Abriendo Puertas: baseline findings from an integrated intervention to promote prevention, treatment and care among FSW living with HIV in the Dominican Republic

The HIV Care Continuum among Female Sex Workers: A Key Population in Lilongwe, Malawi

OBJECTIVE

The HIV care continuum among female sex workers (FSW), a key population, has not been well characterized, especially within the generalized epidemics of sub-Saharan Africa. This was the first study to characterize the HIV care continuum among FSW in Lilongwe, Malawi.

METHODS

From July through September 2014, we used venue-based sampling to enroll 200 adult FSW in Lilongwe, Malawi into a cross-sectional evaluation assessing HIV care continuum outcomes. Seropositive FSW, identified using HIV rapid testing, received rapid CD4 counts in addition to viral loads using dried blood spots. We calculated proportions of HIV-infected FSW who had history of care, were on ART, and had suppressed viral load and we used Poisson regression to estimate the associations of demographic characteristics and transmission risk behaviors with each outcome.

RESULTS

HIV seroprevalence was 69% (n = 138). Among all FSW the median age was 24 years (IQR: 22-28). Among the 20% who were newly diagnosed and reported previously testing negative, the median time since last HIV test was 11 months (interquartile range: 3-17). The majority (69%) of HIV-infected FSW had a history of HIV care, 52% reported current ART use, and 45% were virally suppressed. Of the FSW who reported current ART use, 86% were virally suppressed. Transmission risk behaviors were not associated with continuum outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

FSW in Lilongwe were predominately young and have a high HIV prevalence. Only half of HIV-infected FSW reported current ART use, but the majority of those on ART were virally suppressed. To reduce ongoing transmission and improve health outcomes, increased HIV testing, care engagement, and ART coverage is urgently needed among FSW. Universal testing and treatment strategies for all FSW in Malawi must be strongly considered.

Feasible, Efficient and Necessary, without Exception - Working with Sex Workers Interrupts HIV/STI Transmission and Brings Treatment to Many in Need

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

High rates of partner change in sex work-whether in professional, 'transactional' or other context-disproportionately drive transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Several countries in Asia have demonstrated that reducing transmission in sex work can reverse established epidemics among sex workers, their clients and the general population. Experience and emerging research from Africa reaffirms unprotected sex work to be a key driver of sexual transmission in different contexts and regardless of stage or classification of HIV epidemic. This validation of the epidemiology behind sexual transmission carries an urgent imperative to realign prevention resources and scale up effective targeted interventions in sex work settings, and, given declining HIV resources, to do so efficiently. Eighteen articles in this issue highlight the importance and feasibility of such interventions under four themes: 1) epidemiology, data needs and modelling of sex work in generalised epidemics; 2) implementation science addressing practical aspects of intervention scale-up; 3) community mobilisation and 4) the treatment cascade for sex workers living with HIV.

CONCLUSION

Decades of empirical evidence, extended by analyses in this collection, argue that protecting sex work is, without exception, feasible and necessary for controlling HIV/STI epidemics. In addition, the disproportionate burden of HIV borne by sex workers calls for facilitated access to ART, care and support. The imperative for Africa is rapid scale-up of targeted prevention and treatment, facilitated by policies and action to improve conditions where sex work takes place. The opportunity is a wealth of accumulated experience working with sex workers in diverse settings, which can be tapped to make up for lost time. Elsewhere, even in countries with strong interventions and services for sex workers, an emerging challenge is to find ways to sustain them in the face of declining global resources.

Advancing the strategic use of HIV operations research to strengthen local policies and programmes: the Research to Prevention Project

In the field of HIV prevention, there is renewed interest in operations research (OR) within an implementation science framework. The ultimate goal of such studies is to generate new knowledge that can inform local programmes and policies, thus improving access, quality, efficiency and effectiveness. Using four case studies from the USAID-funded Research to Prevention (R2P) project, we highlight the strategic use of OR and the impact it can have on shaping the focus and content of HIV prevention programming across geographic and epidemic settings and populations. These case studies, which include experiences from several sub-Saharan African countries and the Caribbean, emphasize four unique ways that R2P projects utilized OR to stimulate change in a given context, including: (1) translating findings from clinical trials to real-world settings; (2) adapting promising structural interventions to a new context; (3) tailoring effective interventions to underserved populations; and (4) prioritizing key populations within a national response to HIV. Carefully crafted OR can bridge the common gap that exists between research-generated knowledge and field-based practice, lead to substantial, real-world changes in national policies and programmes, and strengthen local organizations and the use of data to be more responsive to a given topic or population, ultimately supporting a locally tailored HIV response.

High Drop-off Along the HIV Care Continuum and ART Interruption Among Female Sex Workers in the Dominican Republic

BACKGROUND

Engagement in HIV care offers clear individual and societal benefits, but little evidence exists on the care experiences of key populations.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 268 female sex workers (FSWs) living with HIV in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to describe the HIV care continuum and to determine factors associated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption.

RESULTS

FSWs disengaged throughout the care continuum with the highest drop-off after ART initiation. Most participants were linked to care (92%), retained in care (85%), and initiated onto ART (78%), but ART discontinuation and irregular adherence were frequent. Only 48% of participants had an undetectable HIV viral load. Overall, 36% of participants ever initiated onto ART reported lifetime experience with ART interruption. The odds of ART interruption were 3.24 times higher among women who experienced FSW-related discrimination [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.28 to 8.20], 2.41 times higher among women who used any drug (95% CI: 1.09 to 5.34), and 2.35 times higher among women who worked in an FSW establishment (95% CI: 1.20 to 4.60). Internalized stigma related to FSW was associated with higher odds of interruption (adjusted odds ratio: 1.09; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.16), and positive perceptions of HIV providers were protective (adjusted odds ratio: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

FSWs living with HIV confront multiple barriers throughout the HIV care continuum, many of which are related to the social context and stigmatization of sex work. Given the clear importance of maximizing the potential benefits of engagement in HIV care, there is an urgent need for interventions to support FSWs throughout the HIV care continuum.

Retention in HIV care among female sex workers in the Dominican Republic: implications for research, policy and programming

There are clear benefits of retention in HIV care, yet millions of people living with HIV are sub-optimally retained. This study described factors from Andersen's behavioral model that were associated with retention in HIV care among 268 female sex workers (FSWs) living with HIV in the Dominican Republic using two measures of retention: a 6-month measure of HIV clinic attendance and a measure that combined clinic attendance and missed visits. FSWs who ever attended HIV care reported high rates (92 %) of 6-month attendance, but 37 % reported missed visits. Using the combined retention measure, the odds of being retained in HIV care were higher among FSWs with more positive perceptions of HIV service providers [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.17; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 01.09, 1.25] and lower among women who reported recent alcohol consumption (AOR 0.50; 95 % CI 0.28, 0.92) and self-stigmatizing beliefs related to sex work (AOR 0.93; 95 % CI 0.88, 0.98). These findings support the hypothesis that retention in HIV care may be best determined through a combined measure as missed visits are an important mechanism to identify in-care patients who require additional support.

Antiretroviral therapy uptake, attrition, adherence and outcomes among HIV-infected female sex workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose

We aimed to characterize the antiretroviral therapy (ART) cascade among female sex workers (FSWs) globally.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and MEDLINE in March 2014 to identify studies reporting on ART uptake, attrition, adherence, and outcomes (viral suppression or CD4 count improvements) among HIV-infected FSWs globally. When possible, available estimates were pooled using random effects meta-analyses (with heterogeneity assessed using Cochran's Q test and I² statistic).

Results

39 studies, reporting on 21 different FSW study populations in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Central America and the Caribbean, were included. Current ART use among HIV-infected FSWs was 38% (95% CI: 29%–48%, I² = 96%, 15 studies), and estimates were similar between high-, and low- and middle-income countries. Ever ART use among HIV-infected FSWs was greater in high-income countries (80%; 95% CI: 48%–94%, I² = 70%, 2 studies) compared to low- and middle-income countries (36%; 95% CI: 7%–81%, I² = 99%, 3 studies). Loss to follow-up after ART initiation was 6% (95% CI: 3%–11%, I² = 0%, 3 studies) and death after ART initiation was 6% (95% CI: 3%–11%, I² = 0%, 3 studies). The fraction adherent to ≥95% of prescribed pills was 76% (95% CI: 68%–83%, I² = 36%, 4 studies), and 57% (95% CI: 46%–68%, I² = 82%, 4 studies) of FSWs on ART were virally suppressed. Median gains in CD4 count after 6 to 36 months on ART, ranged between 103 and 241 cells/mm³ (4 studies).

Conclusions

Despite global increases in ART coverage, there is a concerning lack of published data on HIV treatment for FSWs. Available data suggest that FSWs can achieve levels of ART uptake, retention, adherence, and treatment response comparable to that seen among women in the general population, but these data are from only a few research settings. More routine programme data on HIV treatment among FSWs across settings should be collected and disseminated.

The HIV care cascade and antiretroviral therapy in female sex workers: implications for HIV prevention

To achieve viral suppression and fully benefit from antiretroviral therapy (ART), it is important that individuals with HIV know that they are HIV infected, link to and remain in HIV care, start and remain on ART and adhere to treatment. In HIV epidemics where female sex workers (FSWs) are key drivers of HIV transmission, the extent to which FSWs use ART and engage in the HIV care cascade could have a considerable impact on HIV transmission from FSWs to the wider population. In this article we review the spectrum of FSW engagement in the HIV care cascade, look at the impact of the HIV care cascade and ART use among FSWs on population-level HIV transmission and discuss HIV prevention for FSWs in the context of ART and the HIV care cascade.