Evaluation of the Implementation and Effects of the Unitaid/EGPAF Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis Project across Nine Countries

Overview

This study evaluated the implementation and effects of the Unitaid-funded Point-of-Care (POC) Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) Project. The project rolled out POC EID platforms in nine African countries and utilized baseline retrospective data collection, prospective data extraction, health worker questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with lab managers.

Data Collection Period: December 2016 – December 2020

1. Findings presented at the African Society for Lab Medicine Conference, December 2016: “Baseline Findings From Assessment of Quality Management Systems in Potential Sites for Point of Care Early Infant Diagnosis”
2. Findings presented at the African Society for Lab Medicine Conference, December 2016: “Capacity of Potential POC EID Pilot Sites: Findings from Site Assessments in Lesotho”
3. Findings presented at the African Society for Lab Medicine Conference, December 2016: “Site Mapping Approach to Optimizing EID Networks with POC EID Platforms in Lesotho”
4. Findings presented at the 9th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics, July 2017: “Comparing Conventional to Point-of-Care (POC) Early Infant Diagnosis (EID): Pre and post intervention data from a multi-country evaluation“
5. Findings presented at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, July 2018: “Task shifting for point-of-care early infant diagnosis testing: Comparison of error rates between nurses and specialized laboratory trained personnel“
6. Findings presented at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, July 2018: “HIV mother-to-child transmission in Cameroon: Early infant diagnosis positivity rates by entry point and key risk factors“
7. Findings presented at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, July 2018: “Diagnosing and treating more infants, faster: Findings from the first multi-country evaluation of routine point-of-care early infant diagnosis in eight sub-Saharan countries”
8. Findings presented at the 10th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics, July 2018: “HIV mother-to-child transmission in Cameroon: Early infant diagnosis positivity rates by entry point and key risk factors”
9. Findings presented at the 10th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics, July 2018: “Diagnosing and treating more infants, faster: Findings from the first multi-country evaluation of routine point-of-care early infant diagnosis in eight sub-Saharan countries”
10. Findings published in the Lancet HIV, April 2019: “Evaluation of a routine point-of-care intervention for early infant diagnosis of HIV: an observational study in eight African countries“
11. Findings presented at the 13th Interest Conference, May 2019: “Improved adherence to early infant HIV diagnosis (EID) algorithm for HIV-exposed infants during implementation of a point-of-care EID project in Kenya“
12. Findings presented at the 11th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics, July 2019: “Scalability of point-of-care early infant HIV diagnosis (POC EID) in eight sub-Saharan countries: comparing key EID outcomes in introductory and scale-up phases”
13. Findings presented at the 20th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, December 2019: “Comparing demand for laboratory-based and point-of-care early infant diagnosis across different health care settings in Eswatini, Kenya, and Zimbabwe”
14. Findings presented at the 20th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, December 2019: “Introducing Routine Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis in Eight African Countries: Outcomes from Interviews with Clinical and Laboratory Personnel”
15. Findings presented at the 27th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, March 2020: “Modeling Point-of-Care Nucleic Acid Tests (POC NAT) to Minimize HIV Misdiagnoses“
16. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, July 2020: “Challenges in the Early Infant HIV Diagnosis and Treatment Cascade“
17. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, July 2020: “HIV Mother-to-Child Transmission in Cameroon: EID Positivity Yields and Key Risk Factors by Health Service Points After Usage of POC EID Systems“
18. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, July 2020: “Acceptability of Routine Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis in Eight African Countries: Findings From a Qualitative Assessment of Clinical and Laboratory Personnel“
19. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, July 2020: “We Need it the Same Day”: A Qualitative Study of Caregivers and Community Members’ Perspectives Toward the Use of Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis“
20. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, July 2020: “Impact of Routine Point-of-Care Versus Laboratory Testing for Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV: Results From a Multicountry Stepped-Wedge Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial“