Only Half of the People Enroll for HIV Care in Southern Mozambique After Diagnosis

Only half of the people diagnosed with HIV in southern Mozambique enroll in medical care while others do not initiate the next step of HIV care, reports a new study. Developing intervention for HIV infected patients to facilitate access to care and provide treatment among the population is essential. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency .// To achieve the 90-90-90 target set by the UNAIDS (diagnose 90% of people living with VIH, treat 90% of them, and achieve viral suppression in 90% of treated patients), one must increase the percentage of people that, once diagnosed, start care and adhere to the treatment. In Mozambique for example, it is estimated that barely half of the people with HIV initiate treatment after diagnosis, and less than half continue taking it three years later.

The team led by Denise Naniche, an ISGlobal researcher, aimed to evaluate whether the uptake and adherence to HIV care and treatment depend on where and how the diagnosis was done.

The study was performed in Southern Mozambique and included over 1,000 adults newly diagnosed at the clinic, either voluntarily or upon health personnel recommendation, or at their homes. Three months after diagnosis, barely 44 percent of the participants had attended a medical visit, and only 25 percent had initiated antiretroviral treatment. Uptake of care and treatment was particularly low among those that were tested at home, which represent an older and less knowledgeable population than those attending the clinic. In contrast, among those that did initiate treatment, 84 percent were still taking it 12 months later.

"These results are similar to those reported for other African countries with high HIV prevalence," says Naniche, "and they show that most patients are lost to follow-up in the first phases after the diagnosis, regardless of where and how the test was done. They also reveal that those that perform the test at home represent a socio-demographically distinct population and that we need to develop interventions such as SMS messages to help them initiate medical care and treatment.

Source-Eurekalert