Stay-at-Home: The Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Household Functioning and ART Adherence for People Living with HIV in Three Sub-districts of Cape Town, South Africa.

In March 2020, the South African government imposed a lockdown to control COVID-19 transmission. Lockdown may affect people living with HIV's (PLWH) antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. Data from a cluster randomised control trial was collected from 152 PLWH in Cape Town sub-districts from October 2019-March 2020 when the lockdown halted collection. Subsequently, 83 PLWH were followed-up in June-July 2020. Random effects models were used to analyse: (1) changes between baseline and follow-up and (2) correlates of adherence during lockdown. At follow-up, there was an increase in the odds of being below the poverty line and the odds of experiencing violence decreased. Measures for well-being, household functioning, stigma and HIV competency improved. Violence, depression, food insecurity, and stigma were associated with poorer ART adherence; higher well-being scores were associated with better adherence. During lockdown, governments need to ensure financial support, access to (mental) health services, and services for those experiencing violence.Clinical Trial Number: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, PACTR201906476052236. Registered on 24 June 2019.

RESUMEN: En marzo de 2020, el gobierno sudafricano impuso un confinamiento generalizado para controlar la transmisión del COVID-19. Estas medidas pueden afectar la adherencia a la terapia antirretroviral de las personas con VIH. A partir de un ensayo aleatorio grupal se recopilan datos de 152 personas con VIH en los sub-distritos de Ciudad del Cabo entre octubre de 2019 y marzo de 2020 cuando el confinamiento detuvo la recopilación. Posteriormente, se realizó un seguimiento de 83 pacientes entre junio y julio de 2020. Se utilizaron modelos de efectos aleatorios para analizar: 1) los cambios en las variables entre la línea de base y de seguimiento; 2) covariables de adhesión al tratamiento. En el seguimiento se observa que aumentaron las probabilidades de estar por debajo del umbral de pobreza y disminuyeron las probabilidades de sufrir violencia. Las medidas de bienestar, funcionamiento del hogar, estigma e idoneidad en materia de VIH mejoraron entre la línea base y el seguimiento. Por otro lado, la violencia, la depresión, la inseguridad alimentaria y el estigma se asocian a una menor adherencia al tratamiento antirretroviral, mientras la mejora del bienestar se asocia a una mayor adherencia al tratamiento. De tal manera, se observa que durante situaciones de emergencia que requieran de confinamientos es recomendable que los gobiernos garanticen apoyo financiero, atención a la salud física y mental de manera continua, así como servicios especializados hacia quienes sufren violencia.

Household-focused interventions to enhance the treatment and management of HIV in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: HIV remains a major public health challenge in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The initiation of a greater number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) onto antiretroviral therapy (ART) following the World Health Organization's 'universal test and treat' recommendation has the potential to overstretch already challenged health systems in LMICs. While various mainstream and community-based care models have been implemented to improve the treatment outcomes of PLHIV, little effort has been made to harness the potential of the families or households of PLHIV to enhance their treatment outcomes. To this end, we sought to explore the characteristics and effectiveness of household-focused interventions in LMICs on the management of HIV as measured by levels of adherence, viral suppression and different dimensions of HIV competence. Additionally, we sought to explore the mechanisms of change to explain how the interventions achieved the expected outcomes. METHODS: We systematically reviewed the literature published from 2003 to 2018, obtained from six electronic databases. We thematically analysed the 11 selected articles guided by the population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO) framework. Following the generative causality logic, whereby mechanisms are postulated to mediate an intervention and the outcomes, we applied a mechanism-based inferential reasoning, retroduction, to identify the mechanisms underlying the interventions to understand how these interventions are expected to work. RESULTS: The identified HIV-related interventions with a household focus were multi-component and multi-dimensional, incorporating aspects of information sharing on HIV; improving communication; stimulating social support and promoting mental health. Most of the interventions sought to empower and stimulate self-efficacy while strengthening the perceived social support of the PLHIV. Studies reported a significant positive impact on improving various aspects of HIV competent household - positive effects on HIV knowledge, communication between household members, and improved mental health outcomes of youths living in HIV-affected households. CONCLUSION: By aiming to strengthen the perceived social support and self-efficacy of PLHIV, household-focused HIV interventions can address various aspects of household HIV competency. Nevertheless, the role of the household as an enabling resource to improve the outcomes of PLHIV remains largely untapped by public HIV programmes; more research on improving household HIV competency is therefore required. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration: CRD42018094383.

Towards integrated mental health services in low-income and middle-income countries: organisation of primary healthcare providers - a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Mental health conditions constitute a significant percentage of the global burden of disease. A shortfall of mental health specialists and a lack of integration of services in primary care in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) contribute towards a mental health treatment gap in excess of 70%. Organising and equipping non-specialist healthcare workers is, therefore, an important strategy for improving access to mental health services in LMICs. This scoping review aims to map literature that addresses the organisation of and support provided to health teams in primary care settings within the context of integrated mental healthcare and as it relates to detection, treatment and referral of mental health conditions. The review will be guided by the 'Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions' framework. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This review protocol will employ the methodological framework first developed by Arksey and O'Malley and later advanced by others and will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines. This process will entail identifying the research questions, locating relevant literature, choosing eligible reports and studies, extracting the data and summarising the results in English-language studies and reports from 2008 to 2023 will be sourced from PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete and the WHO website. A two-stage screening of titles and abstracts, followed by full-text literature will be done in duplicate with blinded authors. Data extraction will be based on predefined fields. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: All literature accessed for this scoping review is in the public domain and thus, no approval from an ethics review board is required. The findings of the scoping review report will inform future mental health research in LMIC and will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Households in HIV Care: Designing an Intervention to Stimulate HIV Competency in Households in South Africa.

Despite the Universal Test and Treat program and widespread antiretroviral treatment rollout, South Africa is still facing HIV prevention and treatment challenges, which are aggravated by human resource shortages in the healthcare sector. Individual- and community-level responses to these HIV-related challenges are increasingly being explored, for example, in community and home-based care. The role of the household as a crucial mediating social level has, however, largely been omitted. This paper outlines the design of an intervention to stimulate the involvement of the household in support for people living with HIV in South Africa. The 6SQuID model guided the intervention development process in four phases: (1) formative research, theory formulation, and a review of the existing literature, (2) integration of the results from the formative research into the "Positive Communication Process" (P2CP model) as a mechanism of change, (3) design of a community-health-worker-led intervention as the way to deliver the change mechanism, and (4) testing and revision of the developed intervention material-called Sinako-in a small-scale pilot study. The Sinako intervention anticipates that the future of chronic HIV care in resource-constrained settings will need to integrate the patient's household into the fight against HIV.

Social and Structural Determinants of Household Support for ART Adherence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review .

Adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a crucial factor in health outcomes for people living with HIV (PLWH). Interventions to support ART adherence are increasingly focused on the household as a source of social support. This review aims to examine the social and structural determinants of support for ART adherence within households and families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The review methodology followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Seven databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature. The terms searched thematically covered (1) ART adherence, (2) household and family and (3) support and care. Thirty-three studies conducted in 15 LMICs were selected and a mixed methods synthesis was undertaken. Social and structural determinants affected the type, quality and amount of support for PLWH of all ages, which affected PLWH's ART adherence. Gender norms affected the type of support that household members give to PLWH. Education moderated household support for ART adherence through literacy and language skills. Cultural context, religious beliefs, and social norms reinforced or undermined household support for ART adherence. Stigma affected disclosure, generated secrecy around giving medication and impeded access to support from the community. Supporting PLWH exacerbated economic hardship for household members. Health system dysfunction negatively impacted trust and communication between household members and health professionals. Intersecting social and structural determinants particularly affected the care given by household members who were older, female, with little education and low socioeconomic status. Household members were able to overcome some of these barriers when they received support themselves. Household interventions to support PLWH's ART adherence should take structural factors into account to have maximum impact.