Access to HIV services and viral load suppression among children during the 90-90-90 strategy implementation in South Africa: A time series analysis

Health systems'resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A South African polio surveillance case study

BACKGROUND

More needs to be known on how the South African health system contained the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and maintained the core business of health service delivery. We describe the practices that have shown to affect the health systems' resilience in ensuring maintenance of polio surveillance and immunization systems in South Africa (SA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive, reflective desk review study using the South African polio surveillance systems and immunization coverage as a case study. We applied a health systems' resilience framework to highlight how the South African health system contained the pandemic and maintained its core business. Routine immunization and polio surveillance data were obtained and analyzed.

RESULTS

The effect of SA's immunization campaigns, which contributed positively to maintaining the polio immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, is highlighted, with varied performances among provinces. We established delayed integration of pandemic services and missing public health emergency response structures, which led to redeployment of service providers compromising on the health systems' core business.

CONCLUSION

Immunization campaigns are key in maintaining coverage, with individualized approaches in supporting the provinces. The existing health systems' structures of countries are a critical determinant of response to pandemics regardless of the available resources. Therefore, to ensure that the health systems maintain a balance between containing pandemics like COVID-19 and maintaining its core business, we recommend the establishment of a public health structure from the national to the community level to respond to public health emergencies and the early integration of pandemic services into the day-to-day health systems' business.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal, neonatal and child health service utilisation, delivery and health outcomes in Gauteng province, South Africa: an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis

BACKGROUND

Gauteng was one of the provinces in South Africa most hit by COVID-19. However, there has been no assessment of the pandemic's impact on essential maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) services in Gauteng, for planning against future emergencies. This study sought to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential MNCH service utilisation, delivery and health outcomes in Gauteng province.

METHODS

We employed a quasi-experimental interrupted time series (ITS) study design, using the District Health Information System (DHIS) data set to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on eight key MNCH indicators between March 2019 to February 2021. Using Stata V.17.0 and 5% alpha, a segmented linear regression (ITS) model quantified the trends of the indicators before COVID-19 (March 2019 to February 2020) (β1), the immediate change in level due to the March 2020 lockdown (β2), the post-lockdown (March 2020 to February 2021) trend (β4) and the change in gradient from before to after the lockdown (β3).

RESULTS

COVID-19 lockdown exerted a significant decline in primary healthcare headcount<5 years (n) (β2= -60 106.9 (95% CI, -116 710.4; -3503.3), p=0.039); and postnatal care visits within 6 days (rate) (β2=-8.2 (95% CI, -12.4; -4.1), p=0.001). Antenatal care first visits before 20 weeks (rate) declined during COVID-19 (β3=-0.4 (95% CI, -0.7; -0.1), p=0.013) compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. COVID-19 adverse effects on service delivery (measles second dose coverage and fully immunised<1 year) and health outcomes (facility deaths 0-6 days, maternal mortality ratio and pneumonia case fatality<1 year) were insignificant. While some indicators post-lockdown attempted to recover, others deteriorated.

CONCLUSION

In Gauteng province, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted essential MNCH service utilisation, particularly during the March 2020 lockdown. The mechanism of MNCH service disruption by COVID-19 was induced by both supply and demand services. It is imperative to strike a balance between maintaining routine healthcare services and managing an outbreak.

The effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the delivery of maternal and child health services in South Africa

OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic severely interrupted the functioning of healthcare systems, negatively affecting the global provision of maternal and child health (MCH) services. This study aims to specify the effects of COVID-19 on these services in the Gauteng province (South Africa) and to put forward context-specific recommendations aimed at augmenting them and ensuring ongoing uninterrupted coverage, even and especially during pandemics.

METHODS

In this quantitative study, a retrospective review of District Health Information System data routinely collected between February 2019 and March 2021 was conducted, comparing performance of the relevant indicators across the two-year span. The data were analyzed using Stata 16 statistical software (StataCorp). The two sample t-test with equal variance and the Mann-Whitney test were applied to evaluate the equality of the indicators.

RESULTS

Routine MCH services were negatively impacted, with marked declines in all relevant indicators from the onset of the pandemic. There was a statistically significant decline in cervical cancer coverage and maternal postnatal visits within six days of delivery. While declines in the other critical indicators were likewise observed, they were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The South African response to the pandemic had negative repercussions on all MCH services in the Gauteng province. The lessons to be drawn from the pandemic experience should help to strengthen health system capacities, boost service provision, and mitigate future damage to the healthcare system.

Integration of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services for pregnant and breastfeeding women in eight primary care clinics: results of an implementation science study

BACKGROUND

Although HIV vertical transmission has declined significantly in sub-Saharan Africa, incident HIV infection in pregnant and postpartum women is estimated to account for over one-third of HIV vertical transmission. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBFW) is included in South African PrEP guidelines since 2021; however, integration of PrEP services within ante- and postnatal care remains limited.

METHODS

Between March 2022 and September 2023, we evaluated the integration of PrEP for PBFW in eight antenatal clinics in Cape Town, South Africa, following training and mentorship of providers. We applied an adapted Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to evaluate the integration of PrEP services for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Before the study, PrEP was not routinely offered. We implemented a staff didactic/practice-based training and mentorship on PrEP provision targeting PBFW. We evaluated the following: (1) Reach as the proportion of women initiating PrEP among women counselled and tested for HIV, (2) effectiveness as PrEP continuation up to 3 months by pregnant vs. breastfeeding women, (3) adoption of PrEP integration via pre- and post-training assessments and ongoing mentorship assessments, (4) implementation through clinic trends of PrEP offer over time, and (5) maintenance: continued PrEP offer 3 months following the intervention.

RESULTS

In 8 facilities providing ante- and postnatal care, we trained 224 healthcare providers (127 nurses and 37 counsellors). Of those, we mentored 60 nurses, midwives, and HIV counsellors working with pregnant and breastfeeding women, with 80% of nurse/midwives and 65% of counsellors scoring ≥ 80% on the final mentoring assessment. Overall, 12% of HIV-negative pregnant women started PrEP, and 41% of those continued PrEP up to 3 months. Among HIV-negative breastfeeding women, 14% initiated PrEP, and 25% continued PrEP up to 3 months. All eight facilities continued providing PrEP 3 months post intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

In these high HIV prevalence clinics, the proportion of pregnant and breastfeeding women initiating and continuing PrEP rapidly increased but was limited among breastfeeding women. Staff training, mentorship, and PrEP integration were well-adopted by nurses and counsellors, and services continued following the intervention. Barriers included limited HIV testing of breastfeeding mothers and need for additional PrEP-trained nurses.

HIV viral load suppression before and after COVID-19 in Kinshasa and Haut Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in unique programmatic opportunities to test hypotheses related to the initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) and viral load (VL) suppression during a global health crisis, which would not otherwise have been possible.

Objectives

To generate practice-relevant evidence on the impact of initiating ART pre-COVID-19 versus during the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV VL.

Method

Logistic regression was performed on data covering 6596 persons with HIV whose VL data were available, out of 36 585 persons who were initiated on ART between 01 April 2019 and 30 March 2021.

Results

After controlling for covariates such as age, gender, duration on ART, tuberculosis status at the time of the last visit, and rural vs urban status, the odds of having a VL < 1000 copies/mL were significantly higher for clients who started ART during the COVID-19 pandemic than the year before COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.50; confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–4.01; P < 0.001). Odds of having a VL < 1000 copies/mL were also significantly higher among female participants than male (AOR: 1.23; CI: 1.02–1.48), among patients attending rural clinics compared to those attending urban clinics (AOR: 1.83; CI: 1.47–2.28), and in clients who were 15 years or older at the time of their last visit (AOR: 1.50; CI: 1.07–2.11).

Conclusion

Viral loads did not deteriorate despite pandemic-induced changes in HIV services such as the expansion of multi-month dispensing (MMD), which may have played a protective role regardless of the general negative impacts of response to the COVID-19 crises on communities and individuals.

What this study adds

This research capitalises on the natural experiment of COVID-19-related changes in HIV services and provides new practice-relevant research evidence.

Cost-effectiveness of Routine Provider-Initiated Testing and Counseling for Children With Undiagnosed HIV in South Africa

BACKGROUND

We compared the cost-effectiveness of pediatric provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) vs no PITC in a range of clinical care settings in South Africa.

METHODS

We used the Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications Pediatric model to simulate a cohort of children, aged 2-10 years, presenting for care in 4 settings (outpatient, malnutrition, inpatient, tuberculosis clinic) with varying prevalence of undiagnosed HIV (1.0%, 15.0%, 17.5%, 50.0%, respectively). We compared "PITC" (routine testing offered to all patients; 97% acceptance and 71% linkage to care after HIV diagnosis) with no PITC. Model outcomes included life expectancy, lifetime costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) from the health care system perspective and the proportion of children with HIV (CWH) diagnosed, on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and virally suppressed. We assumed a threshold of $3200/year of life saved (YLS) to determine cost-effectiveness. Sensitivity analyses varied the age distribution of children seeking care and costs for PITC, HIV care, and ART.

RESULTS

PITC improved the proportion of CWH diagnosed (45.2% to 83.2%), on ART (40.8% to 80.4%), and virally suppressed (32.6% to 63.7%) at 1 year in all settings. PITC increased life expectancy by 0.1-0.7 years for children seeking care (including those with and without HIV). In all settings, the ICER of PITC vs no PITC was very similar, ranging from $710 to $1240/YLS. PITC remained cost-effective unless undiagnosed HIV prevalence was <0.2%.

CONCLUSIONS

Routine testing improves HIV clinical outcomes and is cost-effective in South Africa if the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV among children exceeds 0.2%. These findings support current recommendations for PITC in outpatient, inpatient, tuberculosis, and malnutrition clinical settings.