How HIV Clients Find Their Way Back to the ART Clinic: A Qualitative Study of Disengagement and Re-engagement with HIV Care in Malawi.
AIDS Behav
; 26(3): 674-685, 2022 Mar.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34403022
ABSTRACT
Retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) services is critical to achieving positive health outcomes for individuals living with HIV, but accumulating evidence indicates that individuals are likely to miss ART appointments over time. Thus, it is important to understand why individuals miss appointments and how they re-engage in HIV care. We used in-depth interviews with 44 ART clients in Malawi who recently missed an ART appointment (> 14 days) but eventually re-engaged in care (within 60 days) to explore reasons for missed appointments and barriers and facilitators to re-engagement. We found that most individuals missed ART appointments due to unexpected life events such as funerals, work, and illness for both clients and their treatment guardians who were also unable to attend facilities. Several reasons differed by gender-work-related travel was common for men, while caring for sick family members was common for women. Barriers to re-engagement included continued travel, illness, and restricted clinic schedules and/or staff shortages that led to repeat facility visits before being able to re-engage in care. Strong internal motivation combined with social support and reminders from community health workers facilitated re-engagement in HIV care.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones por VIH
/
Fármacos Anti-VIH
Tipo de estudio:
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
AIDS Behav
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
/
SINDROME DA IMUNODEFICIENCIA ADQUIRIDA (AIDS)
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos