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Provision and Access Gap
Improvements are needed in health services, such as increased or flexible clinic hours, to reduce wait times and to encourage ART initiation. Interviews with people living with HIV eligible for ART who refused ART found that "the problem is…services….The process is so long" (Musheke et al., 2013a: 236). In addition, waiting to access ART jeopardizes livelihoods. Information systems that can track patients across sites can assist in tracking patients who need care.
Provision and Access
1 study
Treatment programs that meet the needs of key populations such as sex workers and trans populations are needed. Recent WHO guidelines (WHO, 2014b) have noted that key populations living with HIV should have the same access to ART and ART management as other populations.
Provision and Access
1 study
Research is needed on treating anemia, malnutrition and other dietary conditions as well as on optimum micronutrients for patients accessing ART and for patients prior to accessing treatment. [See %{s:71}]
Provision and Access
1 study
Additional outreach programs are needed for patients who miss ART clinic visits or fail to initiate treatment. A study showed that issues such as provider to patient ratios; adherence support programs; and needing transport from rural areas were associated with lower CD4 counts at initiation of ART. Other studies showed that patients were lost between initiation and maintenance sites. Another study found that one in five treatment-eligible HIV-positive individuals refused to initiate ART (Katz et al., 2011). Others who dropped out of treatment were using unproven remedies.
Provision and Access
1 study
Interventions are needed to counter gender norms that discourage men from attending health services until they are extremely sick. Studies have shown that norms of masculinity prevent men from accessing ART until severely symptomatic.
Provision and Access
1 study
Initiatives that provide for early diagnosis and appropriate longitudinal care prior to treatment eligibility are needed to reduce mortality rates and costs among adults accessing treatment. A review found that early mortality among adults accessing antiretroviral therapy can be attributed to late diagnosis of HIV. Despite multiple interactions with parts of the healthcare system, a study of women in Uganda found that late presentation for HIV care resulted largely from the, “inability of the medical system to link women to appropriate care,” (McGrath et al., 2012: 1095). Women entered care only when symptomatic. Another study found that more than a quarter of HIV patients in care prior to ART initiation did not start ART according to national guideline criteria. Another study found that women did not know where to go to access treatment. A review found that a process is needed to optimize transfers of care without treatment interruption and with appropriate medical documentation. Another study found that over half of patients who were not yet known to be eligible for ART at enrollment but who had tested HIV-positive, including a quarter who had CD4 counts taken, were lost to follow up. Another review found that asymptomatic patients perceived little need to initiate ART. Another study found that those with higher CD4 counts who were not yet eligible for ART lacked social support and social capital, yet needed this support.
Provision and Access
1 study
Adequate supply planning and secure funding are needed to avoid ARV stock-outs and use of obsolete medications. "As ART cannot be interrupted without risk of development of drug resistance – and hence worse survival – people on ART need an uninterrupted supply…" (WHO, 2014a: 32). The Coordinated Procurement Planning Initiative, which monitors the supply of ARVs in 22 countries, found that at any point half of these countries were at high risk of stock out (WHO, 2014a).  Between 30% and 45% of low- and middle-income countries have annually reported stock outs in recent years (WHO, 2014a).  Studies in multiple sub-Saharan African countries report stock shortages and stock outs as major risk factors for treatment interruption. "….Models of supply chain management need to be directly tied to health outcomes to ensure that the priority is improving health rather then reducing costs" (Ying et al., 2014, para 17).
Provision and Access
1 study
Barriers such as cost of medications, stigma, long clinic waits, lack of food, and child-care responsibilities, among others, may discourage women living with HIV from accessing antiretroviral therapy. A study found that patients who were living with HIV but did not access antiretroviral therapy were twice as likely as patients on antiretroviral therapy to report not having enough food to take with treatment as a concern, in addition to concerns about cost barriers. Another study found that cost of ARVs, with direct out of pocket payment at point of care delivery decreased access to ARVs. Another study found transport costs and waiting time a barrier to access to treatment. Increased efforts are needed so that those in pre-ART care understand that HIV can be transmitted prior to ART eligibility.
Provision and Access
1 study
Scale up of testing is needed with competent staff and labs in order to assess CD4 counts and link those who test HIV-positive to treatment. Studies are finding that in some countries, those who test HIV-positive are presenting with AIDS and that patients do not initiate ART despite eligibility. Those who test HIV-positive yet not eligible to receive antiretroviral therapy according to their national guidelines often did not remain in care until they were eligible for treatment.
Provision and Access
1 study
Well-functioning laboratory systems are needed to measure viral load via PCR to assess effectiveness of treatment. However, adequate clinical results can also be cost-effective and meet patient needs. A study in sub-Saharan Africa found that more than half of test results for viral load were invalid or inaccurate. A review done in low and middle-income countries showed that lack of routine virologic monitoring in resource limited ART programs led to the development of cross-resistance to the NRTI component of second-line treatment. Even where virological monitoring is available and demonstrates virological failure, delayed switching of patients to alternative antiretroviral therapy regimens occurs.
Provision and Access
1 study