Feasibility, challenges, and lessons learned in implementing antiretroviral adherence club models in Northern Tanzania.

Introduction: In Tanzania, nearly 1.6 million adults were living with HIV in 2022, with an HIV prevalence rate of 4.4%. We piloted community health worker-managed adherence clubs in two clinics in Shinyanga, Tanzania. We previously demonstrated better stability in care and improved treatment adheren...

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Publicado en:African Journal of AIDS Research (AJAR) Vol. 24; no. 3/4; pp. 97 - 107
Autores principales: Abdul, Ramadhani, Duffel, Lukas Van, Martelli, Giulia, Joel, Edda Ndyamukama, Misesemo, Joyce Zacharia, Rinke de Wit, Tobias F., Mfinanga, Sayoki, Pozniak, Anton, Hermans, Sabine
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Oct-Dec2025
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Oct-Dec2025
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        atl: Feasibility, challenges, and lessons learned in implementing antiretroviral adherence club models in Northern Tanzania.
      aug:
        au:
          Abdul, Ramadhani
          Duffel, Lukas Van
          Martelli, Giulia
          Joel, Edda Ndyamukama
          Misesemo, Joyce Zacharia
          Rinke de Wit, Tobias F.
          Mfinanga, Sayoki
          Pozniak, Anton
          Hermans, Sabine
        affil:
          Department of Global Health, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
          Department of Global Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
          Doctors with Africa Collegio Universitario Aspiranti Medici Missionari (CUAMM), Shinyanga, Tanzania
          National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
          Alliance for Africa Health Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
          Department of HIV, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
          Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
          Department of Public Health, Kampala International University, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
          Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Institute for Infection & Immunity, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
      su:
        Tanzania
        Patient compliance
        Clinical drug trials
        Antiretroviral agents
        Pilot projects
        Scientific observation
        Logistic regression analysis
        HIV infections
        Chi-squared test
        Descriptive statistics
        Odds ratio
        Confidence intervals
        Medical referrals
      sug:
        subj:
          Patient compliance
          Tanzania
          Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing
          Clinical drug trials
          Antiretroviral agents
          Pilot projects
          Scientific observation
          Logistic regression analysis
          HIV infections
          Chi-squared test
          Descriptive statistics
          Odds ratio
          Confidence intervals
          Medical referrals
      keyword:
        adherence clubs
        ART
        CHW
        community health workers
        HIV
        adherence clubs
        ART
        CHW
        community health workers
        HIV
      ab: Introduction: In Tanzania, nearly 1.6 million adults were living with HIV in 2022, with an HIV prevalence rate of 4.4%. We piloted community health worker-managed adherence clubs in two clinics in Shinyanga, Tanzania. We previously demonstrated better stability in care and improved treatment adherence following the establishment of clubs. This study evaluated referral back to the facility, feasibility, and challenges to inform potential scale-up. Method: The study included clubs from two clinics between July 2018 and September 2019, Ngokolo (13 clubs) and Bugisi (33 clubs), all located in the Shinyanga region. Clinicians invited stable clients to join an AC if they met eligibility criteria. Logistic regression models identified factors associated with the likelihood of clients' referral back to the facilities Results: The setup of the adherence clubs was feasible and successful. In one year, 46 clubs with 617 clients were established. Thirty-eight clients (6.3 %) were referred back to the clinics. Factors associated with being referred back were lower age (below 25 compared to above), having ever missed AC visits, and a rural site. Challenges included start-up problems with wrongful enrolments, the need for additional staff to facilitate the club model, the duplication of data collection tools, and the need for youth-friendly adherence clubs. Conclusion: Task shifting to community health workers to manage the clubs was successful. Despite its success, it required a higher level of organisation, particularly during the setup phase. These findings support the revision of the National HIV guideline to formally integrate community health worker-led adherence clubs, ensuring scalability and sustainability
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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