TY - JOUR
T1 - Community- and facility-based HIV testing interventions in northern Tanzania
T2 - Midterm results of Test & Treat Project
AU - Martelli, Giulia
AU - van Duffel, Lukas
AU - Kwezi, Edith Cosmas
AU - Cavallin, Francesco
AU - Salehe, Idd Amiri
AU - Torelli, Giovanni F.
AU - Putoto, Giovanni
AU - Hermans, Sabine
AU - de Wit, Tobias F. Rinke
AU - Pozniak, Anton
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Martelli et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2022/4/12
Y1 - 2022/4/12
N2 - Test & Treat Project offers universal HIV testing and access to antiretroviral treatment in Northern Tanzania. The current cross-sectional study provides midterm results on HIV testing and counseling activities through community outreaches and facility-based services. A total 255,329 HIV tests were performed: 198,451 (77.7%) during testing campaigns in the villages, 12,592 (4.9%) during special events outreach and 44,286 (17.4%) in the health facilities. Females represented 53.8% (23,809) among those tested in the health facilities, while males were the majority in the community (54.4%, 114,835). Over one third of tests (n = 104,605, 41%) were performed among first-time testers. The overall HIV positivity rate was 1.2%, ranging from 0.7% in the community to 3.8% in the health facilities and decreased over time. Using a multivariable analysis, a positive test result was associated with age ≥ 50 years (PR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.34), with female gender (PR 1.61, 95% CI 1.50 to 1.73), being tested in health facilities (PR 5.00, 95% CI 4.65 to 5.36) and for the first time (PR 1.86, 95% CI 1.73 to 2.00). The estimated proportion of PLHIV who knew their status of the project area increased by 28.6% (from 35.7% to 64.3%) and 11.1% (from 57.7% to 68.8%) in the project areas of Shinyanga and Simiyu regions respectively. Reaching the first UNAIDS 90 target by the end of this project seems possible. Future strategies should focus on improving PITC coverage, implementing more targeted testing modalities, together with current universal community-based approach.
AB - Test & Treat Project offers universal HIV testing and access to antiretroviral treatment in Northern Tanzania. The current cross-sectional study provides midterm results on HIV testing and counseling activities through community outreaches and facility-based services. A total 255,329 HIV tests were performed: 198,451 (77.7%) during testing campaigns in the villages, 12,592 (4.9%) during special events outreach and 44,286 (17.4%) in the health facilities. Females represented 53.8% (23,809) among those tested in the health facilities, while males were the majority in the community (54.4%, 114,835). Over one third of tests (n = 104,605, 41%) were performed among first-time testers. The overall HIV positivity rate was 1.2%, ranging from 0.7% in the community to 3.8% in the health facilities and decreased over time. Using a multivariable analysis, a positive test result was associated with age ≥ 50 years (PR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.34), with female gender (PR 1.61, 95% CI 1.50 to 1.73), being tested in health facilities (PR 5.00, 95% CI 4.65 to 5.36) and for the first time (PR 1.86, 95% CI 1.73 to 2.00). The estimated proportion of PLHIV who knew their status of the project area increased by 28.6% (from 35.7% to 64.3%) and 11.1% (from 57.7% to 68.8%) in the project areas of Shinyanga and Simiyu regions respectively. Reaching the first UNAIDS 90 target by the end of this project seems possible. Future strategies should focus on improving PITC coverage, implementing more targeted testing modalities, together with current universal community-based approach.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128158180&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266870
DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266870
M3 - Article
C2 - 35413074
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - 4 April
M1 - e0266870
ER -