Mozambique's Community Antiretroviral Therapy Support Group Program: The Role of Social Relationships in Facilitating HIV/ AIDS Treatment Retention

ABSTRACT

The Community Antiretroviral (ARV) Therapy Support Group (CASG) program aims to address low retention rates in Mozambique's HIV treatment program and the absorptive capacity of the country's health facilities. CASG provides patients with the opportunity to form groups, whose members provide peer support and collect ARV medications on a rotating basis for one another. Based on the promising results in one province, a multi-site level evaluation followed. We report on qualitative findings from this evaluation from the patient perspective on the role of social relationships (as facilitated through CASG) in conferring time, financial, educational and psychosocial benefits that contribute to improved patient retention. These findings may be helpful in informing what aspects of social relationships are critical to foster as CASG is implemented within a greater number of Mozambican health facilities, and as other countries design and implement related models of care and treatment with a support group component.