scholarly journals Piloting very early infant diagnosis of HIV in Lesotho: Acceptability and feasibility among mothers, health workers and laboratory personnel

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. e0190874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Gill ◽  
Lynne M. Mofenson ◽  
Mamakhetha Phalatse ◽  
Vincent Tukei ◽  
Laura Guay ◽  
...  
BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e043679
Author(s):  
Yasmin Mohamed ◽  
Martha Kupul ◽  
Janet Gare ◽  
Steven G Badman ◽  
Selina Silim ◽  
...  

IntroductionEarly infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV and timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality among HIV-positive infants. Access to EID is limited in many low-income and middle-income settings, particularly those in which standard care involves dried blood spots (DBS) sent to centralised laboratories, such as in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We conducted a qualitative exploration of the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a point-of-care (POC) EID test (Xpert HIV-1 Qualitative assay) among health workers and key stakeholders working within the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in PNG.MethodsThis qualitative substudy was conducted as part of a pragmatic trial to investigate the effectiveness of the Xpert HIV-1 Qualitative test for EID in PNG and Myanmar. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 5 health workers and 13 key informants to explore current services, experiences of EID testing, perspectives on the Xpert test and the feasibility of integrating and scaling up POC EID in PNG. Coding was undertaken using inductive and deductive approaches, drawing on existing acceptability and feasibility frameworks.ResultsHealth workers and key informants (N=18) felt EID at POC was feasible to implement and beneficial to HIV-exposed infants and their families, staff and the PMTCT programme more broadly. All study participants highlighted starting HIV-positive infants on treatment immediately as the main advantage of POC EID compared with standard care DBS testing. Health workers identified insufficient resources to follow up infants and caregivers and space constraints in hospitals as barriers to implementation. Participants emphasised the importance of adequate human resources, ongoing training and support, appropriate coordination and a sustainable supply of consumables to ensure effective scale-up of the test throughout PNG.ConclusionsImplementation of POC EID in a low HIV prevalence setting such as PNG is likely to be both feasible and beneficial with careful planning and adequate resources.Trial registration number12616000734460.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis M. Simmonds ◽  
Jennifer E. Cohn ◽  
Haurovi W. Mafaune ◽  
Tichaona H. Nyamundaya ◽  
Agnes Mahomva ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246876
Author(s):  
Antoinette Kailey Ankrah ◽  
Phyllis Dako-Gyeke

Background Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV and timely initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality of HIV infected infants. Despite the benefits of early infant testing, the coverage of EID of HIV services is still low in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana. Objectives To ascertain the factors that facilitate or hinder the delivery and uptake of EID of HIV services. Methods The study is a cross-sectional exploratory qualitative research conducted in two health facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Respondents (n = 50) comprising health workers (n = 20) and HIV positive mothers (n = 30) were purposively sampled and engaged in in-depth interviews. The Nvivo 11 software and the Braun and Clarke’s stages of thematic analysis were used in coding data and data analysis respectively. Results The study found that health system factors such as inadequate Staff with sample collection skills, unavailability of vehicles to convey samples to the reference laboratory for analysis, the long turnaround time for receipt of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) results, inadequate and frequent breakdown of PCR machine hindered EID service delivery. On the other hand, adequate knowledge of health workers on EID, availability of Dried Blood Spot (DBS) cards and the adoption of task shifting strategies facilitated EID service delivery. Factors such as the denial of HIV status, non-completion of the EID process due to frustrations encountered whiles accessing service and delay in receipt of PCR results served as barriers to mother’s utilisation of EID services for their exposed infants. The study also identified that adequate knowledge of EID, perceived importance of EID, financial stability as well as financial support from others and the positive attitudes of health workers facilitated HIV positive mother’s uptake of EID services for their exposed infants. Conclusion The factors attributing to the low coverage of EID of HIV services must be promptly addressed to improve service delivery and uptake.


Author(s):  
John Akpan Markson

Background: Early diagnosis of HIV to identify infected children for early therapy is aimed at preventing high mortalities associated with child HIV infection. Early infant diagnosis (EID) intervention occurs across the three tiers of the Nigerian health care delivery system, including the primary health care centers (PHC). This study evaluates the implementation of early infant diagnosis of HIV in PHCs in a southern state of Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that took place between September and November 2019. Primary data were obtained from an interviewer-administered questionnaire on 120 health workers in six Local Government Areas (LGA) that were selected through a multi-stage, random sampling method. Secondary data were from the records of program implementation at the state headquarters of Ministry of Health and the PHCs. Results: A total of 116 (96.6%) health workers were interviewed; 17.2% were males, and 82.8% were females. More than two-thirds of respondents were aged between 41 and 60 years and 84.5% of them had worked in the PHC system for 11 years and above. Rural or urban location of the PHC, educational level of the health workers, and years of service in the PHC system did not have any significant effect on implementation of EID program in the health facilities. Implementation of EID program was ineffective in both rural and urban PHCs of Akwa Ibom state with the p-value of 0.337. In multiple regression analysis, access to EID program and provision of adequate supplies significantly affected implementation of the program with p = 0.001 and p = 0.000 respectively. Conclusion and Implication for Translation: The study indicates general ineffectiveness in the implementation of EID in a Southern State of Nigeria. There is need to improve access to EID services and provide needed supplies if the state, and by extension Nigeria, hopes to meet the target of joining the global community in ending HIV by 2030.   Copyright © 2021 Markson. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 650-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Penazzato ◽  
Paul Revill ◽  
Andrew J Prendergast ◽  
Intira J Collins ◽  
Simon Walker ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1159-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Dunning ◽  
Max Kroon ◽  
Lezanne Fourie ◽  
Andrea Ciaranello ◽  
Landon Myer

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Robert Nuoh ◽  
Kofi Nyarko ◽  
Charles Noora ◽  
Adolphina Addo-Lartey ◽  
Priscillia Nortey ◽  
...  

Objective: We identified socio-demographic, health system and psycho-social barriers to Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV in the Upper West Region of Ghana.Design: An unmatched case control study of 96 cases and 96 controls was conducted in the ART centers in Lawra district and Wa Municipality between December 2014 and April 2015.Setting: A public health facilityParticipants: We defined a case as an HIV positive mother with an exposed infant who received EID service between January 2011 and December 2014. A control was defined as HIV Positive Mother with an exposed infant who did not receive EID services between January 2011 and December 2014.Main outcome: EID by dry blood spot Deoxyribonucleic acid Polymerase chain reaction.Results: A total of 192 mother-infant pairs were assessed. The mean age of infants at testing for cases was 17.3±14.9 weeks. Mother-to-child-transmission-rate was 2.3%. Factors associated with EID testing included: mother being formallyemployed (cOR=2.0: 95%CI:1.1-3.8), maternal formal education (cOR=2.0, 95%CI: 1.1-3.6) and maternal independent source of income (cOR 2.2, 95%CI 1.2-4.1). After adjusting for confounders, maternal independent incomebsource was associated with EID testing (aOR 2.2, 95%CI 1.2-4.1). Median turn-around time of EID result was 11 weeks (IQR 4-27weeks).Conclusion: Women need to be empowered to gain an independent source of income. This can help maximize the benefits of e-MTCT and increase EID in the Upper West Region of Ghana.Keywords: Barriers; HIV; early infant diagnosis; DNA-PCR; GhanaFunding: This work was funded by the authors


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