The role of digital health in palliative care for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.

Background: In 2018, 26.6 million people were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Palliative care services are recommended for people living with HIV at all stages from diagnosis through to end-of-life. However, the provision of palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa is limited, leading to little or no access for the majority of patients. Digital technologies in sub-Saharan Africa present an opportunity to improve access to palliative care for people living with HIV in the region. This review synthesised literature on digital health interventions for palliative care for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and assessed their effects on patient outcomes. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Global Health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Two independent reviewers conducted study screening, data extraction and quality appraisal. A narrative synthesis was performed to draw together and report findings across heterogeneous studies. Reporting of this review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis checklist. Results: Out of 4117 records, 25 studies were included, covering 3592 people living with HIV, across 21 countries. Studies included three randomised controlled trials, three qualitative, three pre- and post-test, two observational, two case series, six cross-sectional and six mixed methods studies. Telemedicine was the most reported digital health intervention, with 12 studies demonstrating the effectiveness of digital health interventions. Conclusion: Emerging evidence suggests digital health interventions can be effective in facilitating patient-provider communication and health professional decision-making as a part of palliative care for people living with HIV. There is a need for further development and evaluation of digital health interventions alongside determining optimal approaches to their implementation as a part of palliative care provision in sub-Saharan Africa.

Feasibility and impact of near-point-of-care integrated tuberculosis/HIV testing in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVES: Near-point-of-care (POC) testing for early infant diagnosis (EID) and viral load expedites clinical action and improves outcomes but requires capital investment. We assessed whether excess capacity on existing near-POC devices used for TB diagnosis could be leveraged to increase near-POC HIV molecular testing, termed integrated testing, without compromising TB services. DESIGN: Preimplementation/postimplementation studies in 10 health facilities in Malawi and 8 in Zimbabwe. METHODS: Timeliness of EID and viral load test results and clinical action were compared between centralized and near-POC testing using Somers' D tests (continuous indicators) and risk ratios (RR, binary indicators); TB testing/treatment rates and timeliness were analyzed preintegration/postintegration. RESULTS: With integration, average device utilization increased but did not exceed 55%. Despite the addition of HIV testing, TB test volumes, timeliness, and treatment initiations were maintained. Although few HIV-positive infants were identified, near-POC EID testing improved treatment initiation within 1 month by 57% compared with centralized EID [Malawi RR: 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98-2.52], and near-POC viral load testing significantly increased the proportion of patients with elevated viral load receiving clinical action within 1 month (Zimbabwe RR: 5.26, 95% CI 3.38-8.20; Malawi RR: 3.90, 95% CI 2.58-5.91). CONCLUSION: Integrating TB/HIV testing using existing multidisease platforms is feasible and enables increased access to rapid diagnostics without disrupting existing TB services. Our results serve as an example of a novel, efficient implementation model that can increase access to critical testing services across disease silos and should be considered for additional clinical applications.

Significant Patient Impact Observed Upon Implementation of Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis Technologies in an Observational Study in Malawi.

Background: In Malawi in 2014, <20% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed infants received an early infant diagnosis (EID) test in the first 2 months of life and only 30% of HIV-infected children were on antiretroviral therapy (ART). We sought to understand the potential patient impact of improving timely infant diagnosis and treatment initiation through implementation of point-of-care (POC) EID technologies in Malawi. Methods: In this observational study, POC EID technologies were introduced into routine services at 7 health facilities across Malawi in September 2015. The primary outcome was the proportion of HIV-infected infants initiating ART within 60 days of sample collection in the POC arm compared to the baseline arm with conventional laboratory-based EID testing. Results: The time from sample collection to result received by the patient decreased significantly from 56 days (interquartile range [IQR], 30-81 days) in the baseline arm to <1 day in the POC arm (P < .001). Of the HIV-infected infants, the time between sample collection and ART initiation was reduced from 38 days (IQR, 30-54 days) in the baseline arm to <1 day (IQR, 0-1 day) in the POC arm (P = .019). Furthermore, the proportion of HIV-infected infants initiated on ART within 60 days of sample collection increased significantly from 41.9% to 91.1% after the introduction of POC (adjusted risk ratio, 2.28; P < .001). Conclusions: ART initiation rates were significantly improved with the implementation of same-day POC EID testing compared with referred, longer-turnaround laboratory-based testing.