A comparison of HIV outpatient care in primary and secondary healthcare-level settings in Zimbabwe

• Published in: Public health action 2020-09, Vol.10 (3), p.92-96
• Main Authors: McHugh, G., Brunskill, A., Dauya, E., Bandason, T., Bwakura, T., Duri, C., Munyati, S., Ferrand, R. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comorbidities; Decentralisation; Nurse-Led Care; Original; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 2220-8372; 2220-8372
• DOI: 10.5588/pha.20.0006

Setting: Decentralisation of HIV care to nurse-led primary care services is being implemented across low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Objective: To compare services offered to clients attending for HIV care at a physician-led and a nurse-led service in Harare, Zimbabwe.Design: A cross-sectional study was performed at Harare Central Hospital (HCH) and Budiriro Primary Care Clinic (PCC) from June to August 2018. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographics, HIV treatment and clinical history from clients attending for routine HIV care. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to evaluate for differences between groups for continuous variables. For categorical variables, the χ2 test was used.Results: The median age of the 404 participants recruited was 38 years (IQR 28-47); 69% were female. Viral suppression was comparable between sites (HCH, 70% vs. PCC, 80%; P = 0.07); however, screening for comorbidities such as cervical cancer screening (HCH, 61% vs. PCC, 41%; P = 0.001) and provision of referral services (HCH, 23% vs. PCC, 13%; P = 0.01) differed between sites.Conclusion: Efforts to improve service provision in primary care settings are needed to ensure equity for users of health services.