Severe depression was associated with delayed presentation and late testing, while anxiety was associated only with delayed presentation. Screening for mental health services may improve antiretroviral therapy initiation and linkage to care following HIV testing.

In HIV-infected outpatients, CRP was as sensitive but substantially more specific than TB symptom screening. Use of CRP as a screening tool to exclude active TB could identify the same number of HIV-associated TB cases, but reduce the use of diagnostic sputum testing in TB-endemic regions.

Background: Women experience challenges engaging with the healthcare system, but frequently utilize hair salons; these are promising venues for family planning and HIV prevention services. Our objective was to assess the acceptability of nurse-offered contraceptive and PrEP services at hair salons in Durban, South Africa. Methods: We interviewed salon owners (N=10) and clients (N=42) and conducted focus groups with hair stylists (N=43 stylists; 6 focus groups across 5 hair salons) to explore barriers and facilitators to providing contraception and PrEP in salons. After developing a codebook, we performed content analysis to identify themes within each conceptual area; 10% of transcripts were coded by two coders to ensure reliability. Results: Content was analyzed according to the following categories: 1) facilitators of and 2) barriers to utilizing these services, and 3) factors to consider for program implementation. Participants identified convenience and female-oriented, supportive atmosphere as facilitators to offering HIV and contraceptive services in salons. Owners and stylists noted that establishing legitimacy was important for program success, including providing promotional pamphlets and employing nurses. Clients cited privacy concerns surrounding HIV testing in a public space as a significant barrier to using these services. Overall, participants were enthusiastic about the program. Conclusions: Convenience and a conducive environment were noted as facilitators to receiving health services in the hair salon; attention will have to be directed to establishing privacy and program legitimacy. Hair salons represent an innovative venue for reaching young women at high-risk for unintended pregnancy and HIV infection.

We used the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model to evaluate implementation of South Africa’s Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) program, a differentiated service delivery program which allows clinically stable HIV-positive patients to receive antiretroviral therapy refills at clinic- or community-based pick-up points. Across ten clinics, we conducted 109 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (pick-up point staff, CCMDD service providers and administrators) and 16 focus groups with 138 patients. Participants had highly favorable attitudes and said CCMDD decreased stigma concerns. Patient-level barriers included inadequate education about CCMDD and inability to get refills on designated dates. Organizational-level barriers included challenges with communication and transportation, errors in medication packaging and tracking, rigid CCMDD rules, and inadequate infrastructure. Recommendations included: (1) provide patient education and improve communication around refills (at the patient level); (2) provide dedicated space and staff, and ongoing training (at the organizational/clinic level); and (3) allow for prescription renewal at pick-up points and less frequent refills, and provide feedback to clinics (at the CCMDD program level).

Since rapid cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assays (CrAg LFA) may expedite treatment of HIV-associated cryptococcal infections, we sought to validate clinic-based CrAg LFA testing. Among newly-diagnosed HIV-infected adults in South Africa, a trained nurse performed clinic-based testing of urine, fingerprick capillary and venous whole blood with rapid CrAg LFA (Immy Diagnostics, Norman, USA). We performed matched laboratory-based serum cryptococcal antigen testing with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). We assessed diagnostic accuracy using EIA as the gold-standard, and performed additional validation testing on serum and among hospitalized adults with cryptococcal meningitis. Among 5,618 participants enrolled, 1,296 were HIV-infected and screened for cryptococcal antigenemia. Overall CrAg prevalence by serum EIA was 3.6% (95% CI 2.0–6.0%) for adults with CD4 < 200 cells/mm 3 , and 5.7% (95% CI 2.8–10.2%) for adults with CD4 < 100 cells/mm 3 . Using expanded screening guidelines (CD4 < 200 cells/mm 3 ), CrAg LFA testing of venous whole blood, fingerprick capillary blood, and urine had diagnostic sensitivities of 46% (95% CI 19–75%), 38% (95% CI 14–68%), and 54% (95% CI 25–81%), and specificities of 97%, 97%, and 86%, respectively. When tested on serum samples, CrAg LFA had sensitivity of 93% (95% CI 66–100%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI 88–100%). All venous and fingerprick whole blood CrAg LFA tests were positive among 30 hospitalized adults with cryptococcal meningitis. Two independent readers had strong agreement for all LFA results (p < 0.0001). When performed at the point-of-care by trained nurses, CrAg LFA testing was feasible, had the highest accuracy on serum specimens, and may accelerate treatment of HIV-associated cryptococcal infections.