Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Postpartum adherence to Option B+ until 18 months in Western Uganda
| dc.contributor.author | Decker, Sarah | |
| dc.contributor.author | Rubaihayo, John | |
| dc.contributor.author | Busingye,Priscilla | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tumwesigye, Nazarius Mbona | |
| dc.contributor.author | Theuring, Stefanie | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-07T19:40:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-05-07T19:40:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-06-29 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Since 2012, the WHO recommends Option B+ for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This approach entails the initiation of lifelong antiretroviral therapy in all HIV-positive pregnant women, also implying protection during breastfeeding for 12 months or longer. Research on long-term adherence to Option B+ throughout breastfeeding is scarce to date. Therefore, we conducted a prospective observational cohort study in Fort Portal, Western Uganda, to assess adherence to Option B+ until 18 months postpartum. In 2013, we recruited 67 HIV-positive, Option B+ enrolled women six weeks after giving birth and scheduled them for follow-up study visits after six, twelve and 18 months. Two adherence measures, self-reported drug intake and amount of drug refill visits, were combined to define adherence, and were assessed together with feeding information at all study visits. At six months postpartum, 51% of the enrolled women were considered to be adherent. Until twelve and 18 months postpartum, adherence for the respective follow-up interval decreased to 19% and 20.5% respectively. No woman was completely adherent until 18 months. At the same time, 76.5% of the women breastfed for ≥12 months. Drug adherence was associated with younger age (p<0.01), lower travel costs (p = 0.02), and lower number of previous deliveries (p = 0.04). Long-term adherence to Option B+ seems to be challenging. Considering that in our cohort, prolonged breastfeeding until ≥12 months was widely applied while postpartum adherence until the end of breastfeeding was poor, a potential risk of postpartum vertical transmission needs to be taken seriously into account for Option B+ implementation. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Decker, S., Rempis, E., Schnack, A., Braun, V., Rubaihayo, J., Busingye, P., ... & Theuring, S. (2017). Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Postpartum adherence to Option B+ until 18 months in Western Uganda. PloS one, 12(6), e0179448. | |
| dc.identifier.other | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179448 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/11496 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | PloS one | |
| dc.title | Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Postpartum adherence to Option B+ until 18 months in Western Uganda | |
| dc.type | Article |