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Kibel M, Nyambura M, Embleton L, Kiptui R, Galárraga O, Apondi E, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Enabling Adherence to Treatment (EAT): a pilot study of a combination intervention to improve HIV treatment outcomes among street-connected individuals in western Kenya. BMC Health Serv Res 2023; 23:1331. [PMID: 38037045 PMCID: PMC10691070 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-10215-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Street-connected individuals (SCI) in Kenya experience barriers to accessing HIV care. This pilot study provides proof-of-concept for Enabling Adherence to Treatment (EAT), a combination intervention providing modified directly observed therapy (mDOT), daily meals, and peer navigation services to SCI living with HIV or requiring therapy for other conditions (e.g. tuberculosis). The goal of the EAT intervention was to improve engagement in HIV care and viral suppression among SCI living with HIV in an urban setting in Kenya. METHODS This pilot study used a single group, pre/post-test design, and enrolled a convenience sample of self-identified SCI of any age. Participants were able to access free hot meals, peer navigation services, and mDOT 6 days per week. We carried out descriptive statistics to characterize participants' engagement in EAT and HIV treatment outcomes. We used McNemar's chi-square test to calculate unadjusted differences in HIV outcomes pre- and post-intervention among participants enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT. We compared unadjusted time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and first episode of viral load (VL) suppression among participants enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT vs. concurrently with EAT using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. We calculated total, fixed, and variable costs of the intervention. RESULTS Between July 2018 and February 2020, EAT enrolled 87 participants: 46 (53%) female and 75 (86%) living with HIV. At baseline, 60 out of 75 participants living with HIV (80%) had previously enrolled in HIV care. Out of 60, 56 (93%) had initiated ART, 44 (73%) were active in care, and 25 (42%) were virally suppressed (VL < 1000 copies/mL) at their last VL measure in the 19 months before EAT. After 19 months of follow-up, all 75 participants living with HIV had enrolled in HIV care and initiated ART, 65 (87%) were active in care, and 44 (59%) were virally suppressed at their last VL measure. Among the participants who were enrolled in HIV care before EAT, there was a significant increase in the proportion who were active in HIV care and virally suppressed at their last VL measure during EAT enrollment compared to before EAT enrollment. Participants who enrolled in HIV care concurrently with EAT had a significantly shorter time to initiation of ART and first episode of viral suppression compared to participants who enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT. The total cost of the intervention over 19 months was USD $57,448.64. Fixed costs were USD $3623.04 and variable costs were USD $63.75/month/participant. CONCLUSIONS This pilot study provided proof of concept that EAT, a combination intervention providing mDOT, food, and peer navigation services, was feasible to implement and may support engagement in HIV care and achievement of viral suppression among SCI living with HIV in an urban setting in Kenya. Future work should focus on controlled trials of EAT, assessments of feasibility in other contexts, and cost-effectiveness studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia Kibel
- MD Program, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Monicah Nyambura
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Lonnie Embleton
- MD Program, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Global Health and Health System Design, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Reuben Kiptui
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Omar Galárraga
- Department of Health Services Policy and Practice, and International Health Institute, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Edith Apondi
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
- Department of Child Health and Paediatrics, College of Health Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - David Ayuku
- Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Paula Braitstein
- MD Program, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
- Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
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Gayapersad A, Embleton L, Shah P, Kiptui R, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Using a sociological conceptualization of stigma to explore the social processes of stigma and discrimination of children in street situations in western Kenya. Child Abuse Negl 2023; 139:104803. [PMID: 33220945 PMCID: PMC8128938 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The leading causes of street involvement worldwide are poverty, family conflict, and abuse. A common misconception is that street involvement is due to delinquency, a belief leading to social exclusion and social inequality for children in street situations (CSS). Exploring community perceptions of CSS and the reproduction of social difference and inequalities can help reduce stigma and discrimination. OBJECTIVE To explore how stigma and discrimination of CSS was produced and reproduced in specific contexts of culture and power. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Social actors including CSS, healthcare providers, children's officers, and police officers in western Kenya. METHODS Using a sociological conceptualization of stigma, this qualitative study explored the stigmatization processes that take shape in specific contexts of culture and power. We conducted 41 in-depth interviews and 7 focus group discussions with a total of 100 participants. RESULTS CSS were often labeled "chokoraa" or garbage picker, a label linked to undesirable characteristics constituting "evils" in society and stereotyped beliefs that they were "delinquents," reinforcing their "otherness" and devalued social status. CSS experienced individual and structural discrimination leading to exclusion from social and economic life. CONCLUSION CSS were stigmatized when labeled, set apart, and linked to negative characteristics leading to their experience of status loss and discrimination. CSS's differentness and devalued status served to limit their access to societal resources and deemed them unworthy of equal rights. Interventions involving various social actors are needed to challenge negative stereotypes, reduce stigma, and uphold CSS's human rights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Gayapersad
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
| | - Lonnie Embleton
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Pooja Shah
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Reuben Kiptui
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - David Ayuku
- Moi University, College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Behavioural Science, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Paula Braitstein
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada; Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya; Moi University, College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
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MacEntee K, Lee EOJ, Oudshoorn A, Abramovich A, Kiptui R, Ayuku D, Van Berkum A, Saarela O, Tang TS, Apondi E, Wachira J, MacDonald SA, Braitstein P. Using scenario videos with Theatre Testing method to adapt a peer navigation model to improve street-connected youth's access to HIV care in Kenya and Canada. Front Public Health 2022; 10:975117. [PMID: 36408034 PMCID: PMC9669244 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.975117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Theatre testing (TT) method demonstrates whole or portions of an evidence-based intervention to stakeholders to elicit feedback on context-specific adaptations and future implementation. The Peer Navigator Project (PNP) studied the adaptation and implementation of Peer Navigators in five urban sites to increase street-connected youth (SCY) access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment in Canada and Kenya. TT was used with SCY, healthcare providers, and community stakeholders to collect feedback on the optimal characteristics of the PNs (e.g., social identities) and their professional activities and responsibilities in each site. Sites scripted unique scenarios of PNs supporting SCY and interacting with social service providers. Local actors were employed, and the scenarios were filmed and edited into videos alongside audience discussion questions. Videos were screened to separate audiences of SCY (n = 40), healthcare providers (n = 12), and community stakeholders (n = 59). Facilitated discussion about the scenarios were recorded as data, and transcripts were analyzed thematically by the research team. The scenario videos are presented as a unique adaptation to the TT method. The adaptations were time-consuming and limited the ability to present responsive changes while presenting the method to different audiences. They were also effective at maintaining presentation fidelity and eliciting diverse and meaningful responses from different stakeholder groups. One site successfully adapted the method for use in a physically distanced manner that complied with COVID-19 public health regulations. TT using video scenarios is an engaging approach that garners rich responses from diverse stakeholder groups about the adaptation of evidence-based interventions preparing for implementation in international settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie MacEntee
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Toronto, ON, Canada,*Correspondence: Katie MacEntee
| | - Edward Ou Jin Lee
- École de Travail Social, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Abe Oudshoorn
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Alex Abramovich
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Reuben Kiptui
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare in Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - David Ayuku
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare in Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya,Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Amy Van Berkum
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Olli Saarela
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Thai-Son Tang
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Edith Apondi
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare in Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya,Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Juddy Wachira
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare in Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya,Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Sue-Ann MacDonald
- École de Travail Social, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Paula Braitstein
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
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Khan M, MacEntee K, Kiptui R, Van Berkum A, Oudshoorn A, Ayuku DO, Apondi E, Lee EOJ, Abramovich A, MacDonald SA, Braitstein P. Barriers to and facilitators of accessing HIV services for street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:1901. [PMID: 36224566 PMCID: PMC9555255 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14290-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction UNICEF estimates that there are as many as 100 million street-involved youth (SIY) globally. Marginalized conditions put SIY at higher risk of HIV and adverse outcomes once HIV-positive. The objective of this analysis was to describe barriers and facilitators of accessing HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services as Phase I of an implementation study evaluating the use of peer navigators to increase access to HIV services. Methods Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions (FGD), and theatre testing were conducted with individuals who identify as SIY, health care providers, and community stakeholders living in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, London) and Kenya (Eldoret, Huruma, Kitale). Data were analyzed using a directed content approach, guided by the socio-ecological model (SEM). Results Across the six sites were 195 participants: 64 SIY, 42 healthcare providers, and 97 community-based stakeholders. Barriers were identified at the societal (e.g. intersectional stigma and discrimination), public policy (e.g., inadequate access to basic needs, legal documentation, lack of health insurance, and limited community-based funding), institutional (e.g. lack of inclusive education and training, inadequate HIV educational outreach, and restrictive service provision), interpersonal (e.g., ineffective communication from healthcare providers), and intrapersonal levels (e.g. lack of trust and associated fear, low perception for healthcare, and lack of self-esteem). These contributed to limited HIV services utilization among SIY. Conversely, numerous facilitators were also identified at the public policy (e.g. affordable HIV services and treatment), institutional (e.g. available and accessible HIV prevention tools, HIV education and awareness programs, and holistic models of care), interpersonal level (e.g., systems navigation support, peer support, and personal relationships), and intrapersonal levels (e.g. self-efficacy) as positively supporting SIY access to HIV services. Conclusion Intersectional stigma was a critical barrier in all sites, and policies and programs that foster welcoming environments for youth from diverse backgrounds and living circumstances may be better able to respond to the HIV service needs of this high risk population. Social support and navigation services were reported to facilitate access to HIV services in all sites. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14290-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Momina Khan
- Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Katie MacEntee
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 3M7, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
| | - Reuben Kiptui
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Amy Van Berkum
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, Canada
| | - Abe Oudshoorn
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, Canada
| | - David O Ayuku
- Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Edith Apondi
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya.,Department of Child Health and Paediatrics, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya
| | | | - Alex Abramovich
- Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Child and Youth Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Paula Braitstein
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, M5T 3M7, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya. .,Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Eldoret, Kenya.
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Embleton L, Shah P, Amin Gayapersad A, Kiptui R, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Identifying Strategies to Advance Health Equity through Action on Social Determinants of Health and Human Rights for Street-Connected Children and Youth in Kenya. Health Hum Rights 2020; 22:177-197. [PMID: 33390706 PMCID: PMC7762894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that street-connected children and youth (SCY) in low- and middle-income countries experience numerous social and health inequities, few evidence-based policies and interventions have been implemented to improve their circumstances. Our study analyzed strategies to advance health equity through action on the social determinants of health (SDH) for SCY in Kenya based on General Comment 21 of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. To identify policies and interventions, we analyzed archival newspaper articles and policy documents and elicited ideas from a diversity of social actors across Kenya. Our results identified three types of policies and interventions: repressive, welfare oriented, and child rights based. We then situated these strategies within the World Health Organization's conceptual framework on SDH inequities to understand their mechanism of impact on health equity. Our results demonstrate that a child rights approach provides a strong avenue for advancing health equity through action on the SDH for SCY in Kenya. As a result of these findings, we developed a checklist for policy makers and other stakeholders to assess how their policies and interventions are upholding human rights, addressing needs, and working to advance health equity for SCY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lonnie Embleton
- Postdoctoral fellow at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Pooja Shah
- PhD student in the Faculty of Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
| | - Allison Amin Gayapersad
- Postdoctoral fellow at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Reuben Kiptui
- Research Coordinator at the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare in Eldoret, Kenya
| | - David Ayuku
- Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Paula Braitstein
- Epidemiologist and Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada
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Embleton L, Shah P, Gayapersad A, Kiptui R, Ayuku D, Braitstein P. Characterizing street-connected children and youths' social and health inequities in Kenya: a qualitative study. Int J Equity Health 2020; 19:147. [PMID: 32859193 PMCID: PMC7455900 DOI: 10.1186/s12939-020-01255-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Street-connected children and youth (SCY) in Kenya disproportionately experience preventable morbidities and premature mortality. We theorize these health inequities are socially produced and result from systemic discrimination and a lack of human rights attainment. Therefore, we sought to identify and understand how SCY's social and health inequities in Kenya are produced, maintained, and shaped by structural and social determinants of health using the WHO conceptual framework on social determinants of health (SDH) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) General Comment no. 17. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted from May 2017 to September 2018 using multiple methods including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, archival review of newspaper articles, and analysis of a government policy document. We purposively sampled 100 participants including community leaders, government officials, vendors, police officers, general community residents, parents of SCY, and stakeholders in 5 counties across Kenya to participate in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. We conducted a thematic analysis situated in the conceptual framework on SDH and the CRC. RESULTS Our findings indicate that SCY's social and health disparities arise as a result of structural and social determinants stemming from a socioeconomic and political environment that produces systemic discrimination, breaches human rights, and influences their unequal socioeconomic position in society. These social determinants influence SCY's intermediary determinants of health resulting in a lack of basic material needs, being precariously housed or homeless, engaging in substance use and misuse, and experiencing several psychosocial stressors, all of which shape health outcomes and equity for this population. CONCLUSIONS SCY in Kenya experience social and health inequities that are avoidable and unjust. These social and health disparities arise as a result of structural and social determinants of health inequities stemming from the socioeconomic and political context in Kenya that produces systemic discrimination and influences SCYs' unequal socioeconomic position in society. Remedial action to reverse human rights contraventions and to advance health equity through action on SDH for SCY in Kenya is urgently needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Embleton
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 Kings College Circle Room 2374, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - P Shah
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St, Bloomsbury, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - A Gayapersad
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada
| | - R Kiptui
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - D Ayuku
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
- Department of Behavioural Science, School of Medicine, Moi University, College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - P Braitstein
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada.
- Institute of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 Kings College Circle Room 2374, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada.
- Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Moi University, College of Health Sciences, P.O. Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya.
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