Does provision of cash incentive to HIV-infected tuberculosis patients improve the treatment success in programme settings? A cohort study from South India

BACKGROUND: In April 2018, the Government of India launched 'Nikshay Poshan Yojana' (NPY), a cash assistance scheme (500 Indian rupees [~8 USD] per month) intended to provide nutritional support and improve treatment outcomes among tuberculosis (TB) patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare the treatment outcomes of HIV-infected TB patients initiated on first-line anti-TB treatment in five selected districts of Karnataka, India before (April–September 2017) and after (April–September 2018) implementation of NPY. METHODS: This was a cohort study using secondary data routinely collected by the national TB and HIV programmes. RESULTS: A total of 630 patients were initiated on ATT before NPY and 591 patients after NPY implementation. Of the latter, 464 (78.5%, 95% CI: 75.0%–81.8%) received at least one installment of cash incentive. Among those received, the median (inter-quartile range) duration between treatment initiation and receipt of first installment was 74 days (41–165) and only 16% received within the first month of treatment. In 117 (25.2%) patients, the first installment was received after declaration of their treatment outcome. Treatment success (cured and treatment completed) in 'before NPY' cohort was 69.2% (95% CI: 65.6%–72.8%), while it was 65.0% (95% CI: 61.2%–68.8%) in 'after NPY' cohort. On adjusted analysis using modified Poisson regression we did not find a statistically significant association between NPY and unsuccessful treatment outcomes (adjusted relative risk-1.1, 95% CI: 0.9–1.3). CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis and previous evidence from systematic reviews, we did not find an association between NPY and improved treatment outcomes.