Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV in India through service integration: lessons from Mysore District, Karnataka.
Loading...
Date
2013-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia
Abstract
Meeting the needs of HIV‑positive pregnant women and their offspring is critical
to India’s political and financial commitment to achieving universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support. This review of the strategy to prevent
vertical transmission of HIV in Mysore district, Karnataka, highlights the need to
integrate prevention of parent‑to‑child transmission (PPTCT) and reproductive and
child health (RCH) services. All key officials who were involved in the integration of
services at the state and district levels were interviewed by use of semistructured
protocols. Policy documents and guidelines issued by the Department of Health
and Family Welfare and Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society were reviewed,
as were records and official orders issued by the office of District Health and
Family Welfare Officer and District HIV/AIDS Programme Office, Mysore. Routine
data were also collected from all health facilities. This review found that 4.5 years
of PPTCT‑RCH integration resulted not only in a rise in antenatal registrations but
also in almost all pregnant women counselled during antenatal care undergoing
HIV tests. Based on the findings, we propose recommendations for successful
replication of this strategy. Integration of PPTCT services with RCH should take
place at all levels − policy, administration, facility and community. The increased
demand for HIV counselling and testing resulting from service integration must
be met by skilled human resources, sufficient facilities and adequate funds at the facility level.
Description
Keywords
Integration, National Rural Health Mission, parent‑to‑child transmission, reproductive and child health
Citation
WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 2013;2(2): 121-127.