Publication date: Aug 01, 2024

Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) programs focusing on improving HIV outcomes for children and adolescents living with HIV (C&ALHIV) may improve viral load (VL) testing coverage, a critical step toward achieving VL suppression. In Mozambique, we conducted a retrospective medical record review comparing VL testing coverage and suppression between C&ALHIV receiving OVC support and two cohorts of non-participants constructed using propensity score matching. We collected data for 25,783 C&ALHIV in Inhambane, Maputo City, Nampula, and Tete between October 2020-September 2021. Unadjusted rates of VL testing were 62. 9% among OVC participants compared with 39. 2% and 50. 4% of non-participants in OVC support and non-OVC support districts, respectively. In multivariate models, OVC participants were 18 and 10 percentage points more likely to have received a VL test than non-participants in OVC districts (p 

Semantics

Original Article