Programmatic implementation of depression screening and remote mental health support sessions for persons recently diagnosed with TB in Lima, Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Few studies have explored a stepped care model for delivering mental health care to persons with tuberculosis (TB). Here, we evaluated depression screening and remote low-intensity mental health interventions for persons initiating TB treatment in Lima, Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) to screen participants for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5). Participants with PHQ-9, 5-14 received remote Psychological First Aid (PFA) or Problem Management Plus (PM+). Participants were reevaluated 6 months after intervention completion. We then compared the change in median PHQ-9 scores before and after intervention completion. Those with PHQ-9 ≥ 15 were referred to higher-level care. Findings: We found that 62 (45.9%) of the 135 participants had PHQ-9 ≥ 5 at baseline. Then, 54 individuals with PHQ-9, 5-9 received PFA, of which 44 (81.5%) were reevaluated. We observed significant reductions in median PHQ-9 scores from 6 to 2 (r = 0.98; p < 0.001). Four participants with PHQ-9, 10-14 received PM+ but were unable to be reevaluated. Four participants with PHQ-9 ≥ 15 were referred to higher-level care. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were common among persons recently diagnosed with TB. We observed improvements in depressive symptoms 6 months later for most participants who received remote sessions of PFA.

Community-Based Accompaniment with Supervised Antiretrovirals for HIV-Positive Adults in Peru: A Cluster-Randomized Trial.

We conducted a cluster-randomized trial to estimate effects of directly observed combination antiretroviral therapy (DOT-cART) on retention with viral suppression among HIV-positive adults in Peru. We randomly allocated facilities to receive the 12-month intervention plus the standard of care, including adherence support provided through accompaniment. In the intervention arm, health workers supervised doses, twice daily, and accompanied patients to appointments. Among 356 patients, intention-to-treat analyses showed no statistically significant benefit of DOT, relative to no-DOT, at 12 or 24 months (adjusted probability of primary outcome: 0.81 vs. 0.73 and 0.76 vs. 0.68, respectively). A statistically significant benefit of DOT was found in per-protocol and as-treated analyses at 12 months (0.83 for DOT vs. 0.73 for no DOT, p value: 0.02 per-protocol, 0.01 as-treated), but not 24 months. Rates of retention with viral suppression were high in both arms. Among adults receiving robust adherence support, the added effect of time-limited DOT, if any, is small-to-moderate.

Validation of 2 Spanish-Language Scales to Assess HIV-Related Stigma in Communities.

We report the psychometric properties of 2 Spanish-language scales designed to measure (1) opinions about HIV in the community and particularly among health care workers and (2) observed acts of stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) by health care workers. The Opinions about HIV Scale included 3 components (policy, avoidance, and empathy) and 9 items, while an adapted version of the HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument-Nurse, designed to capture acts of stigma, included 2 components (discrimination related to clinical care and refusal to share or exchange food/gifts). Scales demonstrated good reliability and construct validity. Relative to community health workers, treatment supporters were more likely to have stigmatizing opinions related to avoidance and empathy. We offer 2 Spanish-language scales that could be used to identify populations with high levels of stigmatizing opinions and behaviors toward PLWHA. Formal training of health care workers, especially treatment supporters, may raise awareness and reduce stigma toward HIV.

Identifying multidrug resistant tuberculosis transmission hotspots using routinely collected data.

In most countries with large drug resistant tuberculosis epidemics, only those cases that are at highest risk of having MDRTB receive a drug sensitivity test (DST) at the time of diagnosis. Because of this prioritized testing, identification of MDRTB transmission hotspots in communities where TB cases do not receive DST is challenging, as any observed aggregation of MDRTB may reflect systematic differences in how testing is distributed in communities. We introduce a new disease mapping method, which estimates this missing information through probability-weighted locations, to identify geographic areas of increased risk of MDRTB transmission. We apply this method to routinely collected data from two districts in Lima, Peru over three consecutive years. This method identifies an area in the eastern part of Lima where previously untreated cases have increased risk of MDRTB. This may indicate an area of increased transmission of drug resistant disease, a finding that may otherwise have been missed by routine analysis of programmatic data. The risk of MDR among retreatment cases is also highest in these probable transmission hotspots, though a high level of MDR among retreatment cases is present throughout the study area. Identifying potential multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) transmission hotspots may allow for targeted investigation and deployment of resources.