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The UNAIDS estimate of vertical HIV transmission in Tanzania is high (11%), despite 84% uptake of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among pregnant women with HIV. We aimed to evaluate vertical transmission and its determinants by 18 months post partum among women on lifelong ART in routine health-care settings in Tanzania.We conducted a prospective cohort study in 226 health facitilies across Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Eligible participants were pregnant women of any age with HIV, and later their infants, who enrolled in routine health-care services for the prevention of vertical transmission. We prospectively followed up mother-infant pairs at routine monthly visits until 18 months post partum and extracted data from the care and treatment clinic (CTC2) database, a national electronic database that stores patient-level HIV care and treatment clinic data. The primary outcome was time from birth to HIV diagnosis, defined as a positive infant HIV DNA PCR or antibody test from age 18 months. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate cumulative risk of vertical transmission by 18 months post partum and Cox proportional hazards regression with shared frailties to account for potential clustering in health facilities to evaluate predictors of transmission.Between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2017, 22 930 pregnant women with HIV (median age 30 years, IQR 25-34) enrolled on a care programme. After excluding 9140 (39·9%) women and 539 (2·4%) infants with missing outcome data, 13 251 (59·0%) mother-infant pairs were analysed, of whom 6072 (45·8%) women were already on ART before pregnancy. By 18 months post partum, 159 (1·2%) of 13 251 infants were diagnosed with HIV, equivalent to a risk of vertical transmission of 1·4% (95% CI 1·2-1·6). In the complete case analysis, the rates of vertical transmission were higher among women who enrolled in the third trimester of pregnancy than among those who enrolled in the first trimester (adjusted hazard ratio 3·01, 95% CI 1·59-5·70; p=0·0003), among women with advanced HIV disease than among those with early-stage disease (1·89, 1·22-2·93; p=0·0046), and among women who were on a second-line ART regimen than among those on a first-line regimen (3·58, 1·08-11·82; p=0·037). By contrast, the rate of vertical transmission was lower among women who were already on ART at enrolment than among those starting ART at enrolment (0·39, 0·25-0·60; p0·0001) as well as among women in high-volume clinics than among those in low-volume clinics (0·46 (0·24-0·90; p0·0097).Provision of ART for life (WHO's option B+ recommendation) has reduced the risk of vertical transmission to less than 2% among pregnant women with HIV in routine care settings in urban Tanzania. There is still a need to improve timely HIV diagnosis and ART uptake, and to optimise follow-up for the prevention of vertical transmission and the uptake of infant HIV testing.Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the effects of upright and supine birth positions on maternal and new-born outcomes including maternal blood losses, duration of labor, perineum tear or intact, and APGAR score of the new-born in the first and fifth minutes in two District hospitals in Tanzania. Methodology: A quasi-experimental study design using a quantitative approach was conducted to assess the maternal and new-born outcomes in the in intervention study group (upright) and non-intervention group (supine). A convenient sample of 150 parturient were included, among them 73 formed an intervention group and 77 were in the non-intervention group. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23 whereby STATA software was used to assess the effect of the independent variables (birth positions) to the dependent variables (maternal and new-born outcomes). Results were compared using chi-square test at P-value

Community health worker (CHW)-led community delivery of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) could increase ART coverage and decongest healthcare facilities. It is unknown how much patients would be willing to pay to receive ART at home and, thus, whether ART community delivery could be self-financing. Set in Dar es Salaam, this study aimed to determine patients’ willingness to pay (WTP) for CHW-led ART community delivery. We sampled ART patients living in the neighbourhoods surrounding each of 48 public-sector healthcare facilities in Dar es Salaam. We asked participants (N = 1799) whether they (1) preferred ART community delivery over standard facility-based care, (2) would be willing to pay for ART community delivery and (3) would be willing to pay each of an incrementally increasing range of prices for the service. 45.0% (810/1799; 95% CI: 42.7—47.3) of participants preferred ART community delivery over standard facility-based care and 51.5% (417/810; 95% CI: 48.1—55.0) of these respondents were willing to pay for ART community delivery. Among those willing to pay, the mean and median amount that participants were willing to pay for one ART community delivery that provides a 2-months’ supply of antiretroviral drugs was 3.61 purchasing-power-parity-adjusted dollars (PPP$) (95% CI: 2.96–4.26) and 1.27 PPP$ (IQR: 1.27–2.12), respectively. An important limitation of this study is that participants all resided in neighbourhoods within the catchment area of the healthcare facility at which they were interviewed and, thus, may incur less costs to attend standard facility-based ART care than other ART patients in Dar es Salaam. While there appears to be a substantial WTP, patient payments would only constitute a minority of the costs of implementing ART community delivery. Thus, major co-financing from governments or donors would likely be required.

Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) can prevent tuberculosis among people receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV programmes are now initiating patients on ART with higher average CD4 cell counts and lower tuberculosis risks under test-and-treat guidelines. We aimed to investigate how this change has affected the health impact and cost-effectiveness of IPT.We constructed a tuberculosis-HIV microsimulation model parameterised using data from a large HIV treatment programme in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We simulated long-term health and cost outcomes for the 211 748 individuals initiating ART between Jan 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2020, under three scenarios: no IPT access; observed levels of IPT access (75%) and completion (71%); and full (100%) IPT access and completion. We stratified results by ART initiation year and starting CD4 cell count.Observed levels of IPT access were estimated to have averted 12 800 (95% uncertainty interval 7300 to 21 600) disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and saved US$23 000 (-2 268 000 to 1 388 000). Full IPT access would have averted 24 500 (15 100 to 38 300) DALYs and cost $825 000 (-1 594 000 to 4 751 000), equivalent to $23·4 per DALY averted. Lifetime health benefits of IPT were estimated to be greater for more recent ART cohorts, while lifetime costs were stable. In subgroup analyses, a higher CD4 cell count at ART initiation was associated with greater health gains from IPT (15 900 [10 300 to 22 500] DALYs averted by full IPT per 100 000 patients for CD4 count500 cells per μL at ART initiation, versus 7400 [4500 to 11 600] for CD4 count100 cells per μL) and lower incremental lifetime costs.IPT remains highly cost-effective or cost-saving for recent ART cohorts. The health impact and cost-effectiveness of IPT are estimated to improve as patients initiate ART earlier in the course of infection.US National Institutes of Health.

The provision of high-quality antenatal care (ANC) is important for preventing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, but only around half of pregnant women in Tanzania attended four or more ANC visits in 2019. Although there is emerging evidence on the benefit of community health worker (CHW) interventions on ANC uptake, few large-scale pragmatic trials have been conducted. This pragmatic cluster-randomized trial, implemented directly through the public sector health system, assessed the impact of an intervention that trained public sector CHWs to promote the uptake of ANC. We randomized 60 administrative wards in Dar es Salaam to either a targeted CHW intervention or a standard of care. The impact of the intervention was assessed using generalized estimating equations with an independent working correlation matrix to account for clustering within wards. A total of 243 908 women were included in the analysis of our primary outcome of four or more ANC visits. The intervention significantly increased the likelihood of attending four or more ANC visits [relative risk (RR): 1.42; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.92] and had a modest beneficial effect on the total number of ANC visits (percent change: 7.7%; 95% CI: 0.2%, 15.5%). While slightly more women in the intervention arm attended ANC in their first trimester compared with the standard-of-care arm (19% vs 18.7%), the difference was not significant (RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.22). Our findings suggest that trained CHWs can increase attendance of ANC visits in Dar es Salaam and similar settings. However, additional interventions appear necessary to promote the early initiation of ANC. This study demonstrates that routine health system data can be leveraged for outcome assessment in trials and programme evaluation and that the results are likely superior, both in terms of bias and precision, to data that are collected specifically for science.

Anemia in HIV-infected patients improves with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART); however, it may still be associated with mortality among patients receiving treatment. We examined the associations of anemia severity and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) at HAART initiation and during monthly prospective follow-up with mortality among 40,657 adult HIV-infected patients receiving HAART in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations of anemia severity and IDA at HAART initiation and during follow-up with mortality. A total of 6,261 deaths were reported. Anemia severity at HAART initiation and during follow-up was associated with an increasing risk of mortality (trend tests P < 0.001). There was significantly higher mortality risk associated with IDA at HAART initiation and during follow-up versus no anemia or iron deficiency (both P < 0.001). These associations differed significantly by gender, body mass index, and iron supplement use (all interaction test P < 0.001). The magnitude of association was stronger among men. Mortality risk with severe anemia was 13 times greater versus no anemia among obese patients, whereas it was only two times greater among underweight patients. Higher mortality risk was observed among iron supplement users, irrespective of anemia severity. Anemia and IDA were significantly associated with a higher mortality risk in patients receiving HAART. Iron supplementation indicated an increased mortality risk, and its role in HIV infections should be examined in future studies. Given the low cost of assessing anemia, it can be used frequently to identify high-risk patients in resource-limited settings.

Background: Globally antiretroviral therapy access has increased and significantly changed HIV morbidity and mortality patterns. In sub-Saharan Africa there are reports of increasing rates of failure to second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) hence, assessment for clinical outcomes is critical. Objectives: To assess clinical outcomes and retention using programmatic indicators among HIV-infected adolescents and adults receiving second-line ART in Tanzania. Methods: In this longitudinal retrospective cohort study, we enrolled HIV-infected individuals aged 15 years and above who were initiated on second-line ART (Protease Inhibitor based regimen) due to documented failure of first-line ART between July 2012 and September 2015. We evaluated mean change in CD4 cell count, HIV viral load and retention using survival analysis. Results : A total of 1446 participants were enrolled, the mean duration of second-line therapy was 37.0 months± SD 26.50 and the median CD4 cell count at initiation of the second line was 290 cells/mm3. Virologic suppression 90% increased the likelihood of retention with a strong correlation HR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.7 P-value 0.00. Clinical stage III and IV at switch were less likely to be retained HR 0.6; 95% CI 0.5-0.6 P-value 0.000 and higher CD4 cell count was associated with less retention HR 90%. Therefore, improving viral suppression after switching to second-line requires further interventions.

Introduction There is great interest for integrating care for non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) into routine HIV services in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) due to the steady rise of the number of people who are ageing with HIV. Suggested health system approaches for intervening on these comorbidities have mostly been normative, with little actionable guidance on implementation, and on the practical, economic and ethical considerations of favouring people living with HIV (PLHIV) versus targeting the general population. We summarize opportunities and challenges related to leveraging HIV treatment platforms to address NCDs among PLHIV. We emphasize key considerations that can guide integrated care in SSA and point to possible interventions for implementation. Discussion Integrating care offers an opportunity for effective delivery of NCD services to PLHIV, but may be viewed to unfairly ignore the larger number of NCD cases in the general population. Integration can also help maintain the substantial health and economic benefits that have been achieved by the global HIV/AIDS response. Implementing interventions for integrated care will require assessing the prevalence of common NCDs among PLHIV, which can be achieved via increased screening during routine HIV care. Successful integration will also necessitate earmarking funds for NCD interventions in national budgets. Conclusions An expanded agenda for addressing HIV‐NCD comorbidities in SSA may require adding selected NCDs to conditions that are routinely monitored in PLHIV. Attention should be given to mitigating potential tradeoffs in the quality of HIV services that may result from the extra responsibilities borne by HIV health workers. Integrated care will more likely be effective in the context of concurrent health system reforms that address NCDs in the general population, and with synergies with other HIV investments that have been used to strengthen health systems.

Introduction Despite growing enthusiasm for integrating treatment of non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) into human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment services in sub‐Saharan Africa, there is little evidence on the potential health and financial consequences of such integration. We aim to study the cost‐effectiveness of basic NCD‐HIV integration in a Ugandan setting. Methods We developed an epidemiologic‐cost model to analyze, from the provider perspective, the cost‐effectiveness of integrating hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) and high cholesterol screening and treatment for people living with HIV (PLWH) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Uganda. We utilized cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimations drawing from the previously established Globorisk model and systematic reviews; HIV and NCD risk factor prevalence from the World Health Organization’s STEPwise approach to Surveillance survey and global databases; and cost data from national drug price lists, expert consultation and the literature. Averted CVD cases and corresponding disability‐adjusted life years were estimated over 10 subsequent years along with incremental cost‐effectiveness of the integration. Results Integrating services for hypertension, DM, and high cholesterol among ART patients in Uganda was associated with a mean decrease of the 10‐year risk of a CVD event: from 8.2 to 6.6% in older PLWH women (absolute risk reduction of 1.6%), and from 10.7 to 9.5% in older PLWH men (absolute risk reduction of 1.2%), respectively. Integration would yield estimated net costs between $1,400 and $3,250 per disability‐adjusted life year averted among older ART patients. Conclusions Providing services for hypertension, DM and high cholesterol for Ugandan ART patients would reduce the overall CVD risk among these patients; it would amount to about 2.4% of national HIV/AIDS expenditure, and would present a cost‐effectiveness comparable to other standalone interventions to address NCDs in low‐ and middle‐income country settings.

Background Vitamin D has significant immunomodulatory effects on both adaptive and innate immune responses. Observational studies indicate that adults infected with HIV with low vitamin D status may be at increased risk of mortality, pulmonary tuberculosis, and HIV disease progression. Growing observational evidence also suggests that low vitamin D status in pregnancy may increase the risk of adverse birth and infant health outcomes. As a result, antiretroviral therapy (ART) adjunct vitamin D3 supplementation may improve the health of HIV-infected pregnant women and their children. Methods/design The Trial of Vitamins-5 (ToV5) is an individually randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of maternal vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation conducted among 2300 HIV-infected pregnant women receiving triple-drug ART under Option B+ in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. HIV-infected pregnant women of 12–27 weeks gestation are randomized to either: 1) 3000 IU vitamin D3 taken daily from randomization in pregnancy until trial discharge at 12 months postpartum; or 2) a matching placebo regimen. Maternal participants are followed-up at monthly clinic visits during pregnancy, at delivery, and then with their children at monthly postpartum clinic visits. The primary efficacy outcomes of the trial are: 1) maternal HIV disease progression or death; 2) risk of small-for-gestational age (SGA) births; and 3) risk of infant stunting at 1 year of age. The primary safety outcome of the trial is incident maternal hypercalcemia. Secondary outcomes include a range of clinical and biological maternal and child health outcomes. Discussion The ToV5 will provide causal evidence on the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on HIV progression and death, SGA births, and infant stunting at 1 year of age. The results of the trial are likely generalizable to HIV-infected pregnant women and their children in similar resource-limited settings utilizing the Option B+ approach. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02305927. Registered on 29 October 2014. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2157-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction: Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevations are common among HIV-infected patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Approach: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 3023 HIV-infected Tanzanian adults initiating cART. We assessed risk factors for mild/moderate ALT elevations >40 IU/L and severe ALT elevations >200 IU/L. Results: We found that over a median follow-up of 32.5 months (interquartile range: 19.4-41.5), 44.8% of participants had at least 1 incident ALT elevation >40 IU/L of which 50.1% were persistent elevations. Risk factors for incident ALT elevation >40 IU/L included male sex, CD4 count 200 IU/L ( P values: Conclusion: Incident mild and moderate ALT elevations are common among Tanzanians initiating cART, and the clinical and demographic information can identify patients at increased risk.

Social marketing is a commonly used strategy in global health. Social marketing programmes may sell subsidized products through commercial sector outlets, distribute appropriately priced products, deliver health services through social franchises and promote behaviours not dependent upon a product or service. We aimed to review evidence of the effectiveness of social marketing in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on major areas of investment in global health: HIV, reproductive health, child survival, malaria and tuberculosis. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and ProQuest, using search terms linking social marketing and health outcomes for studies published from 1995 to 2013. Eligible studies used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to measure outcomes of behavioural factors, health behaviours and/or health outcomes in each health area. Studies were analysed by effect estimates and for application of social marketing benchmark criteria. After reviewing 18 974 records, 125 studies met inclusion criteria. Across health areas, 81 studies reported on changes in behavioural factors, 97 studies reported on changes in behaviour and 42 studies reported on health outcomes. The greatest number of studies focused on HIV outcomes (n = 45) and took place in sub-Saharan Africa (n = 67). Most studies used quasi-experimental designs and reported mixed results. Child survival had proportionately the greatest number of studies using experimental designs, reporting health outcomes, and reporting positive, statistically significant results. Most programmes used a range of methods to promote behaviour change. Programmes with positive, statistically significant findings were more likely to apply audience insights and cost-benefit analyses to motivate behaviour change. Key evidence gaps were found in voluntary medical male circumcision and childhood pneumonia. Social marketing can influence health behaviours and health outcomes in global health; however evaluations assessing health outcomes remain comparatively limited. Global health investments are needed to (i) fill evidence gaps, (ii) strengthen evaluation rigour and (iii) expand effective social marketing approaches.

OBJECTIVES There are few data on ART failure rates and drug resistance from Tanzania, where there is a wide diversity of non-B HIV subtypes. We assessed rates and predictors of virological failure in HIV-infected Tanzanians and describe drug resistance patterns in a subgroup of these patients. METHODS ART-naive, HIV-1-infected adults enrolled in a randomized controlled trial between November 2006 and 2008 and on ≥24 weeks of first-line NNRTI-containing ART were included. Population-based genotyping of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase was performed on stored plasma from patients with virological failure (viral load >1000 copies/mL at ≥24 weeks of ART) and at baseline, where available. RESULTS A total of 2403 patients [median (IQR) age 37 (32-43) years; 70% female] were studied. The median (IQR) baseline CD4+ T cell count was 128 (62-190) cells/μL. Predominant HIV subtypes were A, C and D (92.2%). The overall rate of virological failure was 14.9% (95% CI 13.2%-16.1%). In adjusted analyses, significant predictors of virological failure were lower CD4+ T cell count (P = 0.01) and non-adherence to ART (P

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a routine multivitamin supplementation program for adults living with HIV in Tanzania. DESIGN We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 67 707 adults enrolled in the Dar es Salaam HIV care and treatment program during 2004-2012. METHODS The Dar es Salaam HIV care and treatment program intended to provide all adult patients with multivitamin supplements (vitamins B-complex, C, and E) free of charge; however, intermittent stockouts and other implementation issues did not afford universal coverage. We use Cox proportional hazard models to assess the time-varying association of multivitamin supplementation with mortality and clinical outcomes. RESULTS The study cohort contributed 41 540 and 129 315 person-years of follow-up time to the antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive and ART-experienced analyses, respectively. Among 48 207 ART-naive adults, provision of multivitamins reduced the risk of mortality [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59-0.81], incident tuberculosis (TB) (aHR: 0.83; 0.76-0.91), and meeting ART eligibility criteria (aHR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.73-0.83) after adjustment for time-varying confounding. Among 46 977 ART-experienced patients, multivitamins reduced mortality (hazard ratio: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.80-0.92), incident TB (aHR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.73-0.84), and immunologic failure (aHR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.67-0.73). The survival benefits associated with provision multivitamins appeared to be greatest during the first year of ART and declined over time (P value

Background: There is a dearth of evidence on the causal effects of different care delivery approaches on health system satisfaction. A better understanding of public satisfaction with the health system is particularly important within the context of task shifting to community health workers (CHWs). This paper determines the effects of a CHW program focused on maternal health services on public satisfaction with the health system among women who are pregnant or have recently delivered. Methods: From January 2013 to April 2014, we carried out a cluster-randomized controlled health system implementation trial of a CHW program. Sixty wards in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were randomly allocated to either a maternal health CHW program (36 wards) or the standard of care (24 wards). From May to August 2014, we interviewed a random sample of women who were either currently pregnant or had recently delivered a child. We used five-level Likert scales to assess women’s satisfaction with the CHW program and with the public-sector health system in Dar es Salaam. Results: In total, 2329 women participated in the survey (response rate 90.2%). Households in intervention areas were 2.3 times as likely as households in control areas to have ever received a CHW visit (95% CI 1.8, 3.0). The intervention led to a 16-percentage-point increase in women reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied with the CHW program (95% CI 3, 30) and a 15-percentage-point increase in satisfaction with the public-sector health system (95% CI 3, 27). Conclusions: A CHW program for maternal and child health in Tanzania achieved better public satisfaction than the standard CHW program. Policy-makers and implementers who are involved in designing and organizing CHW programs should consider the potential positive impact of the program on public satisfaction. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, EJF22802

Objective:To describe the incidence of and risk factors for overweight and obesity following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation.Methods:We used Cox proportional hazards models to investigate risk factors for incident overweight and obesity in 79 074 individuals aged 15 years or older who initiated ART in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Results:Twenty-five percent of the patients became overweight and 10% became obese. The incidence rate of obesity was 3.2 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.1-3.3) in patients who were of normal weight before starting ART and 22.6 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 21.9-23.3) in those who were overweight. Lower CD4 count was associated with a higher risk of overweight and obesity ( P value for trend < .0001).Conclusion:There is a high burden of overweight and obesity after starting ART, leading to proportions of these 2 conditions that are similar to those in the general population.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for loss to follow-up (LTFU) in an HIV-infected pediatric population in Dar es Salaam Tanzania between 2004 and 2011. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of 6236 HIV-infected children. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 6236 pediatric patients enrolled in care and treatment in Dar es Salaam from October 2004 to September 2011. LTFU was defined as missing a clinic visit for >90 days for patients on ART and for >180 days for patients in care and monitoring. The relationship of baseline and time-varying characteristics to the risk of LTFU was examined using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A total of 2130 children (34%) were LTFU over a median follow-up of 16.7 months (interquartile range 3.4-36.9). Factors independently associated with a higher risk of LTFU were age

Although the beneficial effects of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for preventing mother-to-child transmission are indisputable, studies in developed and developing countries have reported conflicting findings on the association between ARV exposure and adverse birth outcomes. We conducted a prospective observational study at 10 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment centers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Multivariate log-binomial regression was used to investigate the associations between ARV use and adverse birth outcomes among HIV-negative HIV-exposed infants. Our findings demonstrate an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes associated with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms and identify the safest ARV regimens for use during pregnancy.

Objective The objective of this study is to determine the incidence rate and risk factors of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-infected adults accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Tanzania. Design A prospective observational study among HIV-infected adults attending HIV clinics in Dar es Salaam. Methods We estimated TB incidence rates among HIV-infected patients prior to and after ART initiation. We used Cox proportional hazard regressions to determine the predictors of incident TB among HIV-infected adults enrolled in the HIV care and treatment programme. Results We assessed 67 686 patients for a median follow-up period of 24 (interquartile range: 8-49) months; 7602 patients were diagnosed with active TB. The TB incidence rate was 7.9 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 7.6-8.2] per 100 person-years prior to ART initiation, and 4.4 (95% CI, 4.2-4.4) per 100 person-years for patients receiving ART. In multivariate analyses, patients on ART in the first 3 months had a 57% higher risk of TB (hazard ratio: 1.57, 95% CI, 1.47-1.68) than those not on ART, but the risk significantly decreased with increasing duration of ART. Risk factors for incident TB included being male, having low BMI or middle upper arm circumference, lower CD4 cell count and advanced WHO disease stage. There was seasonal variation for incident TB, with higher risk observed following the rainy seasons (May, June and November). Conclusion In TB endemic regions, HIV-infected patients initiating ART, particularly men and those with poor nutritional status, should be closely monitored for active TB at ART initiation. In addition to increasing the access to ART, interventions should be considered to improve nutritional status among HIV-infected patients.

We examined the incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) before and after the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and risk factors for HZ among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals in Tanzania. A cohort study was conducted among HIV-positive individuals enrolled in HIV care and treatment clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to examine the effect of ART on the risk of HZ after adjusting for sociodemographics and time-varying clinical and nutritional factors. Among 72,670 HIV-positive individuals, 2,312 incident cases of HZ (3.2%) occurred during the median follow-up of 15 months (interquartile range: 3–35). The incidence rate of HZ significantly declined from 48.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 46.7–51.0) per 1,000 person-years before ART to 3.7 (95% CI = 3.3–4.1) per 1,000 person-years after the initiation of ART (P < 0.001). The risk of HZ declined with longer duration on ART. Low CD4 cell count, older age, female sex, district of Dar es Salaam, and year of enrollment were independently associated with the risk of HZ in the multivariate analysis. Low body mass index and anemia were not associated with the risk of HZ. The risk of HZ substantially declined after ART initiation in this large cohort of HIV-infected individuals. Earlier initiation of ART could reduce the risk of HZ and other opportunistic infections among HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background Several recent studies have attempted to measure the prevalence of disrespect and abuse (D&A) of women during childbirth in health facilities. Variations in reported prevalence may be associated with differences in study instruments and data collection methods. This systematic review and comparative analysis of methods aims to aggregate and present lessons learned from published studies that quantified the prevalence of Disrespect and Abuse (D&A) during childbirth. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. Five papers met criteria and were included for analysis. We developed an analytical framework depicting the basic elements of epidemiological methodology in prevalence studies and a table of common types of systematic error associated with each of them. We performed a head-to-head comparison of study methods for all five papers. Using these tools, an independent reviewer provided an analysis of the potential for systematic error in the reported prevalence estimates. Results Sampling techniques, eligibility criteria, categories of D&A selected for study, operational definitions of D&A, summary measures of D&A, and the mode, timing, and setting of data collection all varied in the five studies included in the review. These variations present opportunities for the introduction of biases – in particular selection, courtesy, and recall bias – and challenge the ability to draw comparisons across the studies’ results. Conclusion Our review underscores the need for caution in interpreting or comparing previously reported prevalence estimates of D&A during facility-based childbirth. The lack of standardized definitions, instruments, and study methods used to date in studies designed to quantify D&A in childbirth facilities introduced the potential for systematic error in reported prevalence estimates, and affected their generalizability and comparability. Chief among the lessons to emerge from comparing methods for measuring the prevalence of D&A is recognition of the tension between seeking prevalence measures that are reliable and generalizable, and attempting to avoid loss of validity in the context where the issue is being studied. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12978-017-0389-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction: HIV-related stigma and discrimination and disrespect and abuse during childbirth are barriers to use of essential maternal and HIV health services. Greater understanding of the relationship between HIV status and disrespect and abuse during childbirth is required to design interventions to promote women's rights and to increase uptake of and retention in health services; however, few comparative studies of women living with HIV (WLWH) and HIV-negative women exist. Methods: Mixed methods included interviews with postpartum women (n = 2000), direct observation during childbirth (n = 208), structured questionnaires (n = 50), and in-depth interviews (n = 18) with health care providers. Bivariate and multivariate regressions analyzed associations between HIV status and disrespect and abuse, whereas questionnaires and in-depth interviews provided insight into how provider attitudes and workplace culture influence practice. Results: Of the WLWH and HIV-negative women, 12.2% and 15.0% reported experiencing disrespect and abuse during childbirth (P = 0.37), respectively. In adjusted analyses, no significant differences between WLWH and HIV-negative women's experiences of different types of disrespect and abuse were identified, with the exception of WLWH having greater odds of reporting non-consented care (P = 0.03). None of the WLWH reported violations of HIV confidentiality or attributed disrespect and abuse to their HIV status. Provider interviews indicated that training and supervision focused on prevention of vertical HIV transmission had contributed to changing the institutional culture and reducing HIV-related violations. Conclusions: In general, WLWH were not more likely to report disrespect and abuse during childbirth than HIV-negative women. However, the high overall prevalence of disrespect and abuse measured indicates a serious problem. Similar institutional priority as has been given to training and supervision to reduce HIV-related discrimination during childbirth should be focused on ensuring respectful maternity care for all women.

Background: Home visits by community health workers (CHW) could be effective in identifying pregnant women in the community before they have presented to the health system. CHW could thus improve the uptake of antenatal care (ANC), HIV testing, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. Methods: Over a 16-month period, we carried out a quantitative evaluation of the performance of CHW in reaching women early in pregnancy and before they have attended ANC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results: As part of the intervention, 213 CHW conducted more than 45,000 home visits to about 43,000 pregnant women. More than 75% of the pregnant women identified through home visits had not yet attended ANC at the time of the first contact with a CHW and about 40% of those who had not yet attended ANC were in the first trimester of pregnancy. Over time, the number of pregnant women the CHW identified each month increased, as did the proportion of women who had not yet attended ANC. The median gestational age of pregnant women contacted for the first time by a CHW decreased steadily and significantly over time (from 21/22 to 16 weeks, P-value for test of trend

Objectives In a large cohort of HIV-infected Tanzanians, we assessed: (i) rates of first-line treatment failure and switches to second-line ART; (ii) the effect of switching to second-line ART on death and loss to follow-up; and (iii) treatment outcomes on second-line ART by regimen. Methods HIV-1-infected adults (≥15 years) initiated on first-line ART between November 2004 and September 2012, and who remained on initial therapy for at least 24 weeks before switching, were studied. Survival analyses were conducted to examine the effect of second-line ART on mortality and loss to follow-up in: (i) the whole cohort; (ii) all patients eligible for second-line ART by immunological failure (IF) and/or virological failure (VF) criteria; and (iii) patients eligible by VF criteria. Results In total, 47 296 HIV-infected patients [mean age 37.5 (SD 9.5) years, CD4 175 (SD 158) cells/mm 3 , 71% female] were included in the analyses. Of these, 1760 (3.7%) patients switched to second-line ART (incidence rate = 1.7/100 person-years). Higher rates of mortality were observed in switchers versus non-switchers in all patients and patients with ART failure using IF/VF criteria. Switching only protected against mortality in patients with ART failure defined virologically and with the highest level of adherence [switching versus non-switching; >95% adherence; adjusted HR = 0.50 (95% CI = 0.26-0.93); P = 0.03]. Conclusions Switching patients to second-line ART may only be beneficial in a select group of patients who are virologically monitored and demonstrate good adherence. Our data emphasize the need for routine viral load monitoring and aggressive adherence interventions in HIV programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Disrespect and abuse (D&A) during facility-based childbirth is a topic of growing concern and attention globally. Several recent studies have sought to quantify the prevalence of D&A, however little evidence exists about effective interventions to mitigate disrespect and abuse, and promote respectful maternity care. In an accompanying article, we describe the process of selecting, implementing, and evaluating a package of interventions designed to prevent and reduce disrespect and abuse in a large urban hospital in Tanzania. Though that study was not powered to detect a definitive impact on reducing D&A, the results showed important changes in intermediate outcomes associated with this goal. In this commentary, we describe the factors that enabled this effect, especially the participatory approach we adopted to engage key stakeholders throughout the planning and implementation of the program. Based on our experience and findings, we conclude that a visible, sustained, and participatory intervention process; committed facility leadership; management support; and staff engagement throughout the project contributed to a marked change in the culture of the hospital to one that values and promotes respectful maternity care. For these changes to translate into dignified care during childbirth for all women in a sustainable fashion, institutional commitment to providing the necessary resources and staff will be needed.