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Table 4 Antiretroviral therapy initiation by 90 days of HIV diagnosis, and combined antiretroviral therapy initiation and retention by 18 months of diagnosis, among clients who received CommLink and peer-delivered standard linkage services, by demographic characteristics, Manzini region, Eswatini, March 2016 – April 2020

From: Antiretroviral therapy initiation and retention among clients who received peer-delivered linkage case management and standard linkage services, Eswatini, 2016–2020: retrospective comparative cohort study

 

Unadjusted

Adjusteda

Characteristics

CommLink

n (%)

SLS

n (%)

CommLink

% (95% CI)

SLS

% (95% CI)

RR (95% CI)

p-value

ART initiated by 90 days of diagnosisb

Sex

      

 Men

390 (88.8)

111 (34.8)

86.5 (85.1, 88.0)

33.7 (27.3, 41.5)

2.57 (2.08, 3.17)

 < 0.0001

 Women

309 (92.5)

191 (42.4)

90.5 (88.3, 92.7)

41.2 (34.7, 48.9)

2.20 (1.83, 2.65)

 < 0.0001

Age group (years)

      

 15–24

106 (93.0)

61 (33.3)

90.9 (85.2, 97.0)

32.2 (25.7, 40.3)

2.83 (2.28, 3.51)

 < 0.0001

 25–34

301 (89.3)

138 (38.0)

86.9 (83.8, 90.1)

36.8 (30.3, 44.8)

2.36 (1.92, 2.90)

 < 0.0001

  ≥ 35

292 (90.7)

103 (46.2)

88.9 (85.7, 92.3)

44.1 (34.3, 56.7)

2.02 (1.58, 2.58)

 < 0.0001

Test location (CommLink ART eligibility period)c

 Urban (CD4 ≤ 500)

195 (78.6)

110 (43.8)

78.6 (76.5, 80.9)

43.9 (40.9, 47.0)

1.79 (1.72, 1.87)

 < 0.0001

 Rural (test and treat)

504 (96.0)

192 (37.1)

96.2 (94.9, 97.4)

37.1 (31.6, 43.6)

2.59 (2.20, 3.04)

 < 0.0001

ART initiated and retained by 18 months of diagnosisb,d

Sex

      

 Men

343 (78.1)

145 (45.5)

75.4 (66.2, 85.9)

44.5 (37.9, 52.2)

1.70 (1.39, 2.07)

 < 0.0001

 Women

269 (80.5)

243 (54.0)

79.8 (75.5, 84.3)

55.1 (49.4, 61.4)

1.45 (1.24, 1.69)

 < 0.0001

Age group (years)

      

 15–24

82 (71.9)

81 (44.3)

73.3 (68.8, 78.2)

45.1 (36.9, 55.3)

1.62 (1.35, 1.95)

 < 0.0001

 25–34

260 (77.2)

178 (49.0)

76.9 (72.4, 81.8)

48.9 (41.6, 57.4)

1.57 (1.32, 1.88)

 < 0.0001

  ≥ 35

270 (83.9)

129 (57.8)

84.8 (80.7, 89.1)

57.4 (47.7, 69.0)

1.48 (1.18, 1.85)

0.0007

Test location (CommLink ART eligibility period)c

 Urban (CD4 ≤ 500)

186 (75.0)

141 (56.2)

72.8 (66.5, 79.8)

55.4 (52.1, 59.0)

1.31 (1.13, 1.53)

0.0005

 Rural (test and treat)

426 (81.1)

247 (47.7)

78.4 (76.0, 80.9)

47.0 (41.0, 53.9)

1.67 (1.45, 1.93)

 < 0.0001

  1. SLS peer-delivered standard linkage services, ART antiretroviral therapy, RR relative risk, CI confidence interval, Tinkhundla regional geopolitical subdivisions of Eswatini
  2. aEstimated using generalized estimating equations (GEE) models with a log link (SAS 9.4) adjusting for age group, sex, urban or rural area of HIV diagnosis, and within-Tinkhundla clustering
  3. bAmong all CommLink (773) and SLS (769) clients
  4. cSLS clients were HIV diagnosed during test and treat when all persons with HIV infection were eligible to receive ART
  5. dRetained is defined as not being more than 90 days late for the last antiretroviral refill appointment
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