The effects of maternal and child HIV infection on health equity in Tigray Region, Ethiopia, and the implications for the health system: a case-control studyShow others and affiliations
2019 (English)In: AIDS Care, ISSN 0954-0121, E-ISSN 1360-0451, Vol. 31, no 10, p. 1271-1281Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Services that aim to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) can simultaneously reduce the overall impact of HIV infection in a population while also improving maternal and child health outcomes. By taking a health equity perspective, this retrospective case control study aimed to compare the health status of under-5 children born to HIV-positive and HIV-negative mothers in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Two hundred and thirteen HIV-positive women (cases), and 214 HIV-negative women (controls) participated through interviews regarding their oldest children. Of the children born to HIV-positive mothers, 24% had not been tested, and 17% of those who had been tested were HIV-positive themselves. Only 29% of the HIV-positive children were linked to an ART programme. Unexpectedly, exposed HIV-negative children had fewer reports of perceived poor health as compared to unexposed children. Over 90% of all the children, regardless of maternal HIV status, were breastfed and up-to-date with the recommended immunizations. The high rate of HIV infection among the babies of HIV-positive women along with their low rates of antiretroviral treatment raises serious concerns about the quality of outreach to pregnant women in Tigray Region, and of the follow-up for children who have been exposed to HIV via their mothers.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2019. Vol. 31, no 10, p. 1271-1281
Keywords [en]
Ethiopia, HIV, PMTCT, health equity, under-5 morbidity, under-5 mortality
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-158194DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2019.1601670ISI: 000471385300001PubMedID: 30957540Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85063992477OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-158194DiVA, id: diva2:1305309
Funder
Swedish Research Council, C06156012019-04-162019-04-162024-03-14Bibliographically approved