Assessing treatment outcomes among peer educators living with HIV in Kenya

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV (PLHIV) often face barriers in accessing quality and comprehensive HIV care, including stigma and discrimination, which results in poor retention and viral non-suppression. Peer-led interventions can help address these barriers. In Kenya, peer educators (PEs) are PLHIV who support other PLHIV to adhere to clinic schedules and antiretroviral medication uptake. In spite of their status as role models and their key role in supporting clients receiving HIV care and treatment, little is known about the characteristics and treatment outcomes of PEs themselves, specifically viral suppression. METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of program data on treatment outcomes of PEs engaged in active patient support activities between October 2010 and January 2017. All eligible PEs from 140 health facilities located in 23 counties of Kenya were included in the study. Data from 230 PEs were abstracted from the electronic medical records, patient files, and registers between June and August 2017. Study variables included key sociodemographic characteristics (sex, marital status, and age), duration on antiretroviral therapy (ART), WHO clinical staging, baseline CD4 count, current antiretroviral regimen and uptake of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT). The outcome variable was viral suppression, defined as a viral load <1000 copies/ml. RESULTS: Overall, 173/230 (75%) of the PEs were female, 144/230 (63%) were married, and median age (LQ, UQ) was 38.5 (33.0, 42.0) years. The PEs had been on ART for a median (LQ, UQ) duration of 76.0 (37.0, 105.0) months. Six months IPT completion was high at 97%. Of the 222 (97%) PEs with an up-to-date viral load taken within the last one year, 211 (95%) were virally suppressed. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that peer educators actively engaged in patient support activities have achieved high viral suppression rates.