David Bukusi

Assisted partner services for HIV in Kenya: a cluster randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Assisted partner services for index patients with HIV infections involves elicitation of information about sex partners and contacting them to ensure that they test for HIV and link to care. Assisted partner services are not widely available in Africa. We aimed to establish whether or not assisted partner services increase HIV testing, diagnoses, and linkage to care among sex partners of people with HIV infections in Kenya. METHODS In this cluster randomised controlled trial, we recruited non-pregnant adults aged at least 18 years with newly or recently diagnosed HIV without a recent history of intimate partner violence who had not yet or had only recently linked to HIV care from 18 HIV testing services clinics in Kenya. Consenting sites in Kenya were randomly assigned (1:1) by the study statistician (restricted randomisation; balanced distribution in terms of county and proximity to a city) to immediate versus delayed assisted partner services. Primary outcomes were the number of partners tested for HIV, the number who tested HIV positive, and the number enrolled in HIV care, in those who were interviewed at 6 week follow-up. Participants within each cluster were masked to treatment allocation because participants within each cluster received the same intervention. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01616420. FINDINGS Between Aug 12, 2013, and Aug 31, 2015, we randomly allocated 18 clusters to immediate and delayed HIV assisted partner services (nine in each group), enrolling 1305 participants: 625 (48%) in the immediate group and 680 (52%) in the delayed group. 6 weeks after enrolment of index patients, 392 (67%) of 586 partners had tested for HIV in the immediate group and 85 (13%) of 680 had tested in the delayed group (incidence rate ratio 4·8, 95% CI 3·7-6·4). 136 (23%) partners had new HIV diagnoses in the immediate group compared with 28 (4%) in the delayed group (5·0, 3·2-7·9) and 88 (15%) versus 19 (3%) were newly enrolled in care (4·4, 2·6-7·4). Assisted partner services did not increase intimate partner violence (one intimate partner violence event related to partner notification or study procedures occurred in each group). INTERPRETATION Assisted partner services are safe and increase HIV testing and case-finding; implementation at the population level could enhance linkage to care and antiretroviral therapy initiation and substantially decrease HIV transmission. FUNDING National Institutes of Health.

Assisted partner notification services to augment HIV testing and linkage to care in Kenya: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial

BackgroundHIV case-finding and linkage to care are critical for control of HIV transmission. In Kenya, >50% of seropositive individuals are unaware of their status. Assisted partner notification is a public health strategy that provides HIV testing to individuals with sexual exposure to HIV and are at risk of infection and disease. This parallel, cluster-randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility of implementing HIV assisted partner notification services at HIV testing sites (clusters) in Kenya.Methods/designEighteen sites were selected among health facilities in Kenya with well-established, high-volume HIV testing programs, to reflect diverse communities and health-care settings. Restricted randomization was used to balance site characteristics between study arms (n = 9 per arm). Sixty individuals testing HIV positive (‘index partners’) will be enrolled per site (inclusion criteria: ≥18 years, positive HIV test at a study site, willing to disclose sexual partners, and never enrolled for HIV care; exclusion criteria: pregnancy or high risk of intimate partner violence). Index partners provide names and contact information for all sexual partners in the past 3 years. At intervention sites, study staff immediately contact sexual partners to notify them of exposure, offer HIV testing, and link to care if HIV seropositive. At control sites, passive partner referral is performed according to national guidelines, and assisted partner notification is delayed by 6 weeks. Primary outcomes, assessed 6 weeks after index partner enrollment and analyzed at the cluster level, are the number of partners accepting HIV testing and number of HIV infections diagnosed and linked to care per index partner. Secondary outcomes are the incremental cost-effectiveness of partner notification and the costs of identifying >1 partner per index case. Participants are closely monitored for adverse outcomes, particularly intimate partner violence. The study is unblinded due to practical limitations.DiscussionThis rigorously designed trial will inform policy decisions regarding implementation of HIV partner notification services in Kenya, with possible application to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Examination of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in diverse settings will enable targeted application and define best practices.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01616420.

Continuous quality improvement intervention for adolescent and young adult HIV testing services in Kenya improves HIV knowledge

Objectives: To determine whether continuous quality improvement (CQI) improves quality of HIV testing services for adolescents and young adults (AYA). Design: CQI was introduced at two HIV testing settings: Youth Centre and Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Center, at a national referral hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: Primary outcomes were AYA satisfaction with HIV testing services, intent to return, and accurate HIV prevention and transmission knowledge. Healthcare worker (HCW) satisfaction assessed staff morale. T tests and interrupted time series analysis using Prais–Winsten regression and generalized estimating equations accounting for temporal trends and autocorrelation were conducted. Results: There were 172 AYA (Youth Centre = 109, VCT = 63) during 6 baseline weeks and 702 (Youth Centre = 454, VCT = 248) during 24 intervention weeks. CQI was associated with an immediate increase in the proportion of AYA with accurate knowledge of HIV transmission at Youth Centre: 18 vs. 63% [adjusted risk difference (aRD) 0.42,95% confidence interval (CI) 0.21 to 0.63], and a trend at VCT: 38 vs. 72% (aRD 0.30, 95% CI −0.04 to 0.63). CQI was associated with an increase in the proportion of AYA with accurate HIV prevention knowledge in VCT: 46 vs. 61% (aRD 0.39, 95% CI 0.02–0.76), but not Youth Centre (P = 0.759). In VCT, CQI showed a trend towards increased intent to retest (4.0 vs. 4.3; aRD 0.78, 95% CI −0.11 to 1.67), but not at Youth Centre (P = 0.19). CQI was not associated with changes in AYA satisfaction, which was high during baseline and intervention at both clinics (P = 0.384, P = 0.755). HCW satisfaction remained high during intervention and baseline (P = 0.746). Conclusion: CQI improved AYA knowledge and did not negatively impact HCW satisfaction. Quality improvement interventions may be useful to improve adolescent-friendly service delivery.

“At our age, we would like to do things the way we want: ” a qualitative study of adolescent HIV testing services in Kenya

Objectives: Adolescents in Africa have low HIV testing rates. Better understanding of adolescent, provider, and caregiver experiences in high-burden countries such as Kenya could improve adolescent HIV testing programs. Design: We conducted 16 qualitative interviews with HIV-positive and HIV-negative adolescents (13–18 years) and six focus group discussions with Healthcare workers (HCWs) and caregivers of adolescents in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were recorded and transcribed. Analysis employed a modified constant comparative approach to triangulate findings and identify themes influencing testing experiences and practices. Results: All groups identified that supportive interactions during testing were essential to the adolescents positive testing experience. HCWs were a primary source of support during testing. HCWs who acted respectful and informed helped adolescents accept results, link to care, or return for repeat testing, whereas HCWs who acted dismissive or judgmental discouraged adolescent testing. Caregivers universally supported adolescent testing, including testing with the adolescent to demonstrate support. Caregivers relied on HCWs to inform and encourage adolescents. Although peers played less significant roles during testing, all groups agreed that school-based outreach could increase peer demand and counteract stigma. All groups recognized tensions around adolescent autonomy in the absence of clear consent guidelines. Adolescents valued support people during testing but wanted autonomy over testing and disclosure decisions. HCWs felt pressured to defer consent to caregivers. Caregivers wanted to know results regardless of adolescents’ wishes. Conclusion: Findings indicate that strengthening HCW, caregiver, and peer capacities to support adolescents while respecting their autonomy may facilitate attaining ‘90-90-90’ targets for adolescents.

Is Sexual Abuse a Part of War? A 4-Year Retrospective Study on Cases of Sexual Abuse at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya

The harmful effects of sexual abuse are long lasting. Sexual abuse when associated with violence is likely to impact negatively on the life of the victim. Anecdotal reports indicate that there was an increase in the number of cases of sexual violence following the 2007 post election conflict and violence in Kenya. Although such increases in sexual abuse are common during war or conflict periods the above reports have not been confirmed through research evidence. The purpose of the current study is to establish the trend in numbers of reported cases of sexual abuse at Kenyatta National Hospital over a 4-year period (2006-2009). Data on sexually abused persons for the year 2006-2009 was retrieved from the hospitals record. A researcher designed questionnaire was used to collect relevant data from the completed Post Rape Care (PRC) form. The PRC-Ministry of Health no. 363 (MOH363) form is mandatorily completed by the physician attending the sexually abused patient. There was an increase in the number of cases of sexual abuse reported in 2007 election year in Kenya, with a statistically significant increase in the sexually abused male cases. Sexual crime is more prevalent when there is war or conflict.

HIV partner services in Kenya: a cost and budget impact analysis study

BackgroundThe elicitation of contact information, notification and testing of sex partners of HIV infected patients (aPS), is an effective HIV testing strategy in low-income settings but may not necessarily be affordable. We applied WHO guidelines and the International Society for Pharmaco-economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) guidelines to conduct cost and budget impact analyses, respectively, of aPS compared to current practice of HIV testing services (HTS) in Kisumu County, Kenya.MethodsUsing study data and time motion studies, we constructed an Excel-based tool to estimate costs and the budget impact of aPS. Cost data were collected from selected facilities in Kisumu County. We report the annual total and unit costs of HTS, incremental total and unit costs for aPS, and the budget impact of scaling up aPS over a 5-year horizon. We also considered a task-shifted scenario that used community health workers (CHWs) rather than facility based health workers and conducted sensitivity analyses assuming different rates of scale up of aPS.ResultsThe average unit costs for HIV testing among HIV-infected index clients was US

Influence and involvement of support people in adolescent and young adult HIV testing

25.36 per client and US

Assisted partner notification services are cost-effective for decreasing HIV burden in western Kenya: A mathematical modeling analysis

17.86 per client using nurses and CHWs, respectively. The average incremental costs for providing enhanced aPS in Kisumu County were US

Enhancing data security in open data kit as an mHealth application

1,092,161 and US

Surveillance of HIV assisted partner services using routine health information systems in Kenya

753,547 per year, using nurses and CHWs, respectively. The average incremental cost of scaling up aPS over a five period was 45% higher when using nurses compared to using CHWs (US