Pilot-Testing a Blended Learning Package for Health Care Workers to Improve Index Testing Services in Southern Malawi: An Implementation Science Study.

Background: HIV index testing, an intervention in which HIV-positive "indexes" (persons diagnosed with HIV) are supported to recruit their "contacts" (sexual partners and children) efficiently identifies HIV-infected persons in need of treatment and HIV-uninfected persons in need of prevention. However, index testing implementation in sub-Saharan African health care settings has been suboptimal. The objective of this study was to develop and pilot test a blended learning capacity-building package to improve index testing implementation in Malawi.

Enhancing an HIV index case testing passive referral model through a behavioural skills-building training for healthcare providers: a pre-/post-assessment in Mangochi District, Malawi.

Introduction: Although knowledge of HIV positivity is a necessary step towards engagement in HIV care, more than one quarter of HIV-positive Malawians remain unaware of their HIV status. Testing the sexual partners, guardians and children of HIV-positive persons (index case finding or ICF) is a promising way of identifying HIV-positive persons unaware of their HIV status. ICF can be passive where the HIV-positive individual (index) invites a partner (or contact) for HIV testing or active where a health provider assists the index with partner notification and offers HIV testing to the partner.

The HIV diagnostic assistant: early findings from a novel HIV testing cadre in Malawi.

Objectives: In 2015, Malawi piloted the HIV diagnostic assistant (HDA), a cadre of lay health workers focused primarily on HIV testing services. Our objective is to measure the effect of HDA deployment on country-level HIV testing measures.

Design: Interrupted time series analysis of routinely collected data to assess immediate change in absolute numbers and longitudinal changes in trends.

Index case finding facilitates identification and linkage to care of children and young persons living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi.

Objectives: Evaluation of a novel index case finding and linkage-to-care programme to identify and link HIV-infected children (1-15 years) and young persons (>15-24 years) to care.

Methods: HIV-infected patients enrolled in HIV services were screened and those who reported untested household members (index cases) were offered home- or facility-based HIV testing and counselling (HTC) of their household by a community health worker (CHW). HIV-infected household members identified were enrolled in a follow-up programme offering home and facility-based follow-up by CHWs.