Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 1;78(2):183-192.
doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000001661.

A Social Network Analysis of HIV Treatment Partners and Patient Viral Suppression in Botswana

Laura M Bogart  1 , Mosepele Mosepele  2   3 , Nthabiseng Phaladze  4 , Bright Lekoko  2 , David J Klein  1 , Sarah MacCarthy  1 , Harold D Green Jr  1   5
Affiliations

A Social Network Analysis of HIV Treatment Partners and Patient Viral Suppression in Botswana

Laura M Bogart et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. .

Abstract

Objective: Many national HIV guidelines recommend that health care providers encourage patients to identify a treatment partner from their social network to support antiretroviral therapy adherence. This study examined associations of patient and treatment partner characteristics with patient viral suppression in Botswana.

Design: One hundred thirty-one patients [67 (51.1%) virally suppressed and 64 (48.9%) not suppressed] and their treatment partners were recruited for cross-sectional interviews from one HIV clinic.

Methods: Participants completed surveys assessing social network, sociodemographic, and psychosocial characteristics. Open-ended questions explored treatment partner relationship quality.

Results: Multivariate logistic regressions indicated a higher likelihood of viral suppression among patients who reported greater average emotional closeness to their network members [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 3.8 (1.3 to 11.5), P = 0.02] and whose treatment partners were spouses/partners [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 2.6 (1.0 to 6.7), P = 0.04]. Qualitative analyses indicated that treatment partners of suppressed patients provided both medical and nonmedical support, whereas treatment partners of unsuppressed patients focused mainly on adherence reminders and appointment accompaniment. Treatment partners, especially of unsuppressed patients, requested ongoing training and counseling skills.

Conclusions: Additional research is needed to further explore effective characteristics of treatment partners to inform HIV treatment guidelines. Standard training for treatment partners could include medical-related information and counseling education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of Participant Social Network Diagrams. Figure 1a shows the diagram of a patient who is not virally suppressed and Figure 1b shows the diagram of a patient who is virally suppressed. Note that patients themselves are not depicted in the diagrams.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNAIDS. Country factsheets: Botswana 2016. 2016 Available at: http://www.unAIDS.org/en/regionscountries/countries/botswana.
    1. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Global AIDS update. Geneva, Switzerland: 2017. Ending AIDS: Progress towards the 90-90-90 targets.
    1. Wouters E, Van Damme W, Van Rensburg D, et al. Impact of community-based support services on antiretroviral treatment programme delivery and outcomes in resource-limited countries: A synthetic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2012;12(1):194. - PMC - PubMed
    1. National Drug and Theraputics Policy Advisory Committee, The AIDS and TB Directorate, Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, et al. Guidelines for antiretroviral therapy in Zimbabwe. Harare, Zimbabwe: 2013.
    1. Malawi Ministry of Health. Clinical management of HIV in children and adults. 2011.

Publication types

Substances