The potential promise and pitfalls of point-of-care viral load monitoring to expedite HIV treatment decision-making in rural Uganda: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background HIV treatment programs in Africa have implemented centralized testing for routine viral load monitoring (VLM), which may result in specimen processing delays inhibiting timely return of viral load results. Decentralized, point-of-care (PoC) VLM is a promising tool for expediting HIV clinical decision-making but remains unavailable in most African settings. We qualitatively explored the perceived feasibility and appropriateness of PoC VLM to address gaps along the viral load monitoring continuum in rural Uganda. Methods Between May and September 2022, we conducted 15 in-depth interviews with HIV clinicians (facility in-charges, clinical officers, nurses, counselors) and six focus group discussions with 47 peer health workers from three south-central Ugandan districts. Topics explored centralized VLM implementation and opportunities/challenges to optimizing routine VLM implementation with PoC testing platforms. We explored perspectives on PoC VLM suitability and feasibility using iterative thematic analysis. Applying the Framework Method, we then mapped salient constraints and enablers of PoC VLM to constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Results Clinicians and peers alike emphasized centralized viral load monitoring’s resource-intensiveness and susceptibility to procedural/infrastructural bottlenecks (e.g., supply stockouts, testing backlogs, community tracing of clients with delayed VLM results), inhibiting timely clinical decision-making. Participants reacted enthusiastically to the prospect of PoC VLM, anticipating accelerated turnarounds in specimen processing, shorter and/or fewer client encounters with treatment services, and streamlined efficiencies in HIV care provision (including expedited VLM-driven clinical decision-making). Anticipated constraints to PoC VLM implementation included human resource requirements for processing large quantities of specimens (especially when machinery require repair), procurement and maintenance costs, training needs in the existing health workforce for operating point-of-care technology, and insufficient space in lower-tier health facilities to accommodate installation of new laboratory equipment. Conclusions Anticipated implementation challenges, primarily clustering around resource requirements, did not diminish enthusiasm for PoC VLM monitoring among rural Ugandan clinicians and peer health workers, who perceived PoC platforms as potential solutions to existing inefficiencies within the centralized VLM ecosystem. Prioritizing PoC VLM rollout in facilities with available resources for optimal implementation (e.g., adequate physical and fiscal infrastructure, capacity to manage high specimen volumes) could help overcome anticipated barriers to decentralizing viral load monitoring.