• Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Natural Element
  • Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Natural Element
No Result
View All Result

NIMH » Breaking Down Barriers to HIV Medication Access

March 16, 2023


March 13, 2023
• Research Highlight

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has provided a lifesaving advance for people with HIV. The medication is thought to have prevented almost 10 million deaths associated with HIV worldwide. Daily ART pill regimens must be taken consistently for the best effect, and unfortunately, there are barriers to routinely accessing and using this medication in many places. In a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and recently published in The Lancet HIV, researchers investigated whether home delivery of ART for a modest fee could help improve ART access and use, finding it resulted in increased viral suppression in participants compared with clinic-based medication distribution.

South Africa has one of the highest numbers of people with HIV of any country in the world. Although 72% of people with HIV in South Africa take ART, only 66% show viral suppression, and men show notably lower rates of viral suppression compared to women (58% vs. 72%). This may be due, in part, to barriers men experience when accessing medical care and ART. In many rural areas, ART is not readily available. Men often report that barriers to ART use include the time it takes to travel to distant clinics, as well as bottlenecks at the clinics themselves. While medication delivery to non-clinic pick-up points in community settings is rising, drop-off locations at non-clinics are primarily limited to urban areas.

In the current study, Ruanne Barnabas, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues were interested in whether a fee-based home delivery service for ART medication could help remove barriers to ART access and increase medication uptake and viral suppression. The study was conducted in rural and semi-urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The population prevalence of HIV in these areas is high (36%). These communities also experience high unemployment, low per-capita income, and substantial income inequality, with many people making less than 2 U.S. dollars a day in income.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive ART initiation, monitoring, and resupply through a fee-based delivery service (81 participants) or to receive these same services in a standard clinic setting (74 participants). The one-time cost for the fee-based service was tiered based on income and equivalent to about 2, 4, or 6 U.S. Dollars. There was no charge for the participants assigned to standard clinic-based services. At the end of the 12-month study period, participants’ HIV plasma viral load was assessed. Participants were also asked about their experiences accessing care, including the acceptability of fee-based delivery or barriers to visiting the clinic locations.

The researchers found that ART home delivery resulted in increased viral suppression compared to clinic-based ART access among men (84% vs. 64%) and women (92% vs. 84%).

The difference in viral suppression was statistically significant for men but not women. All the participants who took part in the fee-based delivery service reported that they felt the fee was reasonable and would be willing to continue to pay for such a service. Additionally, they said that they felt the service helped them remember to take their medication, and they would recommend the service to others.

The researchers note that the study was conducted in a high-HIV prevalence setting, and the findings may not transfer to settings where virus prevalence is low. Future directions of this research include additional studies to better understand the impact of fee-based delivery services on women with HIV, studies to investigate the cost-effectiveness of ART delivery services, and studies testing the impact of fee-based delivery services on children and adolescents with HIV—a priority group for treatment.

While fee-based delivery service resulted in almost 90% of participants achieving viral suppression, more work still needs to be done to tackle barriers to care for those who still experience challenges accessing and maintaining care treatment.

Reference

Barnabas, R. V., Szpiro, A. A., Ntinga, X., Mugambi, M. L., van Rooyen, H., Bruce, A., Joseph, P., Ngubane, T., Krows, M. L., Schaafsma, T. T., Zhao, T., Tanser, F., Baeten, J. M., Celum, C., van Heerden, A., & Deliver Health Study Team (2022). Fee for home delivery and monitoring of antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection compared with standard clinic-based services in South Africa: A randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. HIV, 9 (12), e848–e856. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(22)00254-5

Grants

MH115770



Source link

Share120Tweet75Share30

Related Posts

Ae there ALWAYS red flags in relationships?
Mental Health

Ae there ALWAYS red flags in relationships?

March 20, 2023

Ae there ALWAYS red flags in relationships? Source link

You Can Earn $135,000 As An Online Therapist With BetterHelp
Mental Health

You Can Earn $135,000 As An Online Therapist With BetterHelp

March 20, 2023

Affiliate link notice: As an affiliate of BetterHelp and other third-party vendors, We may receive compensation if you make a purchase using the links provided on this page. For more information, visit our disclosure page.Last Updated on March 19,...

Your Guide for Communicating with Narcissists
Mental Health

Your Guide for Communicating with Narcissists

March 19, 2023

Your Guide for Communicating with Narcissists Source link

What personality type are covert narcissists attracted to?
Mental Health

What personality type are covert narcissists attracted to?

March 18, 2023

What personality type are covert narcissists attracted to? Source link

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Anxiety (522)
  • Depression (152)
  • Meditation (246)
  • Mental Health (569)
  • Mental Illness (385)
  • Sound Therapy (2)
  • Stress Disorders (273)

Popular

  • Stress Level Of Americans Is Rising Rapidly In 2022, New Study Finds

    Stress Level Of Americans Is Rising Rapidly In 2022, New Study Finds

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • How Stress Affects Your Vision

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • 4 signs of burnout in your teen– and how to help them through it

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Helpful Resources During Suicide Prevention Month 2022 – My Brain’s Not Broken

    302 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Anxiety Success Stories – Revealing Podcast Interview With Marcos Codas

    301 shares
    Share 120 Tweet 75

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2022 Naturalele.com | All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Mental Health
  • Depression
  • Meditation
  • Stress Disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Mental Illness
  • Contact Us
What Are Cookies
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT