Acceptability of a home-based antiretroviral therapy delivery model among HIV patients in Lusaka district

Master of Public Health - MPHBACKGROUND: The Zambian anti-retroviral therapy (ART) program has successfully enrolled over 770, 000 people living with HIV (PLWH), out of a population of 1.2 million PLWH. This tremendous success has overburdened the clinic system resulting in many challenges for both patients and healthcare staff. To promote ART initiation, adherence, and retention and at the same time relieve pressure on the health system, a home-based ART delivery model (HBM) was piloted in two urban communities of Lusaka. This study explored levels of acceptability of the model and factors influencing this among PLWH living in the two communities. Acceptability was defined as degree of fit between the patient’s expectations and circumstances and the home-based delivery model of ART, taking into consideration all the contextual elements surrounding the patient. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study of HBM acceptability was nested within a clusterrandomized trial comparing outcomes in patients receiving HBM intervention compared to the standard of care in two communities in Lusaka, Zambia. Using an exploratory qualitative study design and a purposive sampling technique, qualitative data were collected using observations of HBM delivery (n=12), in-depth interviews with PLWH (n=15) and Focus Group Discussions with a cadre of community health workers called community HIV care providers (CHiPs) administering the HBM (n=2). Data were managed and coded using Atlas.ti 7 and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Overall, the HBM was found to be a good fit with the lives and expectations of PLWH and therefore highly acceptable to them. This acceptability was influenced by a combination of cross cutting clinic based, program design and socio-economic factors that have been categorized into push and pull factors. Push factors were those related to the challenges that PLWH faced when accessing ART from the clinic and included congestion, long waiting times, confidentiality breaches and stigma arising from attending a dedicated clinic. These factors resulted in considerable direct and indirect livelihood opportunity costs. The HBM as an alternative had a number of ‘pull factors’. PLHW described services offered through the model as convenient, confidential, trusted, personalized, less stigmatizing, comprehensive, client centred, responsive, and respectful. Disclosure of client’s HIV status to people they lived with was found to be critical for the acceptability of the model. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The HBM is highly acceptable and this acceptability is influenced by a combination of crosscutting push and pull factors. Key to the HBM’s acceptability was its delivery design that was responsive to individual patient needs and the steps CHiPs took to minimize the ever-present threat of disclosure and stigma. Future adoption and scaling up of HBM should recognize the importance of these design features