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
. 2019 Jun 27;14(6):e0218774.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218774. eCollection 2019.

Assessing treatment outcomes among peer educators living with HIV in Kenya

Joram Luke Sunguti  1 , Appolinaire Tiam  2 , Rose Masaba  1 , Michael Waweru  1 , Judith Kose  2 , Justine Odionyi  1 , Lucy Matu  1 , Eliud Mwangi  1
Affiliations

Assessing treatment outcomes among peer educators living with HIV in Kenya

Joram Luke Sunguti et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: People living with HIV (PLHIV) often face barriers in accessing quality and comprehensive HIV care, including stigma and discrimination, which results in poor retention and viral non-suppression. Peer-led interventions can help address these barriers. In Kenya, peer educators (PEs) are PLHIV who support other PLHIV to adhere to clinic schedules and antiretroviral medication uptake. In spite of their status as role models and their key role in supporting clients receiving HIV care and treatment, little is known about the characteristics and treatment outcomes of PEs themselves, specifically viral suppression.

Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of program data on treatment outcomes of PEs engaged in active patient support activities between October 2010 and January 2017. All eligible PEs from 140 health facilities located in 23 counties of Kenya were included in the study. Data from 230 PEs were abstracted from the electronic medical records, patient files, and registers between June and August 2017. Study variables included key sociodemographic characteristics (sex, marital status, and age), duration on antiretroviral therapy (ART), WHO clinical staging, baseline CD4 count, current antiretroviral regimen and uptake of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT). The outcome variable was viral suppression, defined as a viral load <1000 copies/ml.

Results: Overall, 173/230 (75%) of the PEs were female, 144/230 (63%) were married, and median age (LQ, UQ) was 38.5 (33.0, 42.0) years. The PEs had been on ART for a median (LQ, UQ) duration of 76.0 (37.0, 105.0) months. Six months IPT completion was high at 97%. Of the 222 (97%) PEs with an up-to-date viral load taken within the last one year, 211 (95%) were virally suppressed.

Conclusion: Our study showed that peer educators actively engaged in patient support activities have achieved high viral suppression rates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Participant enrollment into the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kenya Ministry of Health National AIDS and STI Control Program (NASCOP). Guidelines on Use of Antiretroviral Drugs for Treating and Preventing HIV Infection in Kenya. Nairobi: NASCOP; 2016. Available from: https://aidsfree.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/kenya_art_2016.pdf
    1. Cohen MS, Chen YQ, McCauley M, Gamble T, Hosseinipour MC, Kumarasamy N, et al. Prevention of HIV-1 infection with early antiretroviral therapy. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(6):493–505. 10.1056/NEJMoa1105243 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Günthard HF, Saag MS, Benson CA, Del Rio C, Eron JJ, Gallant JE, et al. Antiretroviral drugs for treatment and prevention of HIV infection in adults: 2016 recommendations of the International Antiviral Society–USA panel. JAMA. 2016;316(2):191–210. 10.1001/jama.2016.8900 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ministry of Health National AIDS Control Council (NACC). Kenya AIDS Response Progress Report 2016. Nairobi: NACC; 2016. Available from: http://nacc.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Kenya-AIDS-Progress-Report_...
    1. Bulage L, Ssewanyana I, Nankabirwa V, Nsubuga F, Kihembo C, Pande G, et al. Factors associated with virological non-suppression among HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy in Uganda, August 2014–July 2015. BMC Infect Dis. 2017;17(1):326 10.1186/s12879-017-2428-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances