Retention was lowest in young children and differed across country programs. Young children and those with advanced disease are at highest risk for LTF and death. Further evaluation of patient- and program-level factors is needed to improve health outcomes.
This article describes the frequency of alcohol use among HIV-positive patients attending clinical care in sub-Saharan Africa and explores the association between alcohol use, medication adherence, and sexual risk behavior. Data from 3538 patients attending an HIV clinic in Kenya, Tanzania, or Namibia were captured through interview and medical record abstraction. Participants were categorized into three drinking categories: nondrinkers, nonharmful drinkers, and harmful/likely dependent drinkers. A proportional odds model was used to identify correlates associated with categories of alcohol use. Overall, 20% of participants reported alcohol use in the past 6 months; 15% were categorized as nonharmful drinkers and 5% as harmful/likely dependent drinkers. Participants who reported missing a dose of their HIV medications [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.67, 2.49]; inconsistent condom use (AOR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.79); exchanging sex for food, money, gifts, or a place to stay (AOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.32); and having a sexually transmitted infection symptom (AOR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.77) were more likely to be categorized in the higher risk drinking categories. This research highlights the need to integrate alcohol screening and counseling into the adherence and risk reduction counseling offered to HIV-positive patients as part of their routine care. Moreover, given the numerous intersections between alcohol and HIV, policies that focus on reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related risk behavior should be integrated into HIV prevention, care, and treatment strategies.
Background Since 2006, the government of Kenya began decentralizing HIV care from secondary health facilities (SHF) to an expanded network, including primary health facilities (PHF). We evaluated the impact of this strategy on enrollment, care, and outcomes among adult patients in Central Province, Kenya, from 2006 to 2010. Methods We analyzed electronic patient-level data for 26,690 patients at 15 SHF and 22 PHF. Enrollment, patient, and facility characteristics and patterns in CD4+ testing, World Health Organization staging, and antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation were compared between SHF and PHF. Survival analysis was used to estimate cumulative death and loss to follow-up (LTF) rates in PHF and SHF. Multivariate competing risks regression and Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to identify correlates of LTF and death. Results Enrollment in PHF increased mainly between 2007 and 2009, representing 5% and 25% of all new enrollments, respectively. CD4+ test provision and World Health Organization staging, time to ART initiation, and CD4+ count at ART initiation were for the most part similar between PHF and SHF. In multivariate analyses, pre-ART patients enrolled in PHF had a lower risk of LTF than those enrolled in SHF (SHR = 0.77, 95% confidence interval: 0.61 to 0.96). No differences in risk of death among pre-ART patients or in LTF or death among ART patients were observed. Conclusions Enrollment at PHF increased substantially during the period; death rates were comparable between PHF and SHF, whereas LTF among pre-ART patients was lower at PHF. This suggests that decentralization can be a successful strategy for expanding HIV care.
We conducted a group randomized trial to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a multi-component, clinic-based HIV prevention intervention for HIV-positive patients attending clinical care in Namibia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Eighteen HIV care and treatment clinics (six per country) were randomly assigned to intervention or control arms. Approximately 200 sexually active clients from each clinic were enrolled and interviewed at baseline and 6- and 12-months post-intervention. Mixed model logistic regression with random effects for clinic and participant was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Of 3522 HIV-positive patients enrolled, 3034 (86 %) completed a 12-month follow-up interview. Intervention participants were significantly more likely to report receiving provider-delivered messages on disclosure, partner testing, family planning, alcohol reduction, and consistent condom use compared to participants in comparison clinics. Participants in intervention clinics were less likely to report unprotected sex in the past 2 weeks (OR = 0.56, 95 % CI 0.32, 0.99) compared to participants in comparison clinics. In Tanzania, a higher percentage of participants in intervention clinics (17 %) reported using a highly effective method of contraception compared to participants in comparison clinics (10 %, OR = 2.25, 95 % CI 1.24, 4.10). This effect was not observed in Kenya or Namibia. HIV prevention services are feasible to implement as part of routine care and are associated with a self-reported decrease in unprotected sex. Further operational research is needed to identify strategies to address common operational challenges including staff turnover and large patient volumes.
HIV care and treatment settings provide an opportunity to reach people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) with prevention messages and services. Population-based surveys in sub-Saharan Africa have identified HIV risk behaviors among PLHIV, yet data are limited regarding HIV risk behaviors of PLHIV in clinical care. This paper describes the baseline sociodemographic, HIV transmission risk behaviors, and clinical data of a study evaluating an HIV prevention intervention package for HIV care and treatment clinics in Africa. The study was a longitudinal group-randomized trial in 9 intervention clinics and 9 comparison clinics in Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania (N = 3538). Baseline participants were mostly female, married, had less than a primary education, and were relatively recently diagnosed with HIV. Fifty-two percent of participants had a partner of negative or unknown status, 24% were not using condoms consistently, and 11% reported STI symptoms in the last 6 months. There were differences in demographic and HIV transmission risk variables by country, indicating the need to consider local context in designing studies and using caution when generalizing findings across African countries. Baseline data from this study indicate that participants were often engaging in HIV transmission risk behaviors, which supports the need for prevention with PLHIV (PwP).Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01256463
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