Utilization of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) Services Among Pregnant Women in HIV Care in Uganda
A 24-Month Cohort of Women from Pre-Conception to Post-Delivery
Published in: BMC Research Notes, Volume 11 (2018), Page 187. doi:10.1186/s13104-018-3304-y
Posted on RAND.org on May 03, 2018
Objective
We assessed the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in a cohort of HIV infected women in care at The AIDS Support Organization Jinja and Kampala in Uganda, who were trying to conceive, over a period of 24 months, to inform the strengthening of PMTCT service access for women in care.
Results
Of the 299 women 127 (42.5%) reported at least one pregnancy within 24 months; 61 women (48.0%) delivered a live child. Of the 55 who had a live birth at the first pregnancy, 54 (98.2%) used antenatal care (ANC) starting at 15.5 weeks of gestation on average and 47/49 (95.9%) delivered at a health facility. Excluding miscarriages, 54 (98.2%) received ARVs during pregnancy. Of the 49 live births with post-delivery data, 37 (75.5%) tested the infant for HIV. 79 of the 127 (68.7%) spoke with providers about childbearing. Communication with providers was associated with ANC use (65.8% vs. 41.7%; p = .015). Despite the high rate of miscarriages and late ANC start, this study shows very high uptake of PMTCT services among PLHIV in care and their infants. Improved provider-client communication could enhance ANC attendance and PMTCT outcomes among HIV infected women in care.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.