Two-year retention in care for adolescents on antiretroviral therapy in Ehlanzeni district, South Africa: a baseline cohort analysis
Date
2022Author
Okonji, Emeka F.
Van Wyk, Brian
Mukumbang, Ferdinand C.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) struggle to remain engaged in HIV-related care and adhere to
antiretroviral treatment (ART) due to a myriad of physical, psychological and cognitivedevelopmental challenges. We report on the profile of ALHIV aged 10–19 years on ART and the
clinical factors associated with their retention in care. A retrospective cohort analysis was
conducted with 16,108 ALHIV, aged 10–19 years, who were enrolled in 136 ART clinics in the
Ehlanzeni district. Anonymised data were obtained from electronic medical records (Tier.net).
Trends in retention in care among adolescents on ART was described using Kaplan-Meier
survival estimates. Cox proportional analysis was performed to identify factors associated with
retention in care over 2 years. More than half (53%) were females, and median duration on ART
was 8 months. Retention in care among adolescents at months 6, 12, 18 and 24 was 90.5%,
85.4%, 80.8% and 76.2%, respectively.