Towards the third 90: improving viral load testing with a simple quality improvement program in health facilities in Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Viral load (VL) scale-up efforts have largely focused on laboratory systems, with less attention on facility-level strengthening of staff who facilitate VL testing. To address this gap we implemented a quality improvement (QI) program at 13 health facilities in central and southern Malawi.

Methods

QI program tools focused on patient and provider VL knowledge and clarification of site-level roles and responsibilities, including the designation of a VL 'focal person' to oversee all VL activities. T-tests were used to compare differences in VL testing before (November 2016-April 2017) and after (May 2017-November 2017) the intervention.

Results

The mean number of VL tests performed significantly increased after implementation of the QI program. Overall there w

SUBMITTER: Hubbard J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6676971 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature