| Funding for new research project on uptake of care and treatment services for women receiving PMTCT |
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Funding has been agreed for a research programme investigating referral and uptake of HIV care and treatment services among HIV-positive women identified through prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programme in Mwanza, Tanzania. This project is being carried out by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the National Institute for Medical Research, Mwanza, Tanzania.
In Africa more than 70% of pregnant women attend antenatal care (ANC) services at least once during pregnancy 1. ANC clinics are recognized as an excellent entry point for the provision of health interventions to pregnant women, particularly prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and syphilis screening and treatment. Currently little is known about whether HIV-positive pregnant women, identified through PMTCT, receive proper counselling and timely referrals to HIV CTCs for their own care and treatment before and after delivery, whether they attend these services and whether they receive adequate assessment of their infection, including a CD4 count pre-delivery. This study will also gather information on what factors contribute to CTC non-attendance before delivery. If this study demonstrates that there are significant challenges to pregnant women accessing CTC then a larger prospective study will be conducted, recruiting women at delivery to determine if access to adult care and treatment programmes is more feasible and acceptable after delivery. |