Author
Listed:
- Joseph Rujumba
- Rachel L King
- Joyce Namale-Matovu
- Priscilla Wavamunno
- Alexander Amone
- Grace Gabagaya
- Gordon Rukundo
- Mary Glenn Fowler
- Jaco Homsy
- Janet Seeley
- Philippa Musoke
Abstract
The Friends for Life Circles (FLC) was a parallel randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a group peer support intervention to support long-term adherence to Option B+ in Kampala and Mityana districts in Uganda. We explored FLC participants’ experiences and perceptions of the intervention on adherence to Option B+ for PMTCT and potential implications for strengthening the PMTCT program. We collected data from six focus group discussions with lactating women enrolled in the FLC intervention, and from 14 key informant interviews with health workers, district and national level stakeholders, as well as male partners of FLC participants. Data were analysed using a content thematic approach in a continuous and iterative process. Women described the FLC intervention as acceptable and beneficial in enhancing their understanding of HIV and the need for ART. The FLC helped women, especially those newly diagnosed with HIV infection to come to terms with their diagnosis and overcome the fear of death linked to testing HIV positive, and provided opportunities to enhance ART initiation, resumption and adherence. The FLC provided safe spaces for women, to learn about ART, and to receive support from peers including adherence reminders through home visits and ‘coded’ reminder messages. Receiving ART from support groups protected members from stigma and long lines at health facilities. Fear of stigma, health system challenges, the high cost of caring for animals and lack of money to save in groups were key challenges noted. The FLC support groups were crucial in providing needed support for women to initiate, resume and adhere to lifelong ART for Option B+. It is important that women who test HIV positive and start ART for life receive psychosocial support from peers and health workers to improve chances of preventing HIV transmission from mothers to children.
Suggested Citation
Joseph Rujumba & Rachel L King & Joyce Namale-Matovu & Priscilla Wavamunno & Alexander Amone & Grace Gabagaya & Gordon Rukundo & Mary Glenn Fowler & Jaco Homsy & Janet Seeley & Philippa Musoke, 2023.
"‘When I receive ARVs through my group, my heart settles’: Participants’ perceptions and experiences of Friends for Life Circles for Option B+ in Kampala and Mityana Districts, Uganda,"
PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(11), pages 1-19, November.
Handle:
RePEc:plo:pgph00:0001326
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001326
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pgph00:0001326. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: globalpubhealth (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.