HIV Viral Suppression among People Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in Haut-Katanga and Kinshasa Provinces of Democratic Republic of Congo

• Published in: Healthcare (Basel) 2021-12, Vol.10 (1), p.69
• Main Authors: Shah, Gulzar H, Maluantesa, Lievain, Etheredge, Gina D, Waterfield, Kristie C, Ikhile, Osaremhen, Beni, Roger, Engetele, Elodie, Mulenga, Astrid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Age; AIDS; Antiretroviral drugs; antiretroviral therapy; Democratic Republic of Congo; Disease control; Disease prevention; Gender; HIV; HIV viral load suppression; Human immunodeficiency virus; Patients; TB/HIV co-infection; Variables; Variance analysis; WHO clinical stages
• ISSN: 2227-9032; 2227-9032
• DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10010069

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and less-than-optimal care of people living with HIV (PLHIV) continue to challenge public health and clinical care organizations in the communities that are most impacted by HIV. In the era of evidence-based public health, it is imperative to monitor viral load (VL) in PLHIV according to global and national guidelines and assess the factors associated with variation in VL levels. This study had two objectives-(a) to describe the levels of HIV VL in persons on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and (b) to analyze the significance of variation in VL by patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, outcomes of HIV care, and geographic characteristics of HIV care facilities. The study population for this quantitative study was 49,460 PLHIV in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) receiving ART from 241 CDC-funded HIV/AIDS clinics in the Haut-Katanga and Kinshasa provinces of the DRC. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, including Tamhane's T2 test for pairwise comparisons using de-identified data on all patients enrolled in the system by the time the data were extracted for this study by the HIV programs in May 2019. The VL was undetectable (