Publications by authors named "Elizabeth Senkoro"
Article Synopsis
- Frailty negatively impacts the health and quality of life for people with HIV, particularly those over 80 years old.
- A multidisciplinary team (MDT) conducted a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) for 63 elderly PWH at a specialized clinic, discovering high rates of polypharmacy and comorbidities.
- The MDT's efforts led to medication updates for 29% of patients and recommendations for changing or reducing medications in 62%, highlighting the effectiveness of a specialized approach in addressing the needs of elderly PWH.
Article Synopsis
- Timely care for diabetes and hypertension in people living with HIV is crucial, but barriers in the existing healthcare model hinder effective management of these conditions.
- A study involving interviews with patients and healthcare professionals in Dodoma, Tanzania highlighted preferences for integrating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) care within HIV treatment at specialized clinics.
- Key barriers identified include shortages of medications and diagnostic equipment, while facilitators included health workers' confidence and skills, suggesting that addressing these challenges could improve the integration of care.
Objective: Older people living with HIV (OPWH) often have lower quality of life (QoL) compared to general population. Measuring their QoL is an important step in HIV care to ensure they have long healthy lives. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life and its associated factors among people living with HIV aged 60 years and above in Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMental health problems are highly prevalent among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), yet mental health care in African countries is scarce. There is growing interest in understanding the effect of group therapy delivery models and task-shifting to support mental health care in African settings. We conducted a scoping review following the PRISMA-ScR statement on group therapy in PLWHA in Africa.
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- Switching from oral antiretroviral treatment to intramuscular CAB + RPV can include an oral lead-in to check for tolerability, but direct switches from efavirenz (EFV) are not recommended.
- This is due to EFV's long elimination time, which can affect the metabolism of CAB and RPV and potentially lead to drug resistance.
- A case study highlights a situation where a critical care patient had to switch from FTC/TDF + EFV to IM CAB + RPV when oral medication was not feasible, showcasing a need for flexible treatment options in emergencies.
Article Synopsis
- People living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk for diabetes and hypertension, yet services for HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are often separate, creating challenges in understanding how to provide effective care for these comorbidities.
- Semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals and PLWH in Dodoma, Tanzania revealed three main themes: organizational/healthcare system factors, individual factors, and syndemic factors, highlighting both barriers and facilitators to care.
- Key barriers identified included fragmented services, lack of proper screening protocols, and limited access to diagnostic tools, while facilitators included education on lifestyle changes and healthcare professionals' knowledge of NCDs, which positively
Article Synopsis
- A middle-aged man with HIV, stable on injectable medication, presented with painful breast enlargement and was diagnosed with idiopathic gynecomastia after ruling out other causes.
- Tamoxifen, a common treatment for gynecomastia, was noted to potentially interfere with his HIV medication, risking treatment effectiveness.
- The text discusses the use of an aromatase inhibitor as an alternative treatment for gynecomastia in HIV patients, which has not been previously reported.
Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is nearly always caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It is the most common cancer among women living with HIV (WLWH) and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women in East Africa, with 10,241 new cases reported in Tanzania in 2020. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented a global strategy for the elimination of CC as a public health problem, proposing targets to meet by 2030 for HPV vaccine coverage (90% of all 15-year-old girls), CC screening (70% of all women once at 35 and again at 45 years of age) and treatment delivery, to be scaled at national and subnational levels with a context-sensitive approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHIV-related stigma is a major barrier to the timely linkage and retention of patients in HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa, where most people living with HIV/AIDS reside. In this implementation study we aim to evaluate the effect of stigma-directed services on linkage to care and other health outcomes in newly diagnosed HIV-positive patients. : In a nested project of the Kilombero and Ulanga Antiretroviral Cohort in rural Tanzania, we conduct a prospective observational pre-post study to assess the impact of a bundle of stigma-directed services for newly diagnosed HIV positive patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Pill count is used to assess drug adherence in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Carrying a pillbox is associated with fear of concealment and stigma and might indicate poor adherence and predict someone who will be lost to follow-up (LTFU). We therefore assessed the association between pillbox return and being LTFU in rural Tanzania.
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- The study investigated the prevalence and incidence of renal impairment in people living with HIV (PLWH) in rural Tanzania when switching to ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (bPI) as part of their antiretroviral treatment.
- At the time of the switch, 7.6% of the participants exhibited renal impairment, and within this group, 7.4% developed renal issues over an average of 3.5 years.
- Factors contributing to renal impairment included older age, low body mass index, and arterial hypertension, while a longer duration of antiretroviral treatment was linked to a lower risk of developing impairment.
Background: Prompt linkage to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care after diagnosis is of utmost importance for individual health and reduction of HIV transmission. Different definitions for “linkage to care” have challenged comparisons as a public health marker. Its meaning in the era of “universal test and treat” has transformed in all settings, but is most relevant in sub-Sahara Africa, where the burden of new HIV infection is still highest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Arterial hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Only a few and mostly small randomized trials have studied antihypertensive treatments in people of African descent living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods: In this open-label, three-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted at two rural hospitals in Lesotho and Tanzania, we compare the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of three antihypertensive treatment strategies among participants aged ≥ 18 years.
Background: Stillbirth is a major cause of perinatal mortality and occurs disproportionately in developing countries including Tanzania. However, there is scant information regarding the predictors of this condition in Tanzania. This study aimed to determine maternal and fetal risk factors for stilbirth in northen Tanzania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF. Placenta previa (PP) is a potential risk factor for obstetric hemorrhage, which is a major cause of fetomaternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. This study aimed to determine frequency, risk factors, and adverse fetomaternal outcomes of placenta previa in Northern Tanzania.
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