Task-shifting point-of-care CD4+ testing to lay health workers in HIV care and treatment services in Namibia
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Task-shifting point-of-care CD4+ testing to lay health workers in HIV care and treatment services in Namibia | |
| Creator | Kaindjee-Tjituka, Francina Sawadogo, Souleymane Mutandi, Graham Maher, Andrew D. Salomo, Natanael Mbapaha, Claudia Neo, Marytha Beukes, Anita Gweshe, Justice Muadinohamba, Alexinah Lowrance, David W. | |
| Description | Introduction: Access to CD4+ testing remains a common barrier to early initiation of antiretroviral therapy among persons living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries. The feasibility of task-shifting of point-of-care (POC) CD4+ testing to lay health workers in Namibia has not been evaluated.Methods: From July to August 2011, Pima CD4+ analysers were used to improve access to CD4+ testing at 10 selected public health facilities in Namibia. POC Pima CD4+ testing was performed by nurses or lay health workers. Venous blood samples were collected from 10% of patients and sent to centralised laboratories for CD4+ testing with standard methods. Outcomes for POC Pima CD4+ testing and patient receipt of results were compared between nurses and lay health workers and between the POC method and standard laboratory CD4+ testing methods.Results: Overall, 1429 patients received a Pima CD4+ test; 500 (35.0%) tests were performed by nurses and 929 (65.0%) were performed by lay health workers. When Pima CD4+ testing was performed by a nurse or a lay health worker, 93.2% and 95.2% of results were valid (p = 0.1); 95.6% and 98.1% of results were received by the patient (p = 0.007); 96.2% and 94.0% of results were received by the patient on the same day (p = 0.08). Overall, 97.2% of Pima CD4+ results were received by patients, compared to 55.4% of standard laboratory CD4+ results (p 0.001).Conclusions: POC CD4+ testing was feasible and effective when task-shifted to lay health workers. Rollout of POC CD4+ testing via task-shifting can improve access to CD4+ testing and retention in care between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy initiation in low- and middle-income countries. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2017-09-18 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajlm.v6i1.643 | |
| Source | African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 6, No 1 (2017); 5 pages 2225-2010 2225-2002 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/643/894
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/643/893
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/643/895
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/643/892
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
