Browsing by Author "Chetty-Makkan CM"

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"It's Not Like Taking Chocolates": Factors Influencing the Feasibility and Sustainability of Universal Test and Treat in Correctional Health Systems in Zambia and South Africa.
(2019-Jun) Topp SM; Chetty-Makkan CM; Smith HJ; Chimoyi L; Hoffmann CJ; Fielding K; Reid SE; Olivier AJ; Hausler H; Herce ME; Charalambous S; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.; TB/HIV Care Association, Cape Town, South Africa.; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.; College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. globalstopp@gmail.com.; Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.; The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.; School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan African correctional facilities concentrate large numbers of people who are living with HIV or at risk for HIV infection. Universal test and treat (UTT) is widely recognized as a promising approach to improve the health of individuals and a population health strategy to reduce new HIV infections. In this study, we explored the feasibility and sustainability of implementing UTT in correctional facilities in Zambia and South Africa. METHODS: Nested within a UTT implementation research study, our qualitative evaluation of feasibility and sustainability used a case-comparison design based on data from 1 Zambian and 3 South African correctional facilities. Primary data from in-depth interviews with incarcerated individuals, correctional managers, health care providers, and policy makers were supplemented by public policy documents, study documentation, and implementation memos in both countries. Thematic analysis was informed by an empirically established conceptual framework for health system analysis. RESULTS: Despite different institutional profiles, we were able to successfully introduce UTT in the South Africa and Zambian correctional facilities participating in the study. A supportive policy backdrop was important to UTT implementation and establishment in both countries. However, sustainability of UTT, defined as relevant government departments' capacity to independently plan, resource, and administer quality UTT, differed. South Africa's correctional facilities had existing systems to deliver and monitor chronic HIV care and treatment, forming a "scaffolding" for sustained UTT despite some human resources shortages and poorly integrated health information systems. Notwithstanding recent improvements, Zambia's correctional health system demonstrated insufficient material and technical capacity to independently deliver quality UTT. In the correctional facilities of both countries, inmate population dynamics and their impact on HIV-related stigma were important factors in UTT service uptake. CONCLUSION: Findings demonstrate the critical role of policy directives, health service delivery systems, adequate resourcing, and population dynamics on the feasibility and likely sustainability of UTT in corrections in Zambia and South Africa.
Universal test-and-treat in Zambian and South African correctional facilities: a multisite prospective cohort study.
(2020-Dec) Herce ME; Hoffmann CJ; Fielding K; Topp SM; Hausler H; Chimoyi L; Smith HJ; Chetty-Makkan CM; Mukora R; Tlali M; Olivier AJ; Muyoyeta M; Reid SE; Charalambous S; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.; College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Douglas, QLD, Australia.; The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.; TB HIV Care, Cape Town, South Africa.; The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia; Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: michael.herce@cidrz.org.; Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), Lusaka, Zambia.
BACKGROUND: Despite the global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART), incarcerated people have not benefited equally from test-and-treat recommendations for HIV. To improve access to ART for incarcerated people with HIV, we introduced a universal test-and-treat (UTT) intervention in correctional facilities in South Africa and Zambia, and aimed to assess UTT feasibility and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Treatment as Prevention (TasP) was a multisite, mixed methods, implementation research study done at three correctional complexes in South Africa (Johnannesburg and Breede River) and Zambia (Lusaka). Here, we report the clinical outcomes for a prospective cohort of incarcerated individuals who were offered the TasP UTT intervention. Incarcerated individuals were eligible for inclusion if they were aged 18 years or older, with new or previously diagnosed HIV, not yet on ART, and were expected to remain incarcerated for 30 days or longer. To enable the implementation of UTT at the included correctional facilities, we first strengthened on-site HIV service delivery. All participants were offered same-day ART initiation, and had two study-specific follow-up visits scheduled to coincide with routine clinic visits at 6 and 12 months. The main outcomes were ART uptake, time from cohort enrolment to ART initiation, and retention in care and viral suppression at 6 and 12 months. We estimated the association between baseline demographic characteristics and time to ART initiation using Cox proportional hazard models, and, in a post-hoc analysis, we used logistic regression models to assess the association between demographic and clinical variables, including time to ART initiation, and the proportion of participants with a composite poor outcome (defined as viral load >50 copies per mL, or for participants with a missing viral load, lack of retention in care in the on-site ART programme) at 6 months. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02946762. FINDINGS: Between June 23, 2016, and Dec 31, 2017, we identified 1562 incarcerated people with HIV, of whom 1389 (89%) were screened, 1021 (74%) met eligibility criteria, and 975 (95%) were enrolled and followed up to March 31, 2018. At the end of follow-up, 835 (86%) of 975 participants had started ART. Median time from enrolment to ART initiation was 0 days (IQR 0-8). Of 346 participants who remained incarcerated at 6 months, 327 (95%) were retained in care and 269 (78%) had a documented viral load, of whom 262 (97%) achieved viral suppression (<1000 copies per mL). The mortality rate among the 835 participants who had initiated ART was 1·9 per 100 person-years (95% CI 0·9-3·9). No statistically significant associations were identified between any baseline characteristics and time to ART initiation or composite poor outcome. INTERPRETATION: UTT implementation is feasible in correctional settings, and can achieve levels of same-day ART uptake, retention in care, and viral suppression among incarcerated people with HIV that are comparable to those observed in community settings. FUNDING: UK Department for International Development, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.