Health system response to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV policy changes in Zambia: a health system dynamics analysis of primary health care facilities

BACKGROUND: Zambia is focusing on attaining HIV epidemic control by 2021, including eliminating Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) of HIV. However, there is little evidence to understand frontline healthcare workers’ experience with the policy changes and the readiness of different health system elements to contribute to this goal. OBJECTIVE: To understand frontline healthcare workers’ experience of preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency (HIV) policy changes and to explore the health system readiness to respond to rapid changes in PMTCT policy by using the health system dynamic framework. METHOD: We conducted a qualitative study in which 35 frontline healthcare workers were selected and interviewed using a snowball sampling technique. All transcripts were analysed through thematic content analysis and deductive coding. Themes were derived and presented according to the health system dynamics framework. RESULTS: Among the ten elements of the health system dynamics framework, service delivery, context, and resources (i.e. infrastructure and supplies, knowledge and information, human resource, and finance) were critical in implementing the continuously evolving PMTCT policies. Furthermore, due to the fragmented primary health care platform in Zambia, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were instrumental in ensuring that the PMTCT programme met the demand and requirements of the general population. Frontline healthcare workers who participated in the study described inequity in access to ART services due to the service delivery model employed in the selected study sites. CONCLUSION: The study highlights challenges when policies are implemented without consideration for the readiness, context, and capacity in which the policy is implemented. We offer lessons that can inform implementation of universal health coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART), a strategy many countries have adopted, despite weak health systems.