Nicola Willis|Amos Milanzi|Mather Mawodzeke|Chengetai Dziwa|Alice Armstrong|Innocent Yekeye|Phangisile Mtshali|Victoria James
Effectiveness of community adolescent treatment supporters (CATS) interventions in improving linkage and retention in care, adherence to ART and psychosocial well-being: a randomised trial among adolescents living with HIV in rural Zimbabwe
Practical Action
engagement community adolescent treatment supporters cats improves adherence psychosocial wellbeing linkage retention care among adolescents living hiv however urgent need empirical evidence effectiveness approach order inform programmatic development national international policy guidelines service delivery adolescents living hiv study set determine effectiveness cats services improving linkage services retention care adherence psychosocial wellbeing among adolescents living hiv zimbabwe randomised trial conducted gokwe south district zimbabwe period 12 months ninetyfour hivpositive adolescents 1015 years old antiretroviral therapy recruited study 47 participants received standard care ministry health child care 47 received standard care plus cats services data collection involved questionnaire administered baseline repeated three six nine twelve months participants survey questions confidence selfesteem selfworth threepoint likert scale stigma quality life linkages services retention questions fivepoint likert scale survey questionnaires completed response rates 40 47 85 intervention arm 28 47 60 control arm endline intervention group 39 times likely adhere treatment compared control group linkage services retention care within intervention group increased compared decrease control arm intervention group reported statistically significant increase confidence selfesteem selfworth p 0001 quality life compared p 0028 decrease control arm study found adolescents receiving cats service improved linkage services retention care improved adherence improved psychosocial wellbeing compared adolescents access services pactr201711002755428 registered 11 november 2017 retrospectively registered