A realist evaluation of the antiretroviral treatment adherence club programme in the metropolitan area of the Western Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, 7.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) of whom about 56% were accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2016, accounted for approximately 20% of people on ART globally. The successful initiation of PLWHA on ART has engendered challenges of poor retention in care and suboptimal adherence to medication. While standard treatment and care schemes show the potential to retain patients in ART care, their success is challenged by congested health-care facilities, long waiting times and shortages of health-care providers. The antiretroviral adherence club intervention was rolled out in primary health-care facilities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa to relieve clinic congestion and improve retention in care, and treatment adherence in the face of growing patient loads. Evidence from the literature suggests that these models of ART service delivery are more effective than corresponding facility-based care. Nevertheless, there is little understanding of how these care models work to achieve their intended outcomes. To this end, a theory-driven approach to evaluate the adherence club intervention was proposed.