Tracing non-retained HIV-positive pregnant women and their babies (LOCATOR Project)

PI/Fellow: Dr. Agnes Kiragga

The use of Antiretroviral therapy for life among HIV positive pregnant women was recommended by WHO, referred to as Option B+. The success of Option B+ has been reported in many sub-Saharan countries and Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) rates as low as 2.5% have been reported in Uganda. Despite the noted successes, high levels of attrition of mothers, particularly in the post-partum period, have been observed. In Ugandan health facilities, dropout rates of pregnant women or those in postpartum phase range between 10% – 40%. Little is known about the outcomes of mothers who disengage from care, the status of their exposed children as well as drivers for disengagement. This study aims to establish HIV outcomes among in 170 Ugandan women who disengage from care and apply statistical methods to generate estimates of MTCT that have been corrected for loss to follow-up. Study investigations include HIV PCR test for ascertaining HIV status of the exposed infants, HIV RNA viral load for the disengaged mother and genotypic resistance profiling for the HIV positive infants to establish prevalence of multiclass resistance. Additional information is collected on intimate partner violence and depression.

Study budget: 150,000 Euros
Study period: June 2017 – June 2020