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The incidence and impact of a range of household shocks are investigated in a survey of households with children in 24 communities in peri-urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The results highlight the importance of health shocks among households in a high HIV prevalence context. Economic shocks, in particular unexpected price increments for basic necessities, are widely reported and shown to have moderate to severe self-rated impacts with possible long-term cumulative, community-wide effects. Behaviour-based coping responses were the most common, especially reduced consumption and spending, which has the potential for negative impacts on the health developmental and well-being of children. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suboptimal gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with pregnancy complications and postpartum weight retention (PPWR). Little data exists about GWG and PPWR attitudes and beliefs in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform interventions. We examined GWG and PPWR attitudes, beliefs, and intentions among pregnant people, with and without HIV, in Cape Town, South Africa. Pregnant persons were enrolled between 2019 and 2022 (N = 400). Study visits were conducted at 24-28 weeks' and 33-38 weeks' gestation. Rate of GWG (kg/week) between the second and third trimesters was estimated and reported as below, above, or within the 2009 Institute of Medicine guidelines. Multivariable-multinomial regression estimated predictors of GWG. In-depth interviews among pregnant participants, community leaders and healthcare providers informed GWG attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions. Over 90% of participants experienced suboptimal rates of GWG (35% below and 47% above guidelines) during pregnancy. Living with HIV [OR 0.50, 95% CI (0.26-0.95)] was protective against GWG rate above guidelines compared to those without HIV. Being 25-29 years old was associated with GWG rate below guidelines [OR 0.28 95% CI (0.08-0.95)]. Little concordance occurred between intended and true GWG. Despite GWG category, two-thirds of participants felt it was 'very important' to monitor GWG while 44% viewed losing weight gained during pregnancy as "not important". Barriers to meeting GWG goals included lack of access to healthy foods, exercise opportunities, and education. Given rising obesity in women of reproductive age in LMIC, locally-adapted interventions are needed during pregnancy and postpartum to aide in healthy GWG and improve maternal-child health outcomes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: Ethics approval for the CAMP and HR-PAM studies was provided by the Brown University Institutional Review Board and the University of Cape Town’s Human Research Ethics Committee (protocols 486 and 505; protocol 225/2019;). Consent for Publication: Not applicable. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective and safe option to prevent HIV acquisition and vertical HIV transmission in pregnant and breastfeeding women. Understanding health system factors influencing the integration of PrEP into care for pregnant and breastfeeding women is key to increasing access. We explored managers' and health care workers' (HCWs) experiences with integrating PrEP into antenatal care and postnatal care services in primary health care clinics in Cape Town, South Africa., Methods: This exploratory qualitative study used codebook thematic analysis, where HCWs were purposively, heterogeneously sampled from an implementation science study. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with 9 managerial-level staff, and 3 focus group discussions were conducted with HCWs (nurses, midwives, and HIV counselors) providing PrEP (6-7 HCWs per group) between November 2022 and January 2023 (N=28). Interview guides covered health system facilitators, barriers, and recommendations. The Health Systems Dynamics framework guided data analysis and presentation of results., Results: PrEP integration into antenatal care services was described as acceptable and feasible; however, changes to HIV testing policy and indicators in breastfeeding women are needed to integrate PrEP into postnatal clinics, together with identification of mother and baby as a dyad in visits. Results showed that supportive policies facilitated wider, simplified PrEP provision. The availability and accessibility of prescribing nurses and lay HIV counselors, PrEP (both within facilities and in communities), and information about PrEP for implementers and pregnant and breastfeeding women will be pivotal to facilitating integration., Conclusion: Facilitators for PrEP integration include task-shifting PrEP education and identification of women for PrEP initiation to HIV counselors, changes to national guidelines defining who can prescribe PrEP, revision and integration of PrEP training for HCWs, community-level interventions for PrEP demand creation and stigma reduction, and provision of differentiated PrEP delivery options., (© Court et al.)

Data to Care (D2C) strategies - using routine data to facilitate identification and linkage back to care of people living with HIV who are not in care - have shown promise in high-income settings but received little attention in lower resourced or vertical HIV transmission prevention (VTP) contexts. In this proof-of-concept study, we monitored existing linked electronic medical records in near real-time to identify key gaps in postpartum VTP steps among 336 mothers living with HIV and their infants in Cape Town, South Africa (recruited March 2021 - April 2022). We attempted to confirm observed gaps through source data systems and telephonic tracing, and facilitated re-engagement in care where needed. There were 302 gaps observed in the routine data; 123 (41%) were false gaps and 179 (59%) were considered probable gaps (133 mother-infant pairs). Overall, 54 mothers (16%) did not link to HIV care within 12 weeks of delivery, 43 mothers (13%) linked to care but had a gap in ART dispensing by nine months postpartum, 25 infants (10%) did not have an HIV test around 10 weeks and 57 (17%) had no HIV test around 6 months of age. Only 100 of the probable gaps (56%) could be confirmed through telephonic tracing and, of those, only 47 were successfully re-linked to care. Mobility and clinic transfer, fear of stigma and employment-related challenges were commonly reported reasons for gaps in VTP steps. This study highlights that linked routine data sources linking mother-infant pairs across health facilities has the potential to streamline tracing efforts; however, implementation is challenging and, even when gaps are identified, re-engagement in care may be difficult. Further research is needed to combine D2C strategies with interventions addressing broader social and structural determinants of health, and to tailor D2C strategies to fit available resources and data sources in low-resource settings.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in treatment access for women living with HIV (WLHIV). For example, option B+, which requires that all pregnant persons who test positive for HIV start on antiretroviral treatment, has been instrumental in reducing the risk of vertical transmission. For birthing individuals who have a low HIV viral load, there is a minimized risk of vertical transmission during breastfeeding. However, an alarming rate of WLHIV in South Africa disengage from care during postpartum. Given that work is intricately linked to individuals' socioeconomic status, and thus health outcomes, and their health-seeking ability, it is important to explore the role of work in decisions that impact HIV-related care for the dyad postpartum. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 women living with HIV at 6-8 weeks postpartum in Cape Town, South Africa. A secondary qualitative data analysis was conducted following thematic content analysis. Three themes were identified, spanning participants' financial considerations, navigating childcare needs, and considerations for exclusive breastfeeding. For many participants, there was often a conflict between returning to work, childcare, and the decision whether or not to breastfeed-in addition to their HIV care. This conflict between participants' commitments suggests an increased pressure that WLHIV may face postpartum, which could impact their ability to remain engaged in their healthcare and adherent to medication. Although exclusive breastfeeding is an important recommendation for the baby's health outcomes; there is a need for structural support for WLHIV as they navigate work re-entry during postpartum., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Perinatal mental health disorders place a particularly high public health burden on South Africa (SA) via negative health outcomes for the birthing parent and adverse health outcomes for infants (e.g., low birth weight, preterm deliveries, malnourishment) as well as emotional and behavioral problems in children. Depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health disorders may also compromise engagement in HIV prevention behaviors during the perinatal period, when HIV acquisition risk increases. This is particularly important in SA, where almost a quarter of women between ages 15 to 49 have HIV. There is little research exploring the anticipated impacts mental health symptoms have on one's ability to emotionally connect or caregive after delivery; this critical information will enable providers to support women and their mental health during the transition from pregnancy to postpartum. HIV-negative pregnant persons were recruited from an antenatal clinic in Cape Town as a part of a larger study investigating mental health barriers to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake during pregnancy. Participants qualified for an in-depth interview based on elevated symptoms of depression and/or PTSD. The interviews explored the likely impact of their mental health symptoms on their baby's wellbeing, their ability to bond with their baby, and their ability to meet their baby's needs. Following the principles of thematic analysis, we identified three main themes that described these relationships: (1) a strong perceived connection between maternal mental health and baby's wellbeing; (2) perceived strains on bonding with the baby; and (3) negative impact of mental health on likelihood of completing parenting tasks. This study will inform future mental health programming to prepare pregnant persons with mental health symptoms for a successful postpartum period with respect to bonding and caring for their infant., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors report no vested interests relating to this article that could be considered a conflict of interest. Additional Declarations: No competing interests reported.

Background: Compared with other age groups, adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) are estimated to have lower levels of adherence to antiretroviral treatment. Despite this, we lack evidence on adolescents' adherence patterns over time to inform the customization of intervention strategies., Setting: Eastern Cape province, South Africa., Methods: We analyzed data from a cohort of ALHIV (N = 1046, aged 10-19 years at baseline) recruited from 53 public health facilities. The cohort comprised 3 waves of data collected between 2014 and 2018 and routine viral load data from the National Institute for Communicable Disease data warehouse (2014-2019). Durable viral suppression was defined as having suppressed viral load (<1000 copies/mL) at ≥2 consecutive study waves. Group-based multitrajectory model was used to identify adherence trajectories using 5 indicators of self-reported adherence. Logistic regression modeling evaluated the associations between adherence trajectories and durable viral suppression., Results: Overall, 933 ALHIV (89.2%) completed all 3 study waves (55.1% female, mean age: 13.6 years at baseline). Four adherence trajectories were identified, namely, "consistent adherence" (49.8%), "low start and increasing" (20.8%), "gradually decreasing" (23.5%), and "low and decreasing" (5.9%). Adolescents experiencing inconsistent adherence trajectories were more likely to be older, live in rural areas, and have sexually acquired HIV. Compared with the consistent adherence trajectory, the odds of durable viral suppression were lower among adolescents in the low start and increasing (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41 to 0.95), gradually decreasing (aOR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.59), and the low and decreasing adherence (aOR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.62) trajectories., Conclusions: Adherence to antiretroviral treatment remains a challenge among ALHIV in South Africa. Identifying adolescents at risk of nonadherence, based on their adherence trajectories may inform the tailoring of adolescent-friendly support strategies., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)