Purpose

In its 2017 revision of the global guidelines for HIV care and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for rapid or same-day initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for eligible patients testing positive for HIV. However, to date neither the WHO nor the Zambia Ministry of Health has provided detailed guidance on how to implement this recommendation. In sub-Saharan Africa, where most HIV patients are located, studies continue to document high losses of treatment-eligible patients from care before they receive their first dose of antiretroviral medications (ARVs). Among facility-level reasons for these losses are treatment initiation protocols that require multiple clinic visits and long waiting times before a patient who tests positive for HIV is dispensed an initial supply of medications. There is very little published evidence on the practical details of the process and the extent to which it varies by facility, setting, or country. Without a robust baseline evidence base, it is challenging to identify opportunities for making improvements. The SPRINT (Survey of Procedures and Resources for Initiating Treatment of HIV in Africa) study will begin to develop this evidence base. SPRINT will combine a facility-level description of the standard of care with a retrospective record review of patients who recently initiated ART at the study sites. Data will be collected from 12 health facilities in Zambia. The survey will elicit detailed information about current procedures through structured interviews with clinic staff at the selected health facilities. The record review for a retrospective cohort of patients eligible for ART will estimate actual numbers of clinic visits, services provided, and duration of the steps for treatment initiation from start to finish. SPRINT is expected to identify differences in approaches to treatment initiation and potential opportunities for improvement.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • ≥18 years old - HIV-positive

Exclusion Criteria

  • Pregnant

Study Design

Phase
Study Type
Observational
Observational Model
Cohort
Time Perspective
Retrospective

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Patients who initiated HIV treatment
  • Other: Routine medical record data collection
    The study will collect routine medical record data from the electronic medical record system, other electronic databases, and paper charts.
Service providers at study facilities
  • Other: Interviews with service providers
    Clinicians and lay staff will be interviewed regarding the ART initiation process.

More Details

Status
Active, not recruiting
Sponsor
Boston University

Study Contact

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.