Reasons for non-disclosure of HIV-Positive status to healthcare providers: a mixed methods study in Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: Non-disclosure of known HIV status by people living with HIV but undergoing HIV testing leads to waste of HIV testing resources and distortion of estimates of HIV indicators. In Mozambique, an estimated one-third of persons who tested positive already knew their HIV-positive status. To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the factors that prevent people living with HIV (PLHIV) from disclosing their HIV-positive status to healthcare providers during a provider-initiated counseling and testing (PICT) campaign. METHODS: This analysis was nested in a larger PICT cross-sectional study performed in the Manhiça District, Southern Mozambique from January to July 2019, in which healthcare providers actively asked patients about their HIV-status. Patients who tested positive for HIV were crosschecked with the hospital database to identify those who had previously tested positive and were currently or previously enrolled in care. PLHIV who did not disclose their HIV-positive status were invited to participate and provide consent, and were interviewed using a questionnaire designed to explore barriers, patterns of community/family disclosure, and stigma and discrimination. RESULTS: We found that 16.1% of participants who tested positive during a PICT session already knew their HIV-positive status but did not disclose it to the healthcare provider. All the participants reported previous mistreatment by general healthcare providers as a reason for nondisclosure during PICT. Other reasons included the desire to know if they were cured (33.3%) or to re-engage in care (23.5%). Among respondents, 83.9% reported having disclosed their HIV-status within their close community, 48.1% reported being victims of verbal or physical discrimination following their HIV diagnosis, and 46.7% reported that their HIV status affected their daily activities. CONCLUSION: Previous mistreatment by healthcare workers was the main barrier to disclosing HIV-positive status. The high proportion of those disclosing their HIV status to their community but not to healthcare providers suggests that challenges with patient-provider relationships affect this care behavior rather than social stigma and discrimination. Improving patient-provider relationships could increase trust in healthcare providers, reduce non-disclosures, and help optimize resources and provide accurate estimates of the UNAIDS first 95 goal.

Optimizing the World Health Organization algorithm for HIV vertical transmission risk assessment by adding maternal self-reported antiretroviral therapy adherence.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) risk assessment algorithm for vertical transmission of HIV (VT) assumes the availability of maternal viral load (VL) result at delivery and early viral control 4 weeks after initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART). However, in many low-and-middle-income countries, VL is often unavailable and mothers' ART adherence may be suboptimal. We evaluate the inclusion of the mothers' self-reported adherence into the established WHO-algorithm to identify infants eligible for enhanced post-natal prophylaxis when mothers' VL result is not available at delivery. METHODS: We used data from infants with perinatal HIV infection and their mothers enrolled from May-2018 to May-2020 in Mozambique, South Africa, and Mali. We retrospectively compared the performance of the WHO-algorithm with a modified algorithm which included mothers' adherence as an additional factor. Infants were considered at high risk if born from mothers without a VL result in the 4 weeks before delivery and with adherence <90%. RESULTS: At delivery, 143/184(78%) women with HIV knew their status and were on ART. Only 17(12%) obtained a VL result within 4 weeks before delivery, and 13/17(76%) of them had VL ≥1000 copies/ml. From 126 women on ART without a recent VL result, 99(79%) had been on ART for over 4 weeks. 45/99(45%) women reported suboptimal (< 90%) adherence. A total of 81/184(44%) infants were classified as high risk of VT as per the WHO-algorithm. The modified algorithm including self-adherence disclosure identified 126/184(68%) high risk infants. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of a VL result, mothers' self-reported adherence at delivery increases the number of identified infants eligible to receive enhanced post-natal prophylaxis.

Community-based progress indicators for prevention of mother-to-child transmission and mortality rates in HIV-exposed children in rural Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: Eliminating mother-to-child HIV-transmission (EMTCT) implies a case rate target of new pediatric HIV-infections< 50/100,000 live-births and a transmission rate < 5%. We assessed these indicators at community-level in Mozambique, where MTCT is the second highest globally.. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted within the Manhiça Health Demographic Surveillance System in Mozambique (October 2017-April 2018). Live births in the previous 4 years were randomly selected, and mother/child HIV-status was ascertained through documentation or age-appropriate testing. Estimates on prevalence and transmission were adjusted by multiple imputation chained equation (MICE) for participants with missing HIV-status. Retrospective cumulative mortality rate and risk factors were estimate by Fine-Gray model. RESULTS: Among 5000 selected mother-child pairs, 3486 consented participate. Community HIV-prevalence estimate in mothers after MICE adjustment was 37.6% (95%CI:35.8-39.4%). Estimates doubled in adolescents aged < 19 years (from 8.0 to 19.1%) and increased 1.5-times in mothers aged < 25 years. Overall adjusted vertical HIV-transmission at the time of the study were 4.4% (95% CI:3.1-5.7%) in HIV-exposed children (HEC). Pediatric case rate-infection was estimated at 1654/100,000 live-births. Testing coverage in HEC was close to 96.0%; however, only 69.1% of them were tested early(< 2 months of age). Cumulative child mortality rate was 41.6/1000 live-births. HIV-positive status and later birth order were significantly associated with death. Neonatal complications, HIV and pneumonia were main pediatric causes of death. CONCLUSIONS: In Mozambique, SPECTRUM modeling estimated 15% MTCT, higher than our district-level community-based estimates of MTCT among HIV-exposed children. Community-based subnational assessments of progress towards EMTCT are needed to complement clinic-based and modeling estimates.

Reengagement of HIV-infected children lost to follow-up after active mobile phone tracing in a rural area of Mozambique.

INTRODUCTION: Retention in care and reengagement of lost to follow-up (LTFU) patients are priority challenges in pediatric HIV care. We aimed to assess whether a telephone-call active tracing program facilitated reengagement in care (RIC) in the Manhiça District Hospital, Mozambique. METHODS: Telephone tracing of LTFU children was performed from July 2016 to March 2017. Both ART (antiretroviral treatment) and preART patients were included in this study. LTFU was defined as not attending the clinic for ≥120 days after last attended visit. Reengagement was determined 3 months after an attempt to contact. RESULTS: A total of 144 children initially identified as LTFU entered the active tracing program and 37 were reached by means of telephone tracing. RIC was 57% (95% CI, 39-72%) among children who could be reached versus 18% (95% CI, 11-26%) of those who could not be reached (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Telephone tracing could be an effective tool for facilitating reengagement in pediatric HIV care. However, the difficulty of reaching patients is an obstacle that can undermine the program.

Uncovering HIV and malaria interactions: the latest evidence and knowledge gaps.

The geographical distribution of malaria and HIV infections widely overlap in sub-Saharan Africa, constituting a complex global health challenge. The interplay between both infections raises concerns about potential immunological, clinical, and therapeutic interactions. Both diseases have been reported to exacerbate the transmission of the other, including the possible vertical transmission of HIV in pregnant individuals with malaria. Co-infection also increases the risk of adverse outcomes such as severe malaria and death. In addition, interactions between antiretroviral and antimalarial drugs have been reported, potentially reducing the efficacy of these drugs. We review the current knowledge of the epidemiological, clinical, immunological, and therapeutic interactions of both infections. We focus on the latest available data and identify key knowledge gaps that should be addressed to guide policy makers in providing optimal HIV and malaria prevention, care, and treatment in vulnerable populations.

Enhancing HIV positivity yield in southern Mozambique: The effect of a Ministry of Health training module in targeted provider-initiated testing and counselling.

In Mozambique, targeted provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling (PITC) is recommended where universal PITC is not feasible, but its effectiveness depends on healthcare providers' training. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Ministry of Health training module in targeted PITC on the HIV positivity yield, and identify factors associated with a positive HIV test. We conducted a single-group pre-post study between November 2018 and November 2019 in the triage and emergency departments of four healthcare facilities in Manhiça District, a resource-constrained semi-rural area. It consisted of two two-month phases split by a one-week targeted PITC training module ("observation phases"). The HIV positivity yield of targeted PITC was estimated as the proportion of HIV-positive individuals among those recommended for HIV testing by the provider. Additionally, we extracted aggregated health information system data over the four months preceding and following the observation phases to compare yield in real-world conditions ("routine phases"). Logistic regression analysis from observation phase data was conducted to identify factors associated with a positive HIV test. Among the 7,102 participants in the pre- and post-training observation phases (58.5% and 41.5% respectively), 68% were women, and 96% were recruited at triage. In the routine phases with 33,261 individuals (45.8% pre, 54.2% post), 64% were women, and 84% were seen at triage. While HIV positivity yield between pre- and post-training observation phases was similar (10.9% (269/2470) and 11.1% (207/1865), respectively), we observed an increase in yield in the post-training routine phase for women in triage, rising from 4.8% (74/1553) to 7.3% (61/831) (Yield ratio = 1.54; 95%CI: 1.11-2.14). Age (25-49 years) (OR = 2.43; 95%CI: 1.37-4.33), working in industry/mining (OR = 4.94; 95%CI: 2.17-11.23), unawareness of partner's HIV status (OR = 2.50; 95%CI: 1.91-3.27), and visiting a healer (OR = 1.74; 95%CI: 1.03-2.93) were factors associated with a positive HIV test. Including these factors in the targeted PITC algorithm could have increased new HIV diagnoses by 2.6%. In conclusion, providing refresher training and adapting the current targeted PITC algorithm through further research can help reach undiagnosed PLHIV, treat all, and ultimately eliminate HIV, especially in resource-limited rural areas.

HIV care retention in three multi-month ART dispensing: a retrospective cohort study in Mozambique.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effect of three multimonth dispensing (3MMD) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on HIV care retention in southern Mozambique. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We analyzed routine health data from people with HIV (PWH) aged 10 years old and older who started ART between January 2018 and March 2021. Individuals were followed until December 2021. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to compare attrition (lost to follow-up, death, and transfer out) between 3MMD and monthly ART dispensing. Results were stratified by time on ART before 3MMD enrolment: 'early enrollers' (<6 months on ART) and 'established enrollers' (≥6 months on ART), and age groups: adolescents and youth (AYLHIV) (10-24 years) and adults (≥25 years). RESULTS: We included 7378 PWH (25% AYLHIV, 75% adults), with 59% and 62% enrolled in 3MMD, respectively. Median follow-up time was 11.3 [interquartile range (IQR): 5.7-21.6] months for AYLHIV and 10.2 (IQR: 4.8-20.9) for adults. Attrition was lower in PWH enrolled in 3MMD compared with monthly ART dispensing, in both established (aHR AYLHIV = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.54-0.78 and aHR adults = 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.56) and early enrollers (aHR AYLHIV = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.58-0.85 and aHR adults = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.57-0.70). Among individuals in 3MMD, male gender (aHR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.18-1.44) and receiving care in a medium-volume/low-volume healthcare facility (aHR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.03-1.34) increased attrition risk. Conversely, longer ART time before 3MMD enrolment (aHR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.92-0.94 per 1 month increase) and age at least 45 years (aHR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.67-0.89) reduced risk of attrition. CONCLUSION: 3MMD improves retention in care compared with monthly dispensing among established and early enrollers, although to a lesser extent among the latter.

Using testing history to estimate HIV incidence in mothers living in resource-limited settings: Maximizing efficiency of a community health survey in Mozambique.

Obtaining rapid and accurate HIV incidence estimates is challenging because of the need for long-term follow-up for a large cohort. We estimated HIV incidence among women who recently delivered in southern Mozambique by leveraging data available in routine health cards. A cross-sectional household HIV-testing survey was conducted from October 2017 to April 2018 among mothers of children born in the previous four years in the Manhiça Health Demographic Surveillance System area. Randomly-selected mother-child pairs were invited to participate and asked to present documentation of their last HIV test result. HIV-testing was offered to mothers with no prior HIV-testing history, or with negative HIV results obtained over three months ago. HIV incidence was estimated as the number of mothers newly diagnosed with HIV per total person-years, among mothers with a prior documented HIV-negative test. Among 5000 mother-child pairs randomly selected, 3069 were interviewed, and 2221 reported a previous HIV-negative test. From this group, we included 1714 mothers who had taken a new HIV test during the survey. Most of mothers included (83.3%,1428/1714) had a previous documented HIV test result and date. Median time from last test to survey was 15.5 months (IQR:8.0-25.9). A total of 57 new HIV infections were detected over 2530.27 person-years of follow-up. The estimated HIV incidence was 2.25 (95% CI: 1.74-2.92) per 100 person-years. Estimating HIV incidence among women who recently delivered using a community HIV-focused survey coupled with previous HIV-testing history based on patients' clinical documents is an achievable strategy.

Prompt HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment in postpartum women is crucial for prevention of mother to child transmission during breastfeeding: Survey results in a high HIV prevalence community in southern Mozambique after the implementation of Option B.

OBJECTIVE: World Health Organization recommends promoting breastfeeding without restricting its duration among HIV-positive women on lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART). There is little data on breastfeeding duration and mother to child transmission (MTCT) beyond 24 months. We compared the duration of breastfeeding in HIV-exposed and HIV-unexposed children and we identified factors associated with postpartum-MTCT in a semi-rural population of Mozambique. METHODS: This cross-sectional assessment was conducted from October-2017 to April-2018. Mothers who had given birth within the previous 48-months in the Manhiça district were randomly selected to be surveyed and to receive an HIV-test along with their children. Postpartum MTCT was defined as children with an initial HIV positive result beyond 6 weeks of life who initiated breastfeeding if they had a first negative PCR result during the first 6 weeks of life or whose mother had an estimated date of infection after the child's birth. Cumulative incidence accounting for right-censoring was used to compare breastfeeding duration in HIV-exposed and unexposed children. Fine-Gray regression was used to assess factors associated with postpartum-MTCT. RESULTS: Among the 5000 mother-child pairs selected, 69.7% (3486/5000) were located and enrolled. Among those, 27.7% (967/3486) children were HIV-exposed, 62.2% (2169/3486) were HIV-unexposed and for 10.0% (350/3486) HIV-exposure was unknown. Median duration of breastfeeding was 13.0 (95%CI:12.0-14.0) and 20.0 (95%CI:19.0-20.0) months among HIV-exposed and HIV-unexposed children, respectively (p<0.001). Of the 967 HIV-exposed children, 5.3% (51/967) were HIV-positive at the time of the survey. We estimated that 27.5% (14/51) of the MTCT occurred during pregnancy and delivery, 49.0% (2551) postpartum-MTCT and the period of MTCT remained unknown for 23.5% (12/51) of children. In multivariable analysis, mothers' ART initiation after the date of childbirth was associated (aSHR:9.39 [95%CI:1.75-50.31], p = 0.001), however breastfeeding duration was not associated with postpartum-MTCT (aSHR:0.99 [95%CI:0.96-1.03], p = 0.707). CONCLUSION: The risk for postpartum MTCT was nearly tenfold higher in women newly diagnosed and/or initiating ART postpartum. This highlights the importance of sustained HIV screening and prompt ART initiation in postpartum women in Sub-Saharan African countries. Under conditions where HIV-exposed infants born to mothers on ART receive adequate PMTCT, extending breastfeeding duration may be recommended.

Machine learning outperformed logistic regression classification even with limit sample size: A model to predict pediatric HIV mortality and clinical progression to AIDS.

Logistic regression (LR) is the most common prediction model in medicine. In recent years, supervised machine learning (ML) methods have gained popularity. However, there are many concerns about ML utility for small sample sizes. In this study, we aim to compare the performance of 7 algorithms in the prediction of 1-year mortality and clinical progression to AIDS in a small cohort of infants living with HIV from South Africa and Mozambique. The data set (n = 100) was randomly split into 70% training and 30% validation set. Seven algorithms (LR, Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Elastic Net) were compared. The variables included as predictors were the same across the models including sociodemographic, virologic, immunologic, and maternal status features. For each of the models, a parameter tuning was performed to select the best-performing hyperparameters using 5 times repeated 10-fold cross-validation. A confusion-matrix was built to assess their accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. RF ranked as the best algorithm in terms of accuracy (82,8%), sensitivity (78%), and AUC (0,73). Regarding specificity and sensitivity, RF showed better performance than the other algorithms in the external validation and the highest AUC. LR showed lower performance compared with RF, SVM, or KNN. The outcome of children living with perinatally acquired HIV can be predicted with considerable accuracy using ML algorithms. Better models would benefit less specialized staff in limited resources countries to improve prompt referral in case of high-risk clinical progression.

The impact of the caregiver mobility on child HIV care in the Manhiça District, Southern Mozambique: A clinical based study.

INTRODUCTION: Manhiça District, in Southern Mozambique harbors high HIV prevalence and a long history of migration. To optimize HIV care, we sought to assess how caregiver's mobility impacts children living with HIV (CLHIV)´s continuation in HIV care and to explore the strategies used by caregivers to maintain their CLHIV on antiretroviral treatment (ART). METHODS: A clinic-based cross-sectional survey conducted at the Manhiça District Hospital between December-2017 and February-2018. We enrolled CLHIV with a self-identified migrant caregiver (moved outside of Manhiça District ≤12 months prior to survey) and non-migrant caregiver, matched by the child age and sex. Survey data were linked to CLHIV clinical records from the HIV care and treatment program. RESULTS: Among the 975 CLHIV screened, 285 (29.2%) were excluded due to absence of an adult at the appointment. A total of 232 CLHIV-caregiver pairs were included. Of the 41 (35%) CLHIV migrating with their caregivers, 38 (92.6%) had access to ART at the destination because either the caregivers travelled with it 24 (63%) or it was sent by a family member 14 (36%). Among the 76 (65%) CLHIV who did not migrate with their caregivers, for the purpose of pharmacy visits, 39% were cared by their grandfather/grandmother, 28% by an aunt/uncle and 16% by an adult brother/sister. CLHIV of migrant caregivers had a non-statistically significant increase in the number of previous reported sickness episodes (OR = 1.38, 95%CI: 0.79-2.42; p = 0.257), ART interruptions (OR = 1.73; 95%CI: 0.82-3.63; p = 0.142) and lost-to-follow-up episodes (OR = 1.53; 95%CI: 0.80-2.94; p = 0.193). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one third of the children attend their HIV care appointments unaccompanied by an adult. The caregiver mobility was not found to significantly affect child's retention on ART. Migrant caregivers adopted strategies such as the transportation of ART to the mobility destination to avoid impact of mobility on the child's HIV care. However this may have implications on ART stability and effectiveness that should be investigated in rural areas.

Patterns of mobility and its impact on retention in care among people living with HIV in the Manhiça District, Mozambique.

INTRODUCTION: Retention in HIV care is a challenge in Mozambique. Mozambique´s southern provinces have the highest mobility levels of the country. Mobility may result in poorer response to HIV care and treatment initiatives. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to explore the impact of mobility on retention for HIV-positive adults on ART presenting to the clinic in December 2017 and January 2018. Survey data were linked to participant clinical records from the HIV care and treatment program. This study took place in Manhiça District, southern Mozambique. We enrolled self-identified migrants (moved outside of Manhiça District ≤12 months prior to survey) and non-migrants, matched by age and sex. RESULTS: 390 HIV-positive adults were included. We found frequent movement: 45% of migrants reported leaving the district 3-5 times over the past 12 months, usually for extended stays. South Africa was the most common destination (71%). Overall, 30% of participants had at least one delay (15-60 days) in ART pick-up and 11% were delayed >60 days, though no significant difference was seen between mobile and non-mobile cohorts. Few migrants accessed care while traveling. CONCLUSION: Our population of mobile and non-mobile participants showed frequent lapses in ART pick-up. Mobility could be for extended time periods and HIV care frequently did not continue at the destination. Studies are needed to evaluate the impact of Mozambique´s approach of providing 3-months ART among mobile populations and barriers to care while traveling, as is better education on how and where to access care when traveling.

Pediatric HIV Care Cascade in Southern Mozambique: Missed Opportunities for Early ART and Re-engagement in Care.

BACKGROUND: There are 170,000 children living with HIV in 2017 in Mozambique. Scaling-up HIV care requires effective retention along the cascade. We sought to evaluate the pediatric cascade in HIV care at the Manhiça District Hospital. METHODS: A prospective cohort of children <15 years was followed from enrollment in HIV care (January 2013 to December 2015) until December 2016. Loss to follow-up (LTFU) was defined as not attending the HIV hospital visits for ≥90 days following last visit attended. RESULTS: From the 438 children included {median age at enrollment in care of 3,6 [interquartile range (IQR): 1.1-8.6] years}, 335 (76%) were antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligible and among those, 263 (78%) started ART at enrollment in HIV care. A total of 362 children initiated ART during the study period and the incidence rate of LTFU at 12, 24, and 36 months post-ART initiation was 41 [95% confidence interval (CI): 34-50], 34 (95% CI: 29-41), and 31 (95% CI: 27-37) per 100 children-years, respectively. Median time to LTFU was 5.8 (IQR: 1.4-12.7) months. Children 5-9 years of age had a lower risk of LTFU compared with children <1 year [adjusted subhazard ratio 0.36 (95% CI: 0.20-0.61)]. Re-engagement in care (RIC) was observed in 25% of the LTFU children. CONCLUSIONS: The high LTFU found in this study highlights the special attention that should be given to younger children during the first 6 months post-ART initiation to prevent LTFU. Once LTFU, only a quarter of those children return to the health unit. Elucidating factors associated with RIC could help to fine tune interventions which promote RIC.