Impact of organizational factors on adherence to laboratory testing protocols in adult HIV care in Lusaka, Zambia

Background Previous operational research studies have demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale public sector ART programs in resource-limited settings. However, organizational and structural determinants of quality of care have not been studied. Methods We estimate multivariate regression models using data from 13 urban HIV treatment facilities in Zambia to assess the impact of structural determinants on health workers’ adherence to national guidelines for conducting laboratory tests such as CD4, hemoglobin and liver function and WHO staging during initial and follow-up visits as part of Zambian HIV care and treatment program. Results CD4 tests were more routinely ordered during initial history and physical (IHP) than follow-up (FUP) visits (93.0 % vs. 85.5 %; p < 0.01). More physical space, higher staff turnover and greater facility experience with ART was associated with greater odds of conducting tests. Higher staff experience decreased the odds of conducting CD4 tests in FUP (OR 0.93; p < 0.05) and WHO staging in IHP visit (OR 0.90; p < 0.05) but increased the odds of conducting hemoglobin test in IHP visit (OR 1.05; p < 0.05). Higher staff burnout increased the odds of conducting CD4 test during FUP (OR 1.14; p < 0.05) but decreased the odds of conducting hemoglobin test in IHP visit (0.77; p < 0.05) and CD4 test in IHP visit (OR 0.78; p < 0.05). Conclusion Physical space plays an important role in ensuring high quality care in resource-limited setting. In the context of protocolized care, new staff members are likely to be more diligent in following the protocol verbatim rather than relying on memory and experience thereby improving adherence. Future studies should use prospective data to confirm the findings reported here

Impact of organizational factors on adherence to laboratory testing protocols in adult HIV care in Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract Background Previous operational research studies have demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale public sector ART programs in resource-limited settings. However, organizational and structural determinants of quality of care have not been studied. Methods We estimate multivariate regression models using data from 13 urban HIV treatment facilities in Zambia to assess the impact of structural determinants on health workers’ adherence to national guidelines for conducting laboratory tests such as CD4, hemoglobin and liver function and WHO staging during initial and follow-up visits as part of Zambian HIV care and treatment program. Results CD4 tests were more routinely ordered during initial history and physical (IHP) than follow-up (FUP) visits (93.0 % vs. 85.5 %; p  Conclusion Physical space plays an important role in ensuring high quality care in resource-limited setting. In the context of protocolized care, new staff members are likely to be more diligent in following the protocol verbatim rather than relying on memory and experience thereby improving adherence. Future studies should use prospective data to confirm the findings reported here.</p

Impact of organizational factors on adherence to laboratory testing protocols in adult HIV care in Lusaka, Zambia

Background: Previous operational research studies have demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale public sector ART programs in resource-limited settings. However, organizational and structural determinants of quality of care have not been studied.\ud \ud Methods: Using data on 13 urban HIV treatment facilities in Zambia, we use multivariate regression models to assess the impact of structural determinants on health workers' adherence to national guidelines for conducting laboratory tests such as CD4, hemoglobin and liver function and WHO staging during initial and follow-up visits as part of Zambian HIV care and treatment program.\ud \ud Results: CD4 tests were more routinely ordered during initial history and physical (IHP) than followup(FUP) visits (85.5 % vs. 93.0 %; p < 0.01). More physical space, higher staff turnover and greater facility experience with ART was associated with greater odds of conducting tests. Higher staff experience decreased the odds of conducting CD4 tests in FUP (OR 0.93; p <0.05) and WHO staging in IHP visit (OR 0.90; p < 0.05) but increased the odds of conducting hemoglobin test in IHP visit (OR 1.05; p < 0.05). Higher staff burnout increased the odds of conducting CD4 test during FUP (OR 1.14; p < 0.05) but decreased the odds of conducting hemoglobin test in IHP visit (0.77; p < 0.05) and CD4 test in IHP visit (OR 0.78; p < 0.05).\ud \ud Conclusion: Physical space plays an important role in ensuring high quality care in resource-limited setting. In the context of protocolized care, new staff members are likely to be more diligent in following the protocol verbatim rather than relying on memory and experience thereby improving adherence. Future studies should use prospective data to confirm the findings reported here

Strengthening health systems at facility-Level: feasibility of integrating antiretroviral therapy into primary health care services in Lusaka, Zambia

Introduction: HIV care and treatment services are primarily delivered in vertical antiretroviral (ART) clinics in sub-Saharan Africa but there have been concerns over the impact on existing primary health care services. This paper presents results from a feasibility study of a fully integrated model of HIV and non-HIV outpatient services in two urban Lusaka clinics.\ud \ud Methods: Integration involved three key modifications: i) amalgamation of space and patient flow; ii) standardization of medical records and iii) introduction of routine provider initiated testing and counseling (PITC). Assessment of feasibility included monitoring rates of HIV case-finding and referral to care, measuring median waiting and consultation times and assessing adherence to clinical care protocols for HIV and non-HIV outpatients. Qualitative data on patient/provider perceptions was also collected.\ud \ud Findings: Provider and patient interviews at both sites indicated broad acceptability of the model and highlighted a perceived reduction in stigma associated with integrated HIV services. Over six months in Clinic 1, PITC was provided to 2760 patients; 1485 (53%) accepted testing, 192 (13%) were HIV positive and 80 (42%) enrolled. Median OPD patientprovider contact time increased 55% (6.9 vs. 10.7 minutes; p,0.001) and decreased 1% for ART patients (27.9 vs. 27.7 minutes; p = 0.94). Median waiting times increased by 36 (p,0.001) and 23 minutes (p,0.001) for ART and OPD patients respectively. In Clinic 2, PITC was offered to 1510 patients, with 882 (58%) accepting testing, 208 (24%) HIV positive and 121(58%) enrolled. Median OPD patient-provider contact time increased 110% (6.1 vs. 12.8 minutes; p,0.001) and decreased for ART patients by 23% (23 vs. 17.7 minutes; p,0.001). Median waiting times increased by 47 (p,0.001) and 34 minutes(p,0.001) for ART and OPD patients, respectively.\ud \ud Conclusions: Integrating vertical ART and OPD services is feasible in the low-resource and high HIV-prevalence setting of Lusaka, Zambia. Integration enabled shared use of space and staffing that resulted in increased HIV case finding, a reduction in stigma associated with vertical ART services but resulted in an overall increase in patient waiting times. Further research is urgently required to assess long-term clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness in order to evaluate scalability and generalizability

Modeling the impact of integrating HIV and outpatient health services on patient waiting times in an urban health clinic in Zambia

Background: Rapid scale up of HIV treatment programs in sub-Saharan Africa has refueled the long-standing health policy debate regarding the merits and drawbacks of vertical and integrated system. Recent pilots of integrating outpatient and HIV services have shown an improvement in some patient outcomes but deterioration in waiting times, which can lead to worse health outcomes in the long run.\ud \ud Methods: A pilot intervention involving integration of outpatient and HIV services in an urban primary care facility in Lusaka, Zambia was studied. Data on waiting time of patients during two seven-day periods before and six months after the integration were collected using a time and motion study. Statistical tests were conducted to investigate whether the two observation periods differed in operational details such as staffing, patient arrival rates, mix of patients etc. A discrete event simulation model was constructed to facilitate a fair comparison of waiting times before and after integration. The simulation model was also used to develop alternative configurations of integration and to estimate the resulting waiting times.\ud \ud Results: Comparison of raw data showed that waiting times increased by 32% and 36% after integration for OPD and ART patients respectively (p,0.01). Using simulation modeling, we found that a large portion of this increase could be explained by changes in operational conditions before and after integration such as reduced staff availability (p,0.01) and longer breaks between consecutive patients (p,0.05). Controlling for these differences, integration of services, per se, would have resulted in a significant decrease in waiting times for OPD and a moderate decrease for HIV services.\ud \ud Conclusions: Integrating health services has the potential of reducing waiting times due to more efficient use of resources. However, one needs to ensure that other operational factors such as staff availability are not adversely affected due to integration

Evaluation of a Task-Shifting Strategy Involving Peer Educators in HIV Care and Treatment Clinics in Lusaka, Zambia

Rapid expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and a shortage of health care workers (HCWs) required the implementation of a peer educator (PE) model as part of a task-shifting strategy in Lusaka District clinics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient and staff perceptions regarding whether the PE program: a) relieved the workload on professional HCWs; and b) delivered services of acceptable quality. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from five primary care clinics delivering ART in Lusaka, Zambia. Closed surveys were conducted with 148 patients receiving ART, 29 PEs, and 53 HCWs. Data was imported into Microsoft Excel to calculate descriptive statistics. Six focus group discussions and eight key informant (KI) interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and coded to extract relevant data. Survey results demonstrated that 50 of 53 (96.1%) HCWs agreed PEs reduced the amount of counseling duties required of HCWs. HCWs felt that PEs performed as well as HCWs in counseling patients (48 of 53; 90.6%) and that having PEs conduct counseling enabled clinical staff to see more patients (44 of 53; 83%). A majority of patients (141 of 148; 95.2%) agreed or strongly agreed that PEs were knowledgeable about ART, and 89 of 144 (61.8%) expressed a high level of confidence with PEs performing counseling and related tasks. Focus group and KI interviews supported these findings. PEs helped ease the work burden of HCWs and provided effective counseling, education talks, and adherence support to patients in HIV care. Consideration should be given to formalizing their role in the public health sector

Evaluation of a task-shifting strategy involving peer educators in HIV care and treatment clinics in Lusaka, Zambia

Rapid expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and a shortage of health care workers (HCWs) required the implementation of a peer educator (PE) model as part of a task-shifting strategy in Lusaka District clinics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient and staff perceptions regarding whether the PE program: a) relieved the workload on professional HCWs; and b) delivered services of acceptable quality. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from five primary care clinics delivering ART in Lusaka, Zambia. Closed surveys were conducted with 148 patients receiving ART, 29 PEs, and 53 HCWs. Data was imported into Microsoft Excel to calculate descriptive statistics. Six focus group discussions and eight key informant (KI) interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and coded to extract relevant data. Survey results demonstrated that 50 of 53 (96.1%) HCWs agreed PEs reduced the amount of counseling duties required of HCWs. HCWs felt that PEs performed as well as HCWs in counseling patients (48 of 53; 90.6%) and that having PEs conduct counseling enabled clinical staff to see more patients (44 of 53; 83%). A majority of patients (141 of 148; 95.2%) agreed or strongly agreed that PEs were knowledgeable about ART, and 89 of 144 (61.8%) expressed a high level of confidence with PEs performing counseling and related tasks. Focus group and KI interviews supported these findings. PEs helped ease the work burden of HCWs and provided effective counseling, education talks, and adherence support to patients in HIV care. Consideration should be given to formalizing their role in the public health sector

Composition of patient routes before and after integration.

*<p>(Registration/Vitals, Adherence Counseling), (Registration/Vitals, Pharmacy), (Registration/Vitals, Registration/Vitals, Medical Office, Adherence Counseling, Medical Officer, Laboratory, Pharmacy).</p>**<p>(Registration/Vitals, Medical Officer, ART enrollment, Adherence Counseling, Pharmacy), (Registration/Vitals, Laboratory, Adherence Counseling).</p><p>∧(Medical Officer, Tuberculosis), (Medical Officer, Pharmacy, Tuberculosis).</p><p>∧∧Registration/Vitals, PITC, Pharmacy), (Registration/Vitals, Adherence Counseling, Tuberculosis).</p

Typical patient flows before and after integration.

<p>Dotted lines represent different flow patterns through the clinics.</p