Dataset Information

Tracing defaulters in HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes through community health workers: results from a rural setting in Zimbabwe.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

High retention in care is paramount to reduce vertical human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes but remains low in many sub-Saharan African countries. We aimed to assess the effects of community health worker-based defaulter tracing (CHW-DT) on retention in care and mother-to-child HIV transmission, an innovative approach that has not been evaluated to date.

Methods

We analyzed patient records of 1878 HIV-positive pregnant women and their newborns in a rural PMTCT programme in the Tsholotsho district of Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2013 in a retrospective cohort study. Using binomial regression, we compared vertical HIV transmission rates at six weeks post-partum, and retention rates during the perinatal PMTCT period (at delivery, nevirapine [NVP] initiation at three days post-partum, cotrimoxazole (CTX) initiation at six weeks post-partum, and HIV testing at six weeks post-partum) before and after the introduction of CHW-DT in the project.

Results

Median maternal age was 27 years (inter-quartile range [IQR] 23 to 32) and median CD4 count was 394 cells/µL(3) (IQR 257 to 563). The covariate-adjusted rate ratio (aRR) for perinatal HIV transmission was 0.72 (95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 0.27 to 1.96, p=0.504), comparing patient outcomes after and before the intervention. Among fully retained patients, 11 (1.9%) newborns tested HIV positive. ARRs for retention in care were 1.01 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.06, p=0.730) at delivery; 1.35 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.42, p<0.001) at NVP initiation; 1.78 (95% CI 1.58 to 2.01, p<0.001) at CTX initiation; and 2.54 (95% CI 2.20 to 2.93, p<0.001) at infant HIV testing. Cumulative retention after and before the intervention was 496 (85.7%) and 1083 (87.3%) until delivery; 480 (82.9%) and 1005 (81.0%) until NVP initiation; 303 (52.3%) and 517 (41.7%) until CTX initiation; 272 (47.0%) and 427 (34.4%) until infant HIV testing; and 172 (29.7%) and 405 (32.6%) until HIV test result collection.

Conclusions

The CHW-DT intervention did not reduce perinatal HIV transmission significantly. Retention improved moderately during the post-natal period, but cumulative retention decreased rapidly even after the intervention. We showed that transmission in resource-limited settings can be as low as in resource-rich countries if patients are fully retained in care. This requires structural changes to the regular PMTCT services, in which community health workers can, at best, play a complementary role.

SUBMITTER: Vogt F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4604210 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tracing defaulters in HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes through community health workers: results from a rural setting in Zimbabwe.

Vogt Florian F Ferreyra Cecilia C Bernasconi Andrea A Ncube Lewis L Taziwa Fabian F Marange Winnie W Wachi David D Becher Heiko H

Journal of the International AIDS Society 20151012

<h4>Introduction</h4>High retention in care is paramount to reduce vertical human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes but remains low in many sub-Saharan African countries. We aimed to assess the effects of community health worker-based defaulter tracing (CHW-DT) on retention in care and mother-to-child HIV transmission, an innovative approach that has not been evaluated to date.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed patient records of 18 ...[more]

PMID: 26462714

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Project description:PROBLEM: Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of HIV seroprevalence in the world. In 2001 only 4% of women and children in need of services for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV were receiving them. DESIGN: Pilot implementation of the first programme for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in rural Zimbabwe. SETTING: 120 bed district hospital in Buhera district (285,000 inhabitants), Manicaland, Zimbabwe. KEY MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT: Programme uptake indicators monitored for 18 months; impact of policy evaluated by assessing up-scaling of programme. STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE: Voluntary counselling and testing services for HIV were provided in the hospital antenatal clinic. Women identified as HIV positive and informed of their serostatus and their newborn were offered a single dose antiretroviral treatment of nevirapine; mother-child pairs were followed up through routine health services. Nursing staff and social workers were trained, and community mobilisation was conducted. EFFECTS OF CHANGE: No services for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV were available at baseline. Within 18 months, 2298 pregnant women had received pretest counselling, and the acceptance of HIV testing reached 93.0%. Of all 2137 women who had an HIV test, 1588 (74.3%) returned to collect their result; 326 of the 437 HIV positive women diagnosed had post-test counselling, and 104 (24%) mother-child pairs received nevirapine prophylaxis. LESSONS LEARNT: Minimum staffing, an enhanced training programme, and involvement of district health authorities are needed for the implementation and successful integration of services for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. Voluntary counselling and testing services are important entry points for HIV prevention and care and for referral to community networks and medical HIV care services. A district approach is critical to extend programmes for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in rural settings. The lessons learnt from this pilot programme have contributed to the design of the national expansion strategy for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV in Zimbabwe.

Project description:BackgroundWhile local context costing evidence is relevant for healthcare planning, budgeting and cost-effectiveness analysis, it continues to be scarce in Ethiopia. This study assesses the cost of providing a prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) service across heterogeneous prevalence (high, low) and socio-economic (urban, rural) contexts.MethodsA total of 12 health facilities from six regions in Ethiopia were purposively selected from the latest 2012 antenatal sentinel HIV prevalence report. Six health facilities with the highest HIV prevalence (8.1 to 17.3%) in urban settings and six health facilities with the lowest prevalence (0.0 to 0.1%) in rural settings were selected. A micro-costing approach was applied to identify, measure and value resources used for the provision of a comprehensive PMTCT service. The analysis was conducted across different PMTCT service packages. We also estimated national costs in urban and rural contexts.ResultsThe average cost per pregnant woman-infant pair per year (PPY) ranged from ETB 6280 (USD 319) to ETB 21,620 (USD 1099) in the urban high HIV prevalence health facilities setting. In rural low HIV prevalence health facilities, the cost ranged from ETB 4323 (USD 220) to ETB 7539 (USD 383).PMTCT service provision in urban health facilities costs more than twice the cost in rural health facilities. The average cost per PPY in an urban setting was more than double the cost in a rural setting due to the higher cost of inputs and possible inefficiencies (although there were a higher number of visits). Consumables (including antiretroviral drugs) and infrastructure were the major cost drivers in both the urban and rural health facilities. Among PMTCT service components, anti-retroviral treatment Option B+ follow-up and counselling accounted for the highest proportion of costs, which ranged from 58 to 72%. Nationally, at the current coverage, the cost of PMTCT service was USD 6 million and USD 3 million in urban and rural settings, respectively.ConclusionsThe analysis suggests that resources used for PMTCT service packages varied across health facilities and HIV prevalence contexts. Providing PMTCT service in the high HIV prevalence urban health facilities costs more than in the rural facilities. Context-specific costing was vital to provide locally sensitive evidence for health service management and priority setting.

Project description:Zimbabwe has made large strides in addressing HIV. To ensure a continued robust response, a clear understanding of costs associated with its HIV program is critical. We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation in 2017 to estimate the annual average patient cost for accessing Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services (through antenatal care) and Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) services in Zimbabwe. Twenty sites representing different types of public health facilities in Zimbabwe were included. Data on patient costs were collected through in-person interviews with 414 ART and 424 PMTCT adult patients and through telephone interviews with 38 ART and 47 PMTCT adult patients who had missed their last appointment. The mean and median annual patient costs were examined overall and by service type for all participants and for those who paid any cost. Potential patient costs related to time lost were calculated by multiplying the total time to access services (travel time, waiting time, and clinic visit duration) by potential earnings (US$75 per month assuming 8 hours per day and 5 days per week). Mean annual patient costs for accessing services for the participants was US$20.00 [standard deviation (SD) = US$80.42, median = US$6.00, range = US$0.00-US$12,18.00] for PMTCT and US$18.73 (SD = US$58.54, median = US$8.00, range = US$0.00-US$ 908.00) for ART patients. The mean annual direct medical costs for PMTCT and ART were US$9.78 (SD = US$78.58, median = US$0.00, range = US$0.00-US$ 90) and US$7.49 (SD = US$60.00, median = US$0.00) while mean annual direct non-medical cost for US$10.23 (SD = US$17.35, median = US$4.00) and US$11.23 (SD = US$25.22, median = US$6.00, range = US$0.00-US$ 360.00). The PMTCT and ART costs per visit based on time lost were US$3.53 (US$1.13 to US$8.69) and US$3.43 (US$1.14 to US$8.53), respectively. The mean annual patient costs per person for PMTCT and ART in this evaluation will impact household income since PMTCT and ART services in Zimbabwe are supposed to be free.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Despite a growing body of literature on HIV service costs in sub-Saharan Africa, only a few studies have estimated the facility-level cost of prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services, and even fewer provide insights into the variation of PMTCT costs across facilities. In this study, we present the first empirical costs estimation of the accelerated program for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zimbabwe and investigate the determinants of heterogeneity of the facility-level average cost per service. To understand such variation, we explored the association between average costs per service and supply-and demand-side characteristics, and quality of services. One aspect of the supply-side we explore carefully is the scale of production-which we define as the annual number of women tested or the yearly number of HIV-positive women on prophylaxis. METHODS:We collected rich data on the costs and PMTCT services provided by 157 health facilities out of 699 catchment areas in five provinces in Zimbabwe for 2013. In each health facility, we measured total costs and the number of women covered with PMTCT services and estimated the average cost per woman tested and the average cost per woman on either ARV prophylaxis or ART. We refer to these facility-level average costs per service as unitary costs. We also collected information on potential determinants of the variation of unitary costs. On the supply-side, we gathered data on the scale of production, staff composition and on the types of antenatal and family planning services provided. On the demand side, we measured the total population at the catchment area and surveyed eligible pairs of mothers and infants about previous use of HIV testing and prenatal care, and on the HIV status of both mothers and infants. We explored the determinants of unitary cost variation using a two-stage linear regression strategy. RESULTS:The average annual total cost of the PMTCT program per facility was US$16,821 (median US$8,920). The average cost per pregnant woman tested was US$80 (median US$47), and the average cost per HIV-positive pregnant woman initiated on ARV prophylaxis or treatment was US$786 annually (median US$420). We found substantial heterogeneity of unitary costs across facilities regardless of facility type. The scale of production was a strong predictor of unitary costs variation across facilities, with a negative and statistically significant correlation between the two variables (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:These findings are the first empirical estimations of PMTCT costs in Zimbabwe. Unitary costs were found to be heterogeneous across health facilities, with evidence consistent with economies of scale.

Dataset Information

Tracing defaulters in HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes through community health workers: results from a rural setting in Zimbabwe.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Tracing defaulters in HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes through community health workers: results from a rural setting in Zimbabwe.

Similar Datasets

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