Evaluation of an integrated HIV and hypertension management model in rural South Africa: a mixed methods approach

Background: A summary of Soter Ameh’s PhD thesis titled, ‘An integrated HIV and hypertension management model in rural South Africa: A mixed methods approach’ is presented here. In responding to the dual high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and HIV in South Africa, the national government initiated an integrated chronic disease management (ICDM) model in health facilities as a pilot programme. The aim of the ICDM model is to leverage the successes of the innovative HIV treatment programme for NCDs to improve the quality of care and health outcomes of adult patients. Objectives: The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the quality of care provided in the integrated model in 2013, (2) describe patients’ and operational managers’ perceptions of quality of care in the integrated model in 2013, and (3) assess effectiveness of the integrated model in controlling CD4 counts (>350 cells/mm3) and blood pressure (<140/90 mmHg) of patients from 2011 to 2013. Methods: A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to assess and describe the quality of care in the model. Effectiveness of the model in controlling patients’ blood pressure (BP) and CD4 counts was assessed in selected PHC facilities in the Bushbuckridge municipality in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Results: The findings showed the suboptimal quality of care in five of the eight priority dimensions of care used as leverage for the NCD programme. The ICDM model had a small but significant effect on BP control for hypertension patients receiving treatment. Conclusions: The HIV programme needs to be more extensively leveraged for hypertension treatment to achieve an optimal BP control in the study area. These findings could have policy relevance for low- and middle-income countries currently undertaking proof of concept studies to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing an integrated chronic disease care model.