Supporting Option B+ scale up and strengthening the prevention of mother-to-child transmission cascade in central Malawi: results from a serial cross-sectional study

Abstract Background We established Safeguard the Family (STF) to support Ministry of Health (MoH) scale-up of universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women (Option B+) and to strengthen the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) cascade from HIV testing and counseling (HTC) through maternal ART provision and post-delivery early infant HIV diagnosis (EID). To these ends, we implemented the following interventions in 5 districts: 1) health worker training and mentorship; 2) couples’ HTC and male partner involvement; 3) women’s psychosocial support groups; and 4) health and laboratory system strengthening for EID. Methods We conducted a serial cross-sectional study using facility-level quarterly (Q) program data and individual-level infant HIV-1 DNA PCR data to evaluate STF performance on PMTCT indicators for project years (Y) 1 (April—December 2011) through 3 (January—December 2013), and compared these results to national averages. Results Facility-level uptake of HTC, ART, infant nevirapine prophylaxis, and infant DNA PCR testing increased significantly from quarterly baselines of 66 % (n/N = 32,433/48,804), 23 % (n/N = 442/1,958), 1 % (n/N = 10/1,958), and 52 % (n/N = 1,385/2,644) to 87 % (n/N = 39,458/45,324), 96 % (n/N = 2,046/2,121), 100 % (n/N = 2,121/2,121), and 62 % (n/N = 1,462/2,340), respectively, by project end (all p < 0.001). Quarterly HTC, ART, and infant nevirapine prophylaxis uptake outperformed national averages over years 2–3. While transitioning EID laboratory services to MoH, STF provided first-time HIV-1 DNA PCR testing for 2,226 of 11,261 HIV-exposed infants (20 %) tested in the MoH EID program in STF districts from program inception (Y2) through Y3. Of these, 78 (3.5 %) tested HIV-positive. Among infants with complete documentation (n = 608), median age at first testing decreased from 112 days (interquartile range, IQR: 57–198) in Y2 to 76 days (IQR: 46–152) in Y3 (p < 0.001). During Y3 (only year with national data for comparison), non-significantly fewer exposed infants tested HIV-positive (3.6 %) at first testing in STF districts than nationally (4.1 %) (p = 0.4). Conclusions STF interventions, integrated within the MoH Option B+ program, achieved favorable HTC, maternal ART, infant prophylaxis, and EID services uptake, and a low proportion of infants found HIV-infected at first DNA PCR testing. Continued investments are needed to strengthen the PMTCT cascade, particularly around EID

Information management in Malawi’s prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) Program: Health workers’ perspectives

Aim: Health workers are the key drivers for strengthening Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program information management in the health facilities. Thus understanding how health workers perceive information management can enlighten areas that require interventions to improve information management processes in the health facilities. The purpose is to assess health workers’ perceptions toward PMTCT program information management and factors affecting information management in the health facilities.Methods: The study was conducted in five out of forty-three health facilities providing PMTCT services in Lilongwe district and thirty out of sixty-eight health workers were recruited across the study sites. Purposive and convenience sampling were used. Semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect demographic information and health workers’ perceptions toward information management, respectively. Thematic and content analysis techniques were employed for qualitative data, while descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data.Results: Most health workers perceived information management tasks as part of their job description, but less important to provision of clinical services. For many, use of information technology tools was viewed as beneficial and valuable, whereas the paper-based system was perceived as tedious and difficult to manage. In addition, some believed lack of feedback, information sharing, and poor attitude toward information management tasks were challenges.Conclusion:  Based on the study findings, there is need to find ways of motivating data quality improvement practises in the health facilities, as health workers view this as a tangential, non-essential part of their job. Health facility leadership needs to promote an information culture through enforcement of meetings, supervision and provision of feedback. The government and its partners should continue rolling out and enhancing competence of health workers on EMR in the health facilities whilst also addressing challenges mentioned in the study