Implementation and evaluation of a Project ECHO telementoring program for the Namibian HIV workforce.

BACKGROUND: The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) piloted the first HIV Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) in Africa at 10 clinical sites between 2015 and 2016. Goals of Project ECHO implementation included strengthening clinical capacity, improving professional satisfaction, and reducing isolation while addressing HIV service challenges during decentralization of antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: MoHSS conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the pilot. Methods included pre/post program assessments of healthcare worker knowledge, self-efficacy, and professional satisfaction; assessment of continuing professional development (CPD) credit acquisition; and focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Analysis compared the differences between pre/post scores descriptively. Qualitative transcripts were analyzed to extract themes and representative quotes. RESULTS: Knowledge of clinical HIV improved 17.8% overall (95% confidence interval 12.2-23.5%) and 22.3% (95% confidence interval 13.2-31.5%) for nurses. Professional satisfaction increased 30 percentage points. Most participants experienced reduced professional isolation (66%) and improved CPD credit access (57%). Qualitative findings reinforced quantitative results. Following the pilot, the Namibia MoHSS Project ECHO expanded to over 40 clinical sites by May 2019 serving more than 140 000 people living with HIV. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to other Project ECHO evaluation results in the United States of America, Namibia's Project ECHO led to the development of ongoing virtual communities of practice. The evaluation demonstrated the ability of the Namibia HIV Project ECHO to improve healthcare worker knowledge and satisfaction and decrease professional isolation.

Assessment of the nevirapine safety signal using data from the national antiretroviral dispensing database: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials showed a higher risk of skin- and liver- related adverse reactions when NVP-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) was initiated in female and male patients with baseline CD4 cell counts ≥250 and ≥400, respectively. Some studies reported no difference in risk between the high and low CD4 count groups. Consequently, the use of NVP-based ART in all patients with a CD4 cell count <350, was recommended. In 2011, the Pharmacovigilance Centre detected an increase in reports of grade III and IV reactions. The center was required to determine if there was an increase in NVP-related reactions. METHODS: Automated dispensing records from January 2008 to November 2011 were accessed from the National Antiretroviral Dispensing Database (NDB). Records of patients who were initiated on NVP-based ART were selected, and records showing a replacement of NVP with protease inhibitor (PI) were identified. The proportions of grade III and IV reactions were calculated per quarter, and Odds Ratios (OR) were calculated, with the confidence interval set at 95 % and a p-value of <0.05. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2011 a total of 84,741 patients were started on ART. Of these 67,794 were initiated on NVP-containing ART. Of these, 211 females and 79 males were substituted from NVP to a PI. The OR for females was 2.4 (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.8 - 3.1). For males the OR was 2.4 (OR 2.4; 95 % CI 1.4 - 3.8) which occurred nine months after the change observed in the females. The odds of a NVP-to-PI substitution in females compared to males before the launch of Namibia's 2010 ART guidelines was the same as the odds after the publication of the guidelines (before, OR 1.6; 95 % CI 1.1 - 2.5; after, OR 1.6; 95 % CI 1.2 - 2.2). CONCLUSIONS: There was an increase in substitutions of NVP with a PI following the increase in the CD4 threshold for initiating NVP-based HAART, meaning that there was an increase in grade III and IV reactions associated with NVP. Therefore the NVP-safety signal was confirmed to be a true signal, which contributed to the Ministry's decision to review the use of NVP.

Tenofovir substitution in Namibia based on an analysis of the antiretroviral dispensing database.

OBJECTIVES: In the management of HIV infection, tenofovir is preferred to its predecessors - zidovudine and stavudine - in the antiretroviral therapy (ART) nucleoside backbone. Tenofovir's (TDF) preference is based on its safety profile. Nevertheless, TDF causes adverse reactions, some of which warrant its substitution for patients. The rate of TDF-substitution is suggestive of the rate of occurrence of TDF-related adverse reactions. However, the rate of substitution of TDF with another nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) in Namibia was unknown. The objective of this review was to measure the rate of TDF's substitution for the period of January 1, 2008 to November 30, 2011, and to compare the gender difference in the rates of TDF's substitution. METHODS: We accessed antiretroviral medicine dispensing records from the national antiretroviral dispensing database (NDB). We selected patients who were started on a TDF-containing conventional ART regimen - 2NRTI+1NNRT. We used the initial and current ART regimens to identify records of TDF's substitution with another NRTI. RESULTS: A total of 84,741 patients were initiated on ART (Jan-1-2008 to Nov-30-2011). A total of 52,612 patient-records were excluded from the analysis because they did not meet the criteria for inclusion. Of the 32,129 included records, 59.4% (n=19 096) and 40.6% (n=13 033) were for female and male patients, respectively. Of these, 1.2% (n=380) of the patients had their TDF substituted with another NRTI. Of the females and males, respectively, 1.1% (95% CI: 0.9-1.3; n=210) and 1.3% (95% CI: 1.1-1.5; n=170) had TDF substituted with another NRTI. No gender difference was observed (p-value = 0.11). CONCLUSION: The percentage of patients for whom TDF was substituted with another NRTI, possibly due to TDF-related adverse reactions, was within the current published limits. However, 1.2% is likely not a true representation of the percentage of patients who experience adverse events because some patients could have been maintained on TDF even in the presence of adverse events. Further investigation is required to determine the clinical reasons for TDF's withdrawal.