BackgroundIn rural South Africa, only two-thirds of HIV-positive pregnant women seeking antenatal care at community health centers took full advantage of ‘prevention of mother-to-child transmission’ (PMTCT) services in 2010. Studies generally support male involvement to promote PMTCT, but the nature and impact of that involvement is unclear and untested. Additionally, stigma, disclosure and intimate partner violence pose significant barriers to PMTCT uptake and retention in care, suggesting that male involvement may be ‘necessary, but not sufficient’ to reduce infant HIV incidence. This study expands on a successful United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)-supported PMTCT couples intervention pilot study conducted in the Mpumalanga province, targeting HIV-positive pregnant women and their partners, the primary objective being to determine whether male partner involvement plus a behavioral intervention will significantly reduce infant HIV incidence.Methods/designThe study follows a cluster randomized controlled design enrolling two cohorts of HIV-positive pregnant women recruited from 12 randomly assigned Community Health Centers (CHC) (six experimental, six control). The two cohorts will consist of women attending without their male partners (n = 720) and women attending with their male partners (n = 720 couples), in order to determine whether the influence of male participation itself, or combined with a behavioral PMTCT intervention, can significantly reduce infant HIV infection ante-, peri- and postnatally.DiscussionIt is our intention to significantly increase PMTCT participation from current levels (69%) in the Mpumalanga province to between 90 and 95% through engaging women and couples in a controlled, six session ante- and postnatal risk-reducing and PMTCT promotion intervention addressing barriers to PMTCT (such as stigma, disclosure, intimate partner violence, communication, infant feeding practices and safer conception) that prevent women and men from utilizing treatment opportunities available to them and their infants. Based upon the encouraging preliminary results from our pilot study, successful CHC adoption of the program could have major public health policy implications for containing the epidemic among the most vulnerable populations in rural South Africa: HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02085356 (registration date: 10 March 2014).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-417) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundNinety percent of the world's 2.1 million HIV-infected children live in sub-Saharan Africa, and 2.5% of South African children live with HIV. As HIV care and treatment programmes are scaled-up, a rise in loss to follow-up (LTFU) has been observed.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine the rate of LTFU in children receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and to identify baseline characteristics associated with LTFU in the first year of treatment. We also explored the effect of patient characteristics at 12 months treatment on LTFU in the second year.MethodsThe study is an analysis of prospectively collected routine data of HIV-infected children at the Harriet Shezi Children's Clinic (HSCC) in Soweto, Johannesburg. Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to investigate associations between baseline characteristics and 12-month characteristics with LTFU in the first and second year on ART, respectively.ResultsThe cumulative probability of LTFU at 12 months was 7.3% (95% CI 7.1–8.8). In the first 12 months on ART, independent predictors of LTFU were age <1 year at initiation, recent year of ART start, mother as a primary caregiver, and being underweight (WAZ ≤ −2). Among children still on treatment at 1 year from ART initiation, characteristics that predicted LTFU within the second year were recent year of ART start, mother as a primary caregiver, being underweight (WAZ ≤ −2), and low CD4 cell percentage.ConclusionsThere are similarities between the known predictors of death and the predictors of LTFU in the first and second years of ART. Knowing the vital status of children is important to determine LTFU. Although HIV-positive children cared for by their mothers appear to be at greater risk of becoming LTFU, further research is needed to explore the challenges faced by mothers and other caregivers and their impact on long-term HIV care. There is also a need to investigate the effects of differential access to ART between mothers and children and its impact on ART outcomes in children.

BackgroundSouth Africa is increasingly focused on reducing maternal mortality. Documenting variation in access to maternal health services across one of the most inequitable nations could assist in re-direction of resources.MethodsAnalysis draws on a population-based household survey that used multistage-stratified sampling. Women, who in the past two years were pregnant (1113) or had a child (1304), completed questionnaires and HIV testing. Distribution of access to maternal health services and health status across socio-economic, education and other population groups was assessed using weighted data.FindingsPoorest women had near universal antenatal care coverage (ANC), but only 39.6% attended before 20 weeks gestation; this figure was 2.7-fold higher in the wealthiest quartile (95%CI adjusted odds ratio = 1.2–6.1). Women in rural-formal areas had lowest ANC coverage (89.7%), percentage completing four ANC visits (79.7%) and only 84.0% were offered HIV testing. Testing levels were highest among the poorest quartile (90.1% in past two years), but 10% of women above 40 or with low education had never tested. Skilled birth attendant coverage (overall 95.3%) was lowest in the poorest quartile (91.4%) and rural formal areas (85.6%). Around two thirds of the wealthiest quartile, of white and of formally-employed women had a doctor at childbirth, 11-fold higher than the poorest quartile. Overall, only 44.4% of pregnancies were planned, 31.7% of HIV-infected women and 68.1% of the wealthiest quartile. Self-reported health status also declined considerably with each drop in quartile, education level or age group.ConclusionsAside from early ANC attendance and deficiencies in care in rural-formal areas, inequalities in utilisation of services were mostly small, with some measures even highest among the poorest. Considerably larger differences were noted in maternal health status across population groups. This may reflect differences between these groups in quality of care received, HIV infection and in social determinants of health.

BackgroundRates of maternal mortality and morbidity vary markedly, both between and within countries. Documenting these variations, in a very unequal society like South Africa, provides useful information to direct initiatives to improve services. The study describes inequalities over time in access to maternal health services in South Africa, and identifies differences in maternal health outcomes between population groups and across geographical areas.MethodsData were analysed from serial population-level household surveys that applied multistage-stratified sampling. Access to maternal health services and health outcomes in 2008 (n = 1121) were compared with those in 2012 (n = 1648). Differences between socio-economic quartiles were quantified using the relative (RII) and slope (SII) index of inequality, based on survey weights.ResultsHigh levels of inequalities were noted in most measures of service access in both 2008 and 2012. Inequalities between socio-economic quartiles worsened over time in antenatal clinic attendance, with overall coverage falling from 97.0 to 90.2 %. Nationally, skilled birth attendance remained about 95 %, with persistent high inequalities (SII = 0.11, RII = 1.12 in 2012). In 2012, having a doctor present at childbirth was higher than in 2008 (34.4 % versus 27.8 %), but inequalities worsened. Countrywide, levels of planned pregnancy declined from 44.6 % in 2008 to 34.7 % in 2012. The RII and SII rose over this period and in 2012, only 22.4 % of the poorest quartile had a planned pregnancy. HIV testing increased substantially by 2012, though remains low in groups with a high HIV prevalence, such as women in rural formal areas, and from Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. Marked deficiencies in service access were noted in the Eastern Cape ad North West provinces.ConclusionsThough some population-level improvements occurred in access to services, inequalities generally worsened. Low levels of planned pregnancy, antenatal clinic access and having a doctor present at childbirth among poor women are of most concern. Policy makers should carefully balance efforts to increase service access nationally, against the need for programs targeting underserved populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-016-1048-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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