Factors influencing the follow-up visits of mothers registered with prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS programme at the Katutura State Hospital
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Date
2005
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Abstract
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) has launched a comprehensive programme for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) in March 2002. This programme was introduced for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Namibia using Nevirapine (an Antiretroviral drug). The programme was initiated at two pilot sites i.e. Katutura State Hospital Antenatal Clinic (KSH-ANC) and Oshakati State Hospital. This programme was aiming to reach 500 HIV positive women, 250 from each site, but this number has been exceeded
The researcher has observed that problems exist with the follow-up visits of mothers who registered for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS programme at Katutura State Hospital. She observed that not all mothers do come for follow-up visits as scheduled which leads to the question of what could be the contributing factors to the situation. Therefore the reason this study was conducted was to get answers to the following study question: What are the factors that influence the follow-up visits by mothers registered for the PMTCT programme at Katutura State Hospital?
The specific objectives for the study are determine the profile of mothers who join the PMTCT programme. To determine the factors that motivate or demotivate the mothers to stick to or drop out of the programme· To assess the follow-up modalities and support networks available to mothers in their communities· To make appropriate recommendations Qualitative and Quantitative research designs were used. Exploratory and descriptive strategies were used to obtain the data. The study was done in the Khomas Region. The study population includes all HIV positive mothers who are registered with the PMTCT programme at Katutura State Hospital and who have delivered at the same hospital. Convenient sampling was done and a total of thirty (30) mothers were sampled
The researcher concluded that the majority of these mothers fall in the age bracket of 20-39 years old, and most of them are unmarried as well as unemployed. All the mothers can read and write. 85.7 of the mothers came to know their HIV status during the last pregnancy. The majority of them were counselled before and after HIV tests which is a good practice in the health facility
Some of the factors that motivate the mothers to stick to the follow-up visits are that they would like to ensure the health of their babies and to enable the babies to live longer; they found out that the babies on prophylaxis treatment do not get sick and that the follow-up visits create a chance for them to interact with health workers about the health status of the children
Some of the factors cited for not coming for follow-up visits include issues like denial of the HIV/AIDS existence in the family, economical reasons, domestic violence as well as ignorance among communities. It was evident that, although mothers know of supportive activities in their communities, they do not utilize these to support themselves due to fear of stigma and discrimination
Recommendations formulated included issues related to creating an appropriate way of doing follow-up of children; support services for HIV positive women and their children; training of all health workers on PMTCT, counselling and feeding options; awareness creation for employers and community in general; community participation and family involvement in the care of HIV positive mothers and children
The researcher has observed that problems exist with the follow-up visits of mothers who registered for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS programme at Katutura State Hospital. She observed that not all mothers do come for follow-up visits as scheduled which leads to the question of what could be the contributing factors to the situation. Therefore the reason this study was conducted was to get answers to the following study question: What are the factors that influence the follow-up visits by mothers registered for the PMTCT programme at Katutura State Hospital?
The specific objectives for the study are determine the profile of mothers who join the PMTCT programme. To determine the factors that motivate or demotivate the mothers to stick to or drop out of the programme· To assess the follow-up modalities and support networks available to mothers in their communities· To make appropriate recommendations Qualitative and Quantitative research designs were used. Exploratory and descriptive strategies were used to obtain the data. The study was done in the Khomas Region. The study population includes all HIV positive mothers who are registered with the PMTCT programme at Katutura State Hospital and who have delivered at the same hospital. Convenient sampling was done and a total of thirty (30) mothers were sampled
The researcher concluded that the majority of these mothers fall in the age bracket of 20-39 years old, and most of them are unmarried as well as unemployed. All the mothers can read and write. 85.7 of the mothers came to know their HIV status during the last pregnancy. The majority of them were counselled before and after HIV tests which is a good practice in the health facility
Some of the factors that motivate the mothers to stick to the follow-up visits are that they would like to ensure the health of their babies and to enable the babies to live longer; they found out that the babies on prophylaxis treatment do not get sick and that the follow-up visits create a chance for them to interact with health workers about the health status of the children
Some of the factors cited for not coming for follow-up visits include issues like denial of the HIV/AIDS existence in the family, economical reasons, domestic violence as well as ignorance among communities. It was evident that, although mothers know of supportive activities in their communities, they do not utilize these to support themselves due to fear of stigma and discrimination
Recommendations formulated included issues related to creating an appropriate way of doing follow-up of children; support services for HIV positive women and their children; training of all health workers on PMTCT, counselling and feeding options; awareness creation for employers and community in general; community participation and family involvement in the care of HIV positive mothers and children
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Keywords
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Preventive medicine, Hospitalization