were twice as likely to have their ART eligibility assessed compared to Group A patients: 275 (90%) vs. 183 (67%) [relative risk (RR)=2.4, 95% CI: 1.8–3.4, p<0.0001]. More patients in World Health Organization (WHO) Stage 1 disease (85% vs. 69%), with CD4 counts≥350 cells/µL (58% vs. 35%) and more males (13% vs. 7%) were detected in Group B. The proportion of eligible patients who initiated ART was 50% and 44% (p=0.6) in Groups B and A, respectively; and 50% and 43% (p=0.5) when restricted to patients with baseline CD4 count≤250 cells/µL. Time between HIV-testing and ART initiation was reduced from 36 to 28 days (p=0.6).

Discussion

POC CD4 testing significantly improved assessment for ART eligibility. The improvement in the proportion initiating ART and the reduction in time to initiation was not significant due to sample size limitations.

Conclusions

POC CD4 testing reduced attrition between HIV-testing and assessment of ART eligibility. Strategies to improve uptake of ART are needed, possibly by improving patient support for HIV-positive youth immediately after diagnosis.

Can we stop AIDS with antiretroviral-based treatment as prevention?

Challenges to scaling up treatment as prevention (TasP) of HIV transmission are considerable in the developing-world context and include accessing at-risk populations, human resource shortages, adherence and retention in care, access to newer treatments, measurement of treatment effects, and long-term sustainable funding. Optimism about ending AIDS needs to be tempered by the realities of the logistic challenges of strengthening health systems in countries most affected and by balancing TasP with overall combination prevention approaches.

Long-term adherence to antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings: a bitter pill to swallow

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy is an important predictor of long-term treatment success. Adherence can be differentiated between early adherence challenges, that are about integrating pill-taking into daily life, and long-term adherence, where patients struggle to maintain clinical connections and interrupt clinical care and medication use. In resource-limited settings, treatment interruptions may be more useful predictors of patient outcome than pill-taking alone. Interventions that are aimed at providing support to patients and their individual challenges to prevent interruptions in treatment and care may have a greater impact over time on clinically important outcomes than interventions targeted only at pill-taking behaviours.

Early uptake of HIV clinical care after testing HIV-positive during home-based testing and counseling in western Kenya

Home-based HIV testing and counseling (HBTC) has the potential to increase access to HIV testing. However, the extent to which HBTC programs successfully link HIV-positive individuals into clinical care remains unclear. To determine factors associated with early enrollment in HIV clinical care, adult residents (aged ≥13 years) in the Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Kisumu, Kenya were offered HBTC. All HIV-positive residents were referred to nearby HIV clinical care centers. Two to four months after HBTC, peer educators conducted home visits to consenting HIV-positive residents. Overall, 9,895 (82 %) of 12,035 residents accepted HBTC; 1,087 (11 %) were HIV-positive; and 737 (68 %) received home visits. Of those receiving home visits, 42 % reported HIV care attendance. Factors associated with care attendance included: having disclosed, living with someone attending HIV care, and wanting to seek care after diagnosis. Residents who reported their current health as excellent or who doubted their HBTC result were less likely to report care attendance. While findings indicate that HBTC was well-received in this setting, less than half of HIV-positive individuals reported current care attendance. Identification of effective strategies to increase early enrollment and retention in HIV clinical care is critical and will require coordination between testing and treatment program staff and systems.

Timing of antiretroviral therapy in Cambodian hospital after diagnosis of tuberculosis: impact of revised WHO guidelines

OBJECTIVE

To determine if implementation of 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation reduced delay from tuberculosis diagnosis to initiation of ART in a Cambodian urban hospital.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a nongovernmental hospital in Phnom Penh that followed new WHO guidelines in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis. All ART-naïve, HIV-positive patients initiated on antituberculosis treatment over the 18 months before and after guideline implementation were included. A competing risk regression model was used.

FINDINGS

After implementation of the 2010 WHO guidelines, 190 HIV-positive patients with tuberculosis were identified: 53% males; median age, 38 years; median baseline CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4+ cell) count, 43 cells/µL. Before implementation, 262 patients were identified; 56% males; median age, 36 years; median baseline CD4+ cell count, 59 cells/µL. With baseline CD4+ cell counts ≤ 50 cells/µL, median delay to ART declined from 5.8 weeks (interquartile range, IQR: 3.7-9.0) before to 3.0 weeks (IQR: 2.1-4.4) after implementation (P < 0.001); with baseline CD4+ cell counts > 50 cells/µL, delay dropped from 7.0 (IQR: 5.3-11.3) to 3.6 (IQR: 2.9-5.3) weeks (P < 0.001). The probability of ART initiation within 4 and 8 weeks after tuberculosis diagnosis rose from 23% and 65%, respectively, before implementation, to 62% and 90% after implementation. A non-significant increase in 6-month retention and antiretroviral substitution was seen after implementation.

CONCLUSION

Implementation of 2010 WHO recommendations in a routine clinical setting shortens delay to ART. Larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess impact on patient outcomes.