Person:

Geldsetzer, Pascal

Background: Mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains an important public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. As HIV testing and linkage to PMTCT occurs in antenatal care (ANC), major challenges for any PMTCT option in developing countries, including Tanzania, are delays in the first ANC visit and a low overall number of visits. Community health workers (CHWs) have been effective in various settings in increasing the uptake of clinical services and improving treatment retention and adherence. At the beginning of this trial in January 2013, the World Health Organization recommended either of two medication regimens, Option A or B, for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). It is still largely unclear which option is more effective when implemented in a public healthcare system. This study aims to determine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of: (1) a community health worker (CWH) intervention and (2) PMTCT Option B in improving ANC and PMTCT outcomes. Methods/Design This study is a cluster-randomized controlled health systems implementation trial with a two-by-two factorial design. All 60 administrative wards in the Kinondoni and Ilala districts in Dar es Salaam were first randomly allocated to either receiving the CHW intervention or not, and then to receiving either Option B or A. Under the standard of care, facility-based health workers follow up on patients who have missed scheduled appointments for PMTCT, first through a telephone call and then with a home visit. In the wards receiving the CHW intervention, the CHWs: (1) identify pregnant women through home visits and refer them to antenatal care; (2) provide education to pregnant women on antenatal care, PMTCT, birth, and postnatal care; (3) routinely follow up on all pregnant women to ascertain whether they have attended ANC; and (4) follow up on women who have missed ANC or PMTCT appointments. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: EJF22802. Registration date: 14 May 2013. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-359) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Home visits by community health workers (CHW) could be effective in identifying pregnant women in the community before they have presented to the health system. CHW could thus improve the uptake of antenatal care (ANC), HIV testing, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. Methods: Over a 16-month period, we carried out a quantitative evaluation of the performance of CHW in reaching women early in pregnancy and before they have attended ANC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results: As part of the intervention, 213 CHW conducted more than 45,000 home visits to about 43,000 pregnant women. More than 75% of the pregnant women identified through home visits had not yet attended ANC at the time of the first contact with a CHW and about 40% of those who had not yet attended ANC were in the first trimester of pregnancy. Over time, the number of pregnant women the CHW identified each month increased, as did the proportion of women who had not yet attended ANC. The median gestational age of pregnant women contacted for the first time by a CHW decreased steadily and significantly over time (from 21/22 to 16 weeks, P-value for test of trend <0.0001). Conclusions: A large-scale CHW intervention was effective in identifying pregnant women in their homes early in pregnancy and before they had attended ANC. The intervention thus fulfills some of the conditions that are necessary for CHW to improve timely ANC uptake and early HIV testing and PMTCT enrollment in pregnancy.

Background: Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV remains a major source of new HIV infections in children. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) using lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV (Option B+) is the major strategy for eliminating paediatric HIV. Ensuring that patients are satisfied with PMTCT services is important for optimizing uptake, adherence and retention in treatment. Methods: We conducted a facility based quantitative cross-sectional survey in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, between March and April 2014, when the country was transitioning to the implementation of PMTCT Option B+. We interviewed 595 pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV, who received PMTCT care in 36 public health facilities. Predictors of overall dissatisfaction with PMTCT services were identified using a multiple logistic regression. Results: Overall 8% of the patients expressed dissatisfaction with PMTCT services. Patients who perceived health care workers (HCW) communication skills as poor, had a 5-fold (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.8–13.4) increased risk of dissatisfaction and those who perceived HCW capacity to understand client concerns as poor, had a 6-fold (OR 5.7, 95% CI 2.3–14.0) increased risk. Having a total visit time longer than two hours was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of being dissatisfied (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–4.7). Every 30-minute increment in total visit time was associated with a 10% higher (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.2) risk of being dissatisfied. The probability of being dissatisfied ranged from 4% (95% CI 2% - 6%) in the presence of patient-perceived good communication, good understanding of patient concerns, and a total visit time below two hours, to 70% (95% CI 47% - 86%) if HCW failed in all of these aspects. Conclusion: Patient dissatisfaction with PMTCT services was generally low; reflecting that quality of care was maintained during Tanzania’s transition to Option B+ strategy aiming to increase the number of women initiating life-long ART in PMTCT clinics. Improved HCW communication with clients, their understanding of patient concerns and a reduction of the total visit time would further optimize women’s overall satisfaction with PMTCT services in Tanzania.

Background: Home delivery of antiretroviral therapy (ART) by community health workers (CHWs) may improve ART retention by reducing the time burden and out-of-pocket expenditures to regularly attend an ART clinic. In addition, ART home delivery may shorten waiting times and improve quality of care for those in facility-based care by decongesting ART clinics. This trial aims to determine whether ART home delivery for patients who are clinically stable on ART combined with facility-based care for those who are not stable on ART is non-inferior to the standard of care (facility-based care for all ART patients) in achieving and maintaining virological suppression. Methods: This is a non-inferiority cluster-randomized trial set in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A cluster is one of 48 healthcare facilities with its surrounding catchment area. 24 clusters were randomized to ART home delivery and 24 to the standard of care. The intervention consists of home visits by CHWs to provide counseling and deliver ART to patients who are stable on ART, while the control is the standard of care (facility-based ART and CHW home visits without ART home delivery). In addition, half of the healthcare facilities in each study arm were randomized to standard counseling during home visits (covering family planning, prevention of HIV transmission, and ART adherence), and half to standard plus nutrition counseling (covering food production and dietary advice). The non-inferiority design applies to the endpoints of the ART home delivery trial; the primary endpoint is the proportion of ART patients at a healthcare facility who are virally suppressed at the end of the study period. The margin of non-inferiority for this primary endpoint was set at nine percentage points. Discussion As the number of ART patients in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise, this trial provides causal evidence on the effectiveness of a home-based care model that could decongest ART clinics and reduce patients’ healthcare expenditures. More broadly, this trial will inform the increasing policy interest in task-shifting of chronic disease care from facility- to community-based healthcare workers. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02711293. Registration date: 16 March 2016. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2032-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Option B+ for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV (i.e., lifelong antiretroviral treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers living with HIV) was initiated in Tanzania in 2013. While there is evidence that this policy has benefits for the health of the mother and the child, Option B+ may also increase the workload for health care providers in resource-constrained settings, possibly leading to job dissatisfaction and unwanted workforce turnover. Methods: From March to April 2014, a questionnaire asking about job satisfaction and turnover intentions was administered to all nurses at 36 public-sector health facilities offering antenatal and PMTCT services in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with job dissatisfaction and intention to quit one’s job. Results: Slightly over half (54%, 114/213) of the providers were dissatisfied with their current job, and 35% (74/213) intended to leave their job. Most of the providers were dissatisfied with low salaries and high workload, but satisfied with workplace harmony and being able to follow their moral values. The odds of reporting to be globally dissatisfied with one’s job were high if the provider was dissatisfied with salary (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 5.6, 95% CI 1.2–26.8), availability of protective gear (aOR 4.0, 95% CI 1.5–10.6), job description (aOR 4.3, 95% CI 1.2–14.7), and working hours (aOR 3.2, 95% CI 1.3–7.6). Perceiving clients to prefer PMTCT Option B+ reduced job dissatisfaction (aOR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.8). The following factors were associated with providers’ intention to leave their current job: job stability dissatisfaction (aOR 3.7, 95% CI 1.3–10.5), not being recognized by one’s superior (aOR 3.6, 95% CI 1.7–7.6), and poor feedback on the overall unit performance (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3–5.8). Conclusion: Job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions are comparatively high among nurses in Dar es Salaam’s public-sector maternal care facilities. Providing reasonable salaries and working hours, clearer job descriptions, appropriate safety measures, job stability, and improved supervision and feedback will be key to retaining satisfied PMTCT providers and thus to sustain successful implementation of Option B+ in Tanzania. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12960-017-0235-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.