Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.

Despite the policy progress made in Malawi about HIV and AIDS, the prevalence rate remains among the highest in the world. Despite many people being tested HIV positive not all have been linked to HIV care. Linkage to care is a crucial early step in successful HIV treatment. Linkage to HIV care is s...

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Main Author: Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Online Access:http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/330
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author Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala
author_facet Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala
author_sort Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala
collection DSpace
description Despite the policy progress made in Malawi about HIV and AIDS, the prevalence rate remains among the highest in the world. Despite many people being tested HIV positive not all have been linked to HIV care. Linkage to care is a crucial early step in successful HIV treatment. Linkage to HIV care is still a challenge in Malawi as 32% is not yet linked to care. This group may pose a threat of transmitting the infection to the population. Currently the country is striving to meet the 90.90.90 UNAIDS target The main objective of the study was to assess factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe District.This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed qualitative methods. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with clients above 18 years old and 2 focus group discussions with Health Providers at Bwaila Hospital. Purposive sampling method was used to recruit study participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Findings indicate that linkage to care is affected by one‟s perception towards Antiretroviral Therapy initiation, physical escort of clients by providers, integration of services, existence of support partners, shortage of staff leading to high workload, poor coordination of services at the facility and distance to the facility. Interventions aimed at improving linkage to care in HIV services should focus on integration of health services. In addition, additional human resource and ease of access to health services should also be considered
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spelling oai:nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:20.500.12845-3302023-03-12T00:03:15Z Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi. Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala Despite the policy progress made in Malawi about HIV and AIDS, the prevalence rate remains among the highest in the world. Despite many people being tested HIV positive not all have been linked to HIV care. Linkage to care is a crucial early step in successful HIV treatment. Linkage to HIV care is still a challenge in Malawi as 32% is not yet linked to care. This group may pose a threat of transmitting the infection to the population. Currently the country is striving to meet the 90.90.90 UNAIDS target The main objective of the study was to assess factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe District.This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed qualitative methods. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with clients above 18 years old and 2 focus group discussions with Health Providers at Bwaila Hospital. Purposive sampling method was used to recruit study participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Findings indicate that linkage to care is affected by one‟s perception towards Antiretroviral Therapy initiation, physical escort of clients by providers, integration of services, existence of support partners, shortage of staff leading to high workload, poor coordination of services at the facility and distance to the facility. Interventions aimed at improving linkage to care in HIV services should focus on integration of health services. In addition, additional human resource and ease of access to health services should also be considered 2021-08-25T12:36:57Z 2021-11-03T06:35:59Z 2021-08-25T12:36:57Z 2021-11-03T06:35:59Z 2020-03-01 Thesis http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/330 en application/pdf
spellingShingle Gondwe, Clifton Muvwala
Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title_full Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title_fullStr Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title_short Assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing HIV services at Bwaila hospital, Lilongwe district, Malawi.
title_sort assessment of factors associated with linkage to care amongst adults accessing hiv services at bwaila hospital, lilongwe district, malawi.
url http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/330
work_keys_str_mv AT gondwecliftonmuvwala assessmentoffactorsassociatedwithlinkagetocareamongstadultsaccessinghivservicesatbwailahospitallilongwedistrictmalawi