Estimating the effect of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on self-reported antiretroviral therapy use and late refill visits among people living with HIV in rural South Africa
Source
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
PUBLICATION YEAR:
2024
OUTPUT TYPE:
Journal Article
Print
HSRC Library: shelf number 9814547
handle
https://doi.org/10.14749/32361672
People living with HIV require reliable access to and adequate supply of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for viral suppression. The Deliver Health Study, a randomized trial conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that home-delivered ART significantly increased viral suppression compared with clinic-based care. The effect of changing COVID-19 alert levels on self-reported ART use has not been quantified.
Of 155 participants, 46% were women and the median age was 36 years. The mean number of missed weekly doses was 0.11, 0, and 0.12 in the home-delivery group and 0.09, 0.08, and 0.18 in the clinic group during periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively. There were no differences in relative risk of self-reported daily ART use between refill groups when comparing across periods [DiDperiod 2 vs. 1 = 1.05; 95% confidence interval: 0.97, 1.13 and DiDperiod 3 vs. 2 = 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91, 1.08]. In the clinic group, the risk of late refill visits was significantly higher during COVID-19 restrictions (vs. before alert level 5 implementation) and even after the COVID-19 alert level was downgraded to level 1 (RRperiod 2 vs. 1 = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.51 and RRperiod 3 vs. 2 = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.43, 2.04).