Background Pregnant and post-partum adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa experience inferior outcomes along the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) cascade compared to their adult counterparts. Yet, despite this inequality in outcomes, scarce data from the region describe AGYW perspectives to inform adolescent-sensitive PMTCT programming. In this paper, we report findings from formative implementation research examining barriers to, and facilitators of, PMTCT care for HIV-infected AGYW in Malawi, and explore strategies for adapting the mothers2mothers (m2m) Mentor Mother Model to better meet AGYW service delivery-related needs and preferences. Methods Qualitative researchers conducted 16 focus group discussions (FGDs) in 4 Malawi districts with HIV-infected adolescent mothers ages 15–19 years categorized into two groups: 1) those who had experience with m2m programming (8 FGDs, n = 38); and 2) those who did not (8 FGDs, n = 34). FGD data were analyzed using thematic analysis to assess major and minor themes and to compare findings between groups. Results Median participant age was 17 years (interquartile range: 2 years). Poverty, stigma, food insecurity, lack of transport, and absence of psychosocial support were crosscutting barriers to PMTCT engagement. While most participants highlighted resilience and self-efficacy as motivating factors to remain in care to protect their own health and that of their children, they also indicated a desire for tailored, age-appropriate services. FGD participants indicated preference for support services delivered by adolescent HIV-infected mentor mothers who have successfully navigated the PMTCT cascade themselves. Conclusions HIV-infected adolescent mothers expressed a preference for peer-led, non-judgmental PMTCT support services that bridge communities and facilities to pragmatically address barriers of stigma, poverty, health system complexity, and food insecurity. Future research should evaluate implementation and health outcomes for adolescent mentor mother services featuring these and other client-centered attributes, such as provision of livelihood assistance and peer-led psychosocial support.

Introduction Rates of abnormal visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes have not been well characterized in HIV-infected women in Malawi. Methods We performed a prospective cohort study of VIA (N=440) in HIV-infected women ages 25-59, with a nested study of HPV subtypes in first 300 women enrolled. Wilcoxon's Rank-Sum Test was used to compare continuous variables and Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical variables between women with normal versus abnormal VIA. Results: Of 440 women screened, 9.5% (N=42) had abnormal VIA with 69.0% (N=29) having advanced disease not amenable to cryotherapy. Of 294 women with HPV results, 39% (N=114) of women were positive for high-risk HPV infection. Only lower CD4 count (287 cells/mm3 vs. 339 cells/mm3, p=0.03) and high-risk HPV (66.7% versus 35.6%, p<0.01) were associated with abnormal VIA. The most common high-risk HPV subtypes in women with abnormal VIA were 35 (33.3%), 16 (26.7%), and 58 (23.3%). Conclusion Low CD4 cell count was associated with abnormal VIA and raises the importance of early ART and expanded availability of VIA. HPV vaccines targeting additional non-16/18 high-risk HPV subtypes may have greater protective advantages in countries such as Malawi.

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