Background: Improving the outcomes of HIV/AIDS treatment programs in resource-limited settings requires successful linkage of patients testing positive for HIV to pre–antiretroviral therapy (ART) care and retention in pre-ART care until ART initiation. We conducted a systematic review of pre-ART retention in care in Africa. Methods and Findings: We searched PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, conference abstracts, and reference lists for reports on the proportion of adult patients retained between any two points between testing positive for HIV and initiating ART in sub-Saharan African HIV/AIDS care programs. Results were categorized as Stage 1 (from HIV testing to receipt of CD4 count results or clinical staging), Stage 2 (from staging to ART eligibility), or Stage 3 (from ART eligibility to ART initiation). Medians (ranges) were reported for the proportions of patients retained in each stage. We identified 28 eligible studies. The median proportion retained in Stage 1 was 59% (35%–88%); Stage 2, 46% (31%–95%); and Stage 3, 68% (14%–84%). Most studies reported on only one stage; none followed a cohort of patients through all three stages. Enrollment criteria, terminology, end points, follow-up, and outcomes varied widely and were often poorly defined, making aggregation of results difficult. Synthesis of findings from multiple studies suggests that fewer than one-third of patients testing positive for HIV and not yet eligible for ART when diagnosed are retained continuously in care, though this estimate should be regarded with caution because of review limitations. Conclusions: Studies of retention in pre-ART care report substantial loss of patients at every step, starting with patients who do not return for their initial CD4 count results and ending with those who do not initiate ART despite eligibility. Better health information systems that allow patients to be tracked between service delivery points are needed to properly evaluate pre-ART loss to care, and researchers should attempt to standardize the terminology, definitions, and time periods reported. Please see later in the article for the Editors’ Summary.

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Retention in HIV Care between Testing and Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

Is there any evidence that e-health—using information technology to manage patient care—can have a positive impact in developing countries? Our systematic review of evaluations of e-health implementations in developing countries found that systems that improve communication between institutions, assist in ordering and managing medications, and help monitor and detect patients who might abandon care show promise. Evaluations of personal digital assistants and mobile devices convincingly demonstrate that such devices can be very effective in improving data collection time and quality. Donors and funders should require and sponsor outside evaluations to ensure that future e-health investments are well-targeted.

E-Health Technologies Show Promise In Developing Countries

Race and Health Outcomes: Historical Perspectives and Implications for Aphasia Outcomes • 2000 – Congress passed the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 (Public Law 106‐525) • Authorized the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) landmark study “Unequal Treatment” documenting longstanding disparities in healthcare across a variety of settings and health conditions. • The report also noted that racial minorities were far less likely to receive routine medical procedures, were more likely to experience lower quality healthcare services, but more likely to receive lower limb amputations and other less desirable treatment options for diabetes and other conditions.

Unequal Treatment—Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare

Summary: With an estimated 9.4 million new cases globally, tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major public health concern. Eighty percent of all cases worldwide occur in 22 high-burden, mainly resource-poor settings. This devastating impact of tuberculosis on vulnerable populations is also driven by its deadly synergy with HIV. Therefore, building capacity and enhancing universal access to rapid and accurate laboratory diagnostics are necessary to control TB and HIV-TB coinfections in resource-limited countries. The present review describes several new and established methods as well as the issues and challenges associated with implementing quality tuberculosis laboratory services in such countries. Recently, the WHO has endorsed some of these novel methods, and they have been made available at discounted prices for procurement by the public health sector of high-burden countries. In addition, international and national laboratory partners and donors are currently evaluating other new diagnostics that will allow further and more rapid testing in point-of-care settings. While some techniques are simple, others have complex requirements, and therefore, it is important to carefully determine how to link these new tests and incorporate them within a country's national diagnostic algorithm. Finally, the successful implementation of these methods is dependent on key partnerships in the international laboratory community and ensuring that adequate quality assurance programs are inherent in each country's laboratory network.

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Laboratory Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Resource-Poor Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), once thought to be confined primarily to industrialized nations, has emerged as a major health threat in developing countries. Cardiovascular disease now accounts for nearly 30 percent of deaths in low and middle income countries each year, and is accompanied by significant economic repercussions. Yet most governments, global health institutions, and development agencies have largely overlooked CVD as they have invested in health in developing countries. Recognizing the gap between the compelling evidence of the global CVD burden and the investment needed to prevent and control CVD, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) turned to the IOM for advice on how to catalyze change. In this report, the IOM recommends that the NHLBI, development agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and governments work toward two essential goals: * creating environments that promote heart healthy lifestyle choices and help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and * building public health infrastructure and health systems with the capacity to implement programs that will effectively detect and reduce risk and manage CVD. To meet these goals, the IOM recommends several steps, including improving cooperation and collaboration; implementing effective and feasible strategies; and informing efforts through research and health surveillance. Without better efforts to promote cardiovascular health, global health as a whole will be undermined.

Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World: A Critical Challenge to Achieve Global Health

Background: The scale-up of treatment for HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in developing countries requires a long-term relationship with the patient, accurate and accessible records of each patient’s history, and methods to track his/her progress. Recent studies have shown up to 24% loss to follow-up of HIV patients in Africa during treatment and many patients not being started on treatment at all. Some programs for prevention of maternal–child transmission have more than 80% loss to follow-up of babies born to HIV-positive mothers. These patients are at great risk of developing drug resistance or dying if their antiretroviral therapy is interrupted. Similar problems have been found in the scale-up of MDR-TB treatment.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the role of medical information systems in tracking patients with HIV or MDR-TB, ensuring they are promptly started on high quality care, and reducing loss to follow-up.
Methods: A literature search was conducted starting from a previous review and using Medline and Google Scholar. Due to the nature of this work and the relative lack of published articles to date, the authors also relied on personal knowledge and experience of systems in use and their own assessments of systems.
Results: Functionality for tracking patients and detecting those lost to follow-up is described in six HIV and MDR-TB treatment projects in Africa and Latin America. Preliminary data show benefits in tracking patients who have not been prescribed appropriate drugs, those who fail to return for follow-up, and those who do not have medications picked up for them by health care workers. There were also benefits seen in providing access to key laboratory data and in using this data to improve the timeliness and quality of care. Follow-up was typically achieved by a combination of reports from information systems along with teams of community health care workers. New technologies such as low-cost satellite Internet access, personal digital assistants, and cell phones are helping to expand the reach of these systems.
Conclusions: Effective information systems in developing countries are a recent innovation but will need to play an increasing role in supporting and monitoring HIV and MDR-TB projects as they scale up from thousands to hundreds of thousands of patients. A particular focus should be placed on tracking patients from initial diagnosis to initiation of effective treatment and then monitoring them for treatment breaks or loss to follow-up. More quantitative evaluations need to be performed on the impact of electronic information systems on tracking patients. [J Med Internet Res 2007;9(4):e29]

Information systems for patient follow-up and chronic management of HIV and tuberculosis: a life-saving technology in resource-poor areas.

Public health professionals’ functions are rapidly expanding beyond their countries’ borders. Many academic centers are recognizing the importance of global health and are creating programs to train students to meet this growing demand. Global health centers and institutes also are being created to focus on the research and programmatic efforts needed to understand the burden of disease worldwide, as well as the financial, political, medical, policy, workforce, and infrastructure issues surrounding any solutions. Due to this emerging interest by the public health community, we need to understand where the intersection between global health and informatics occurs. For many years, the promise of what technology can do to alleviate suffering and support disease surveillance and other public health activities took precedence over understanding the environment in which the technology has to function. People and their participation in the implementation of the technological solution are critical for success. In resource-poor environments, the deployment of technological solutions faces other challenges for success. Lack of stable electrical power, availability of Internet connections, and a workforce that can support the information technology remain barriers to successful implementation. Yet, through experiences in the implementation of information technology as supported by international donors and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, lessons are being learned to move forward towards the benefits that global health informatics can bring.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-41215-9_25.pdf

Gerry Douglas

Papers

Information systems for patient follow-up and chronic management of HIV and tuberculosis: a life-saving technology in resource-poor areas.

Perspectives on Global Public Health Informatics