Articles

Strengthening Health Systems for Chronic Care: Leveraging HIV Programs to Support Diabetes Services in Ethiopia and Swaziland

Rabkin, Miriam; Melaku, Zenebe; Bruce, Kerry; Reja, Ahmed; Koler, Alison; Tadesse, Yonathan; Kamiru, Harrison Njoroge; Sibanyoni, Lindiwe Tsabedze; El-Sadr, Wafaa Mahmoud

The scale-up of HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa has catalyzed the development of highly effective chronic care systems. The strategies, systems, and tools developed to support life-long HIV care and treatment are locally owned contextually appropriate resources, many of which could be adapted to support continuity care for noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCD), such as diabetes mellitus (DM). We conducted two proof-of-concept studies to further the understanding of the status of NCD programs and the feasibility and effectiveness of adapting HIV program-related tools and systems for patients with DM. In Swaziland, a rapid assessment illustrated gaps in the approaches used to support DM services at 15 health facilities, despite the existence of chronic care systems at HIV clinics in the same hospitals, health centers, and clinics. In Ethiopia, a pilot study found similar gaps in DM services at baseline and illustrated the potential to rapidly improve the quality of care and treatment for DM by adapting HIV-specific policies, systems, and tools.

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Title
Journal of Tropical Medicine
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/137460

More About This Work

Academic Units
International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs
Medicine
Epidemiology
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Published Here
October 9, 2015