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In this Policy Forum, Anna Grimsrud and colleagues discuss the future of HIV testing in eastern and southern Africa, using insights gleaned from a 2021 expert consultation.
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Infecciones por VIH , Humanos , Infecciones por VIH/diagnóstico , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , África Austral/epidemiología , Prueba de VIH , África Oriental/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Despite the significant progress in the HIV response, gaps remain in ensuring engagement in care to support life-long medication adherence and viral suppression. This review sought to describe the different points in the HIV care cascade where people living with HIV were not engaging and highlight promising interventions. RECENT FINDINGS: There are opportunities to improve engagement both between testing and treatment and to support re-engagement in care for those in a treatment interruption. The gap between testing and treatment includes people who know their HIV status and people who do not know their status. People in a treatment interruption include those who interrupt immediately following initiation, early on in their treatment (first 6 months) and late (after 6 months or more on ART). For each of these groups, specific interventions are required to support improved engagement. There are diverse needs and specific populations of people living with HIV who are not engaged in care, and differentiated service delivery interventions are required to meet their needs and expectations. For the HIV response to realise the 2030 targets, engagement will need to be supported by quality care and patient choice combined with empowered patients who are treatment literate and have been supported to improve self-management.
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Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Cumplimiento de la Medicación/psicología , Participación del Paciente/métodos , Programas de Gobierno , Servicios de Salud , HumanosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence club (AC) differentiated service delivery model, where clinically stable ART patients receive their ART refills and psychosocial support in groups has supported clinically stable patients' retention and viral suppression. Patients and health systems could benefit further by reducing visit frequency and increasing ART refills. We designed a cluster-randomized control trial comparing standard of care (SoC) ACs and six-month ART refill (Intervention) ACs in a large primary care facility in Khayelitsha, South Africa. METHODS: Existing ACs were randomized to either the control (SOC ACs) or intervention (Intervention ACs) arm. SoC ACs meet five times annually, receiving two-month ART refills with a four-month ART refill over year-end. Blood is drawn at the AC visit ahead of the clinical assessment visit. Intervention ACs meet twice annually receiving six-month ART refills, with a third individual visit for routine blood collection anytime two-four weeks before the annual clinical assessment AC visit. Primary outcomes will be retention in care, annual viral load assessment completion and viral load suppression. (<400copies/mL) after 2 years. Ethics approval has been granted by the University of Cape Town (HREC 652/2016) and the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Ethics Review Board (#1639). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and made widely available through presentations and briefing documents. DISCUSSION: Evaluation of an extended ART refill interval in adherence clubs will provide evidence towards novel model adaptions that can be made to further improve convenience for patients and leverage health system efficiencies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry: PACTR201810631281009. Registered 11 September 2018.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Cumplimiento de la Medicación , Prescripciones de Medicamentos , Infecciones por VIH/virología , Humanos , Ensayos Clínicos Controlados Aleatorios como Asunto , Sudáfrica , Factores de Tiempo , Resultado del Tratamiento , Carga ViralRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: As the scale of the South African HIV epidemic calls for innovative models of care that improve accessibility for patients while overcoming chronic human resource shortages, we (i) assess the cost-effectiveness of lay health worker-led group adherence clubs, in comparison with a nurse-driven 'standard of care' and (ii) describe and evaluate the associated patient cost and accessibility differences. METHODS: Our cost-effectiveness analysis compares an 'adherence club' innovation to conventional nurse-driven care within a busy primary healthcare setting in Khayelitsha, South Africa. In each alternative, we calculate provider costs and estimate rates of retention in care and viral suppression as key measures of programme effectiveness. All results are presented on an annual or per patient-year basis. In the same setting, a smaller sample of patients was interviewed to understand the direct and indirect non-healthcare cost and access implications of the alternatives. Access was measured using McIntyre and colleagues' 2009 framework. RESULTS: Adherence clubs were the more cost-effective model of care, with a cost per patient-year of $300 vs. $374 and retention in care at 1 year of 98.03% (95% CI 97.67-98.33) for clubs vs. 95.49% (95% CI 95.01-95.94) for standard of care. Viral suppression in clubs was 99.06% (95% CI 98.82-99.27) for clubs vs. 97.20% (95% CI 96.81-97.56) for standard of care. When interviewed, club patients reported fewer missed visits, shorter waiting times and higher acceptability of services compared to standard of care. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence clubs offer the potential to enhance healthcare efficiency and patient accessibility. Their scale-up should be supported.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Agentes Comunitarios de Salud , Análisis Costo-Beneficio , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud , Servicios de Salud , Cooperación del Paciente , Adulto , Femenino , VIH , Costos de la Atención en Salud , Servicios de Salud/economía , Humanos , Masculino , Satisfacción del Paciente , Carga Viral , Recursos HumanosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The ambitious '90-90-90' treatment targets require innovative models of care to support quality antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery. While evidence for differentiated models of ART delivery is growing, there are few data on the feasibility of scale-up. We describe the implementation of the Adherence Club (AC) model across the Cape Metro health district in Cape Town, South Africa, between January 2011 and March 2015. METHODS: Using data from monthly aggregate AC monitoring reports and electronic monitoring systems for the district cohort, we report on the number of facilities offering ACs and the number of patients receiving ART care in the AC model. RESULTS: Between January 2011 and March 2015, the AC programme expanded to reach 32 425 patients in 1308 ACs at 55 facilities. The proportion of the total ART cohort retained in an AC increased from 7.3% at the end of 2011 to 25.2% by March 2015. The number of facilities offering ACs also increased and by the end of the study period, 92.3% of patients were receiving ART at a facility that offered ACs. During this time, the overall ART cohort doubled from 66 616 to 128 697 patients. The implementation of the AC programme offset this increase by 51%. CONCLUSIONS: ACs now provide ART care to more than 30 000 patients. Further expansion of the model will require additional resources and support. More research is necessary to determine the outcomes and quality of care provided in ACs and other differentiated models of ART delivery, especially when implemented at scale.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Atención a la Salud , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Instituciones de Salud , Servicios de Salud , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Cumplimiento de la Medicación , Modelos Teóricos , SudáfricaRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Médecins Sans Frontières supports human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected youth, aged 12-25 years, at a clinic in Khayelitsha, South Africa. Patients are enrolled in youth clubs, and provided with a virtual chat room, using the cell-phone-based social networking platform, MXit, to support members between monthly/bimonthly club meetings. The acceptability and uptake of MXit was assessed. METHODS: MXit was facilitated by lay counsellors, was password protected, and participants could enter and leave at will. Club members were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires and participate in two focus-group discussions. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In total, 60 club members completed the questionnaire, and 12 participated in the focus groups. Fifty-eight percentage were aged 23-25 years, 63% were female and 83% had a cell phone. Sixty percentage had used MXit before, with 38% having used it in the past month. Sixty-five percentage were aware of the chat-room and 39% knew how to access it. Thirty-four percentage used the chat-room at least once, 20% had visited the chat-room in the past month, and 29% had used MXit to have private conversations with other club members. Fifty-seven percentage used the chat-room to get advice, and 84% of all respondents felt that offering a service outside the youth club meetings was important and would like to see one to continue. The cost of using social media platforms was an issue with some, as well as the need for anonymity. Preference for other platforms, logistical obstacles, or loss of interest contributed to non-use. CONCLUSIONS: Reported usage of the MXit chat-room was low, but participants indicated acceptance of the programme and their desire to interact with their peers through social media. Suggestions to improve the platform included accessible chat histories, using more popular platforms such as Facebook or WhatsApp, and to have topical discussions where pertinent information for youth is provided.
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Infecciones por VIH , Grupos de Autoayuda/organización & administración , Red Social , Femenino , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/psicología , Infecciones por VIH/rehabilitación , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud , Humanos , Difusión de la Información/métodos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Masculino , Motivación , Grupo Paritario , Apoyo Social , Sudáfrica/epidemiología , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Interfaz Usuario-Computador , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The high cost of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) treatment hinders treatment access. South Africa has a high RR-TB burden, and national policy outlines decentralisation to improve access and reduce costs. We analysed health system costs associated with RR-TB treatment by drug resistance profile and treatment outcome in a decentralised programme. METHODS: Retrospective, routinely collected patient-level data were combined with unit cost data to determine costs for each patient in a cohort treated between January 2009 and December 2011. Drug costs were based on recommended regimens according to drug resistance and treatment duration. Hospitalisation costs were estimated based on admission/discharge dates, while clinic visit and diagnostic/monitoring costs were estimated according to recommendations and treatment duration. Missing data were imputed. RESULTS: Among 467 patients (72% HIV infected), 49% were successfully treated. Treatment was initiated in primary care for 62%, with the remainder as inpatients. The mean cost per patient treated was $7916 (range 260-87,140), ranging from $5369 among patients who did not complete treatment to $23,006 for treatment failure. Mean cost for successful treatment was $8359 (2585-32,506). Second-line drug resistance was associated with a mean cost of $15,567 vs. $6852 for only first-line resistance, with the major cost difference due to hospitalisation. Costs are reported in 2013 USD. CONCLUSIONS: RR-TB treatment cost was high and varied according to treatment outcome. Despite decentralisation, hospitalisation remained a significant cost, particularly among those with more extensive resistance and those with treatment failure. These cost estimates can be used to model the impact of new interventions to improve patient outcomes.
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Costos y Análisis de Costo , Costos de la Atención en Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Hospitalización/economía , Atención Primaria de Salud/economía , Tuberculosis Resistente a Múltiples Medicamentos/economía , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Antibióticos Antituberculosos/uso terapéutico , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estudios Retrospectivos , Rifampin/uso terapéutico , Sudáfrica , Factores de Tiempo , Insuficiencia del Tratamiento , Resultado del Tratamiento , Tuberculosis Resistente a Múltiples Medicamentos/tratamiento farmacológico , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To ascertain estimates of adult patients, recorded as lost to follow-up (LTFU) within antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes, who have self-transferred care, died or truly stopped ART in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Science Direct, LILACS, IndMed and AIM databases (2003-2013) and IAS/AIDS conference abstracts (2011-2013) were searched for tracing studies reporting the proportion of traced patients found to have self-transferred, died or stopped ART. These estimates were then combined using random-effects meta-analysis. Risk of bias was assessed through subgroup and sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Twenty eight studies were eligible for inclusion, reporting true outcomes for 10,806 traced patients attending approximately 258 ART facilities. None were from outside sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty three studies reported 4.5-54.4% traced LTFU patients self-transferring care, providing a pooled estimate of 18.6% (95% CI 15.8-22.0%). A significant positive association was found between rates of self-transfer and LTFU in the ART cohort. The pooled estimates for unreported deaths were 38.8% (95% CI 30.8-46.8%; 27 studies) and 28.6% (95% CI 21.9-36.0%; 20 studies) for patients stopping ART. A significant decrease in unreported deaths from 50.0% (95% CI 41.5-58.4%) to 30.0% (95% CI 21.1-38.9%) was found comparing study periods before and after 31 December 2007. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial unaccounted for transfers and deaths amongst patients LTFU confirms that retention and mortality is underestimated where the true outcomes of LTFU patients are not ascertained.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Países en Desarrollo/estadística & datos numéricos , Infecciones por VIH , Perdida de Seguimiento , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , África del Sur del Sahara , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Infecciones por VIH/mortalidad , Humanos , Evaluación de Resultado en la Atención de Salud , Transferencia de Pacientes/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
The delivery of HIV care in the initial rapid scale-up of HIV care and treatment was based on existing clinic-based models, which are common in highly resourced settings and largely undifferentiated for individual needs. A new framework for treatment based on variable intensities of care tailored to the specific needs of different groups of individuals across the cascade of care is proposed here. Service intensity is characterised by four delivery components: (i) types of services delivered, (ii) location of service delivery, (iii) provider of health services and (iv) frequency of health services. How these components are developed into a service delivery framework will vary across countries and populations, with the intention being to improve acceptability and care outcomes. The goal of getting more people on treatment before they become ill will necessitate innovative models of delivering both testing and care. As HIV programmes expand treatment eligibility, many people entering care will not be 'patients' but healthy, active and productive members of society. To take the framework to scale, it will be important to: (i) define which individuals can be served by an alternative delivery framework; (ii) strengthen health systems that support decentralisation, integration and task shifting; (iii) make the supply chain more robust; and (iv) invest in data systems for patient tracking and for programme monitoring and evaluation.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud , Servicios de Salud , Atención Dirigida al Paciente , HumanosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Further scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to those in need while supporting the growing patient cohort on ART requires continuous adaptation of healthcare delivery models. We describe several approaches to manage stable patients on ART developed by Médecins Sans Frontières together with Ministries of Health in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Using routine programme data, four approaches to simplify ART delivery for stable patients on ART were assessed from a patient and health system perspective: appointment spacing for clinical and drug refill visits in Malawi, peer educator-led ART refill groups in South Africa, community ART distribution points in DRC and patient-led community ART groups in Mozambique. RESULTS: All four approaches lightened the burden for both patients (reduced travel and lost income) and health system (reduced clinic attendance). Retention in care is high: 94% at 36 months in Malawi, 89% at 12 months in DRC, 97% at 40 months in South Africa and 92% at 48 months in Mozambique. Where evaluable, service provider costs are reported to be lower. CONCLUSION: Separating ART delivery from clinical assessments was found to benefit patients and programmes in a range of settings. The success of community ART models depends on sufficient and reliable support and resources, including a flexible and reliable drug supply, access to quality clinical management, a reliable monitoring system and a supported lay workers cadre. Such models require ongoing evaluation and further adaptation to be able to reach out to more patients, including specific groups who may be challenged to meet the demands of frequent clinic visits and the integrated delivery of other essential chronic disease interventions.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Atención a la Salud/métodos , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Características de la Residencia , África del Sur del Sahara , Recursos en Salud , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud , Humanos , Modelos Teóricos , OrganizacionesRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Long-acting and extended delivery (LAED) regimens for HIV treatment and prevention offer unique benefits to expand uptake, effective use and adherence. To date, research has focused on basic and clinical science around the safety and efficacy of these products. This commentary outlines opportunities in HIV prevention and treatment programmes, both for the health system and clients, that could be addressed through the inclusion of LAED regimens and the vital role of differentiated service delivery (DSD) in ensuring efficient and equitable access. DISCUSSION: The realities and challenges within HIV treatment and prevention programmes are different. Globally, more than 28 million people are accessing HIV treatment-the vast majority on a daily fixed-dose combination oral pill that is largely available, affordable and well-tolerated. Many people collect extended refills outside of health facilities with clinical consultations once or twice a year. Conversely, uptake of daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has consistently missed global targets due to limited access with high individual cost and lack of choice contributing to substantial unmet PrEP need. Recent trends in demedicalization, simplification, additional method options and DSD for PrEP have led to accelerated uptake as its availability has become more aligned with user preferences. How people currently receive HIV treatment and prevention services and their barriers to adherence must be considered for the introduction of LAED regimens to achieve the expected improvements in access and outcomes. Important considerations include the building blocks of DSD: who (provider), where (location), when (frequency) and what (package of services). Ideally, all LAED regimens will leverage DSD models that emphasize access at the community level and self-management. For treatment, LAED regimens may address challenges with adherence but their delivery should provide clear advantages over existing oral products to be scaled. For prevention, LAED regimens expand a potential PrEP user's choice of methods, but like other methods, need to be delivered in a manner that can facilitate frequent re-initiation. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure that innovative LAED HIV treatment and prevention products reach those who most stand to benefit, service delivery and client considerations during development, trial and early implementation are critical.
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Infecciones por VIH , Profilaxis Pre-Exposición , Humanos , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Infecciones por VIH/prevención & control , Cognición , Instituciones de Salud , Derivación y ConsultaRESUMEN
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a reordering of healthcare priorities. Health resources were turned to the screening and diagnosis of COVID-19, leading to a reduction in tuberculosis (TB) testing and treatment initiation. An innovative model that integrated TB and COVID-19 services was adopted at primary care facilities in Johannesburg Health District, Gauteng. This short report illustrates results from this model's implementation in two facilities. Patients were screened for COVID-19 at a single point of entry and separated according to screening result. Self-reported human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, symptom, and symptom duration were then used to determine TB risk amongst those screening positive for COVID-19. Data from clinical records were extracted. Approximately 9% of patients with a positive symptom screen (n = 76) were sent for a TB test and 84% were sent for a COVID-19 test. Amongst those sent for a TB test, 8% (n = 6) had TB detected, and amongst those sent for a COVID-19 test, 18% (n = 128) were positive. Amongst those with COVID-19-related symptoms, 15% (n = 130) presented with a cough or fever and were known HIV positive and 121 (93%) of these were sent for a COVID-19 test and 31 (24%) were sent for a TB test. Given the HIV prevalence and symptoms in our study, our results show lower-than-expected TB tests conducted.Contribution: Our study documents the outcomes of an innovative way to combine operational workflows for TB and COVID-19. This provides a starting point for countries seeking to integrate TB and COVID-19 screening and testing.
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COVID-19 , Infecciones por VIH , Seropositividad para VIH , Tuberculosis , Humanos , Infecciones por VIH/diagnóstico , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Infecciones por VIH/terapia , Sudáfrica/epidemiología , COVID-19/diagnóstico , Tuberculosis/epidemiología , Tamizaje Masivo/métodosRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: In response to COVID-19, national ministries of health adapted HIV service delivery guidelines to ensure uninterrupted access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and limit the frequency of contact with health facilities. In this commentary, we summarize four ways in which differentiated service delivery (DSD) for HIV treatment has been accelerated during COVID-19 in policy and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - (i) expanding eligibility for DSD for HIV treatment, (ii) extending multi-month dispensing (MMD) and reducing the frequency of clinical consultations, (iii) emphasizing community-based models and (iv) integrating/aligning with TB preventative therapy (TPT), non-communicable disease (NCD) treatments and family planning commodities. DISCUSSION: Across SSA in 2020, countries both adapted and emphasized policies supporting DSD for HIV treatment in response to COVID-19. Access to DSD for HIV treatment was expanded by reducing the time required on ART before eligibility and being more inclusive of specific populations including children and adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding women and those on second- and third-line regimens. Access to extended ART refills, or MMD, was accelerated across many countries. A renewed focus was given to out-of-facility community-based models of ART distribution. In some settings, there was acknowledgement of the need to integrate or align other chronic medications with ART. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptations to DSD for HIV treatment in response to COVID-19 have resulted in rapid policy change and in some cases, acceleration of implementation in SSA. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, there is a critical need to assess the impact of these adaptations and, where beneficial, ensure that policies implemented in response to COVID-19 become the new normal.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , COVID-19/epidemiología , Atención a la Salud , Infecciones por VIH/terapia , Adulto , África del Sur del Sahara/epidemiología , Lactancia Materna , Niño , Femenino , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Instituciones de Salud , Política de Salud , Humanos , Masculino , Pandemias , Embarazo , SARS-CoV-2 , Tiempo de TratamientoRESUMEN
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Differentiated service delivery (DSD) for HIV provides an approach to scaling services that are client-centred and aims to address client challenges whilst reducing the burden on health systems. With access to antiretroviral therapy, people living with HIV are living longer and increasingly present with comorbid conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes. This review presents the syndemic burden of HIV, hypertension and diabetes and highlights opportunities and challenges to leveraging DSD across diseases. RECENT FINDINGS: Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in the eight highest HIV prevalence countries ranges between 20-24% (31.9% in those >50 years old) and 4-10%, respectively. Service delivery models addressing the concurrent syndemics focus primarily on integration of services. Two DSD examples were found where people living with HIV and other comorbidities had their care and treatment supported in healthcare worker-led facility-based adherence clubs. SUMMARY: Key enablers that have supported DSD for HIV such as simplified algorithms, optimized formulations, secure drug supply, and strengthened monitoring and evaluation systems are lacking for hypertension and diabetes and thus pose a major challenge to leveraging DSD models for people with syndemic conditions. However, the DSD approach may also catalyse opportunities to provide person-centred care for these syndemics and more implementation research in this area is warranted.
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Diabetes Mellitus , Infecciones por VIH , Hipertensión , Enfermedad Crónica , Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiología , Diabetes Mellitus/terapia , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Infecciones por VIH/epidemiología , Humanos , Hipertensión/epidemiología , Hipertensión/terapia , Persona de Mediana Edad , SindémicoRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: The antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence club (AC) model has supported clinically stable HIV patients' retention with group ART refills and psychosocial support. Reducing visit frequency by increasing ART refills to six months could further benefit patients and unburden health systems. We conducted a pragmatic non-inferiority cluster randomized trial comparing standard of care (SoC) ACs and six-month refill intervention ACs in a primary care facility in Khayelitsha, South Africa. METHODS: Existing community-based and facility-based ACs were randomized to either SoC or intervention ACs. SoC ACs met five times annually, receiving two-month refills with a four-month refill over year-end. Blood was drawn at one AC visit with a clinical assessment at the next. Intervention ACs met twice annually receiving six-month refills, with an individual blood collection visit before the annual clinical assessment AC visit. The first study visits were in October and November 2017 and participants followed for 27 months. We report retention in care, viral load completion and viral suppression (<400 copies/mL) 24 months after enrolment and calculated intention-to-treat risk differences for the primary outcomes using generalized estimating equations specifying for clustering by AC. RESULTS: Of 2150 participants included in the trial, 977 were assigned to the intervention arm (40 ACs) and 1173 to the SoC (48 ACs). Patient characteristics at enrolment were similar across groups. Retention in care at 24 months was similarly high in both arms: 93.6% (1098/1173) in SoC and 92.6% (905/977) in the intervention arm, with a risk difference of -1.0% (95% CI: -3.2 to 1.3). The intervention arm had higher viral load completion (90.8% (999/1173) versus 85.1% (887/977)) and suppression (87.3% (969 /1173) versus 82.6% (853/977)) at 24 months, with a risk difference for completion of 5.5% (95% CI: 1.5 to 9.5) and suppression of 4.6% (95% CI: 0.2 to 9.0). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention AC patients receiving six-month ART refills showed non-inferior retention in care, viral load completion and viral load suppression to those in SoC ACs, adding to a growing literature showing good outcomes with extended ART dispensing intervals.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Cumplimiento de la Medicación , Adulto , Femenino , Infecciones por VIH/virología , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factores de Tiempo , Carga ViralRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Longer intervals between routine clinic visits and medication refills are part of patient-centred, differentiated service delivery (DSD). They have been shown to improve patient outcomes as well as optimise health services-vital as 'universal test-and-treat' targets increase numbers of HIV patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART). This qualitative study explored patient, healthcare worker and key informant experiences and perceptions of extending ART refills to 6 months in adherence clubs in Khayelitsha, South Africa. DESIGN AND SETTING: In-depth interviews were conducted in isiXhosa with purposively selected patients and in English with healthcare workers and key informants. All transcripts were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated to English, manually coded and thematically analysed. The participants had been involved in a randomised controlled trial evaluating multi-month ART dispensing in adherence clubs, comparing 6-month and 2-month refills. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three patients, seven healthcare workers and six key informants. RESULTS: Patients found that 6-month refills increased convenience and reduced unintended disclosure. Contrary to key informant concerns about patients' responsibility to manage larger quantities of ART, patients receiving 6-month refills were highly motivated and did not face challenges transporting, storing or adhering to treatment. All participant groups suggested that strict eligibility criteria were necessary for patients to realise the benefits of extended dispensing intervals. Six-month refills were felt to increase health system efficiency, but there were concerns about whether the existing drug supply system could adapt to 6-month refills on a larger scale. CONCLUSIONS: Patients, healthcare workers and key informants found 6-month refills within adherence clubs acceptable and beneficial, but concerns were raised about the reliability of the supply chain to manage extended multi-month dispensing. Stepwise, slow expansion could avoid overstressing supply and allow time for the health system to adapt, permitting 6-month ART refills to enhance current DSD options to be more efficient and patient-centred within current health system constraints.
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Fármacos Anti-VIH , Infecciones por VIH , Fármacos Anti-VIH/uso terapéutico , Antirretrovirales/uso terapéutico , Infecciones por VIH/tratamiento farmacológico , Humanos , Cumplimiento de la Medicación , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , SudáfricaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Eligibility for differentiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery models has to date been limited to low-risk stable patients. OBJECTIVES: We examined the outcomes of patients who accessed their care and treatment through an ART adherence club (AC), a differentiated ART delivery model, immediately following receiving support to achieve viral suppression after experiencing elevated viral loads (VLs) at a high-burden ART clinic in Khayelitsha, South Africa. METHODS: Beginning in February 2012, patients with VLs above 400 copies/mL either on first- or second-line regimens received a structured intervention developed for patients at risk of treatment failure. Patients who successfully suppressed either on the same regimen or after regimen switch were offered immediate enrolment in an AC facilitated by a lay community health worker. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of patients who enrolled in an AC directly after receiving suppression support. We analysed outcomes (retention in care, retention in AC care and viral rebound) using Kaplan-Meier methods with follow-up from October 2012 to June 2015. RESULTS: A total of 165 patients were enrolled in an AC following suppression (81.8% female, median age 36.2 years). At the closure of the study, 119 patients (72.0%) were virally suppressed and 148 patients (89.0%) were retained in care. Six, 12 and 18 months after AC enrolment, retention in care was estimated at 98.0%, 95.0% and 89.0%, respectively. Viral suppression was estimated to be maintained by 90.0%, 84.0% and 75.0% of patients at 6, 12 and 18 months after AC enrolment, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that patients who struggled to achieve or maintain viral suppression in routine clinic care can have good retention and viral suppression outcomes in ACs, a differentiated ART delivery model, following suppression support.