Reducing Initial Loss to Follow-up Among People With Bacteriologically Confirmed Tuberculosis: LINKEDin, a Quasi-experimental Study in South Africa.

Every person diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) needs to initiate treatment. The World Health Organization estimated that 61% of people who developed TB in 2021 were included in a TB treatment registration system. Initial loss to follow-up (ILTFU) is the loss of persons to care between diagnosis and treatment initiation/registration.

Patients' and Providers' Views on Optimal Evidence-Based and Scalable Interventions for Individuals at High Risk of HIV Treatment Failure: Sequential Explorations Among Key Stakeholders in Cape Town, South Africa.

To support translation of evidence-based interventions into practice for HIV patients at high risk of treatment failure, we conducted qualitative research in Cape Town, South Africa. After local health officials vetted interventions as potentially scalable, we held 41 in-depth interviews with patients with elevated viral load or a 3-month treatment gap at community clinics, followed by focus group discussions (FGDs) with 20 providers (physicians/nurses, counselors, and community health care workers). Interviews queried treatment barriers, solutions, and specific intervention options, including motivational text messages, data-informed counseling, individual counseling, peer support groups, check-in texts, and treatment buddies.

Implementing 'universal' access to antiretroviral treatment in South Africa: a scoping review on research priorities.

'Universal' access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has become the global standard for treating people living with HIV and achieving epidemic control; yet, findings from numerous 'test and treat' trials and implementation studies in sub-Saharan Africa suggest that bringing 'universal' access to ART to scale is more complex than anticipated. Using South Africa as a case example, we describe the research priorities and foci in the literature on expanded ART access. To do so, we adapted Arksey and O'Malley's six-stage scoping review framework to describe the peer-reviewed literature and opinion pieces on expanding access to ART in South Africa between 2000 and 2017.

Motivating people living with HIV to initiate antiretroviral treatment outside national guidelines in three clinics in the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial, South Africa.

: The HPTN 071 (PopART) trial implemented universal test and treat (UTT) in three clinics in the Western Cape, South Africa at a time when antiretroviral treatment (ART) was only offered by CD4 threshold and World Health Organization clinical staging. This required a concomitant shift in the way health workers communicated ART initiation messages. We provide insight into front-line ART initiation communication pre-national policy shift.

Brief Enhanced Partner Notification and Risk Reduction Counseling to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Evidence-based interventions are needed to stem sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Clinic-delivered counseling remains an important avenue for effective STI prevention.

Methods: A 3-arm randomized clinical trial compared (a) STI health education control condition, (b) risk reduction counseling, and (c) enhanced partner notification counseling.

Effects of enhanced STI partner notification counselling and provider-assisted partner services on partner referral and the incidence of STI diagnosis in Cape Town, South Africa: randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: We investigated the effects of an enhanced partner notification (PN) counselling intervention with the offer of provider-assisted referral among people diagnosed with STI in a Cape Town public clinic.

Methods: Participants were adults diagnosed with STI at a community clinic. After the standard STI consultation, participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to (1) 'HE': 20 min health education; (2) 'RR': 45 min risk reduction skills counselling; or (3) 'ePN': 45 min enhanced partner notification communication skills counselling and the offer of provider-assisted referral.

Mixture Modeling to Characterize Anorexia Nervosa: Integrating Personality and Eating Disorder Psychopathology.

Efforts to examine alternative classifications (e.g., personality) of anorexia nervosa (AN) using empirical techniques are crucial to elucidate diverse symptom presentations, personality traits, and psychiatric comorbidities.

Understanding the Time Needed to Link to Care and Start ART in Seven HPTN 071 (PopART) Study Communities in Zambia and South Africa.

To achieve UNAIDS 90:90:90 targets at population-level, knowledge of HIV status must be followed by timely linkage to care, initiation and maintenance of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with HIV (PLHIV). Interpreting quantitative patterns using qualitative data, we investigate time taken to link to care and initiate ART amongst individuals aware of their HIV-status in high HIV-prevalence urban communities in the HPTN 071 (PopART) study, a community-randomised trial of a combination HIV prevention package, including universal testing and treatment, in 21 communities in Zambia and South Africa. Data are drawn from the seven intervention communities where immediate ART irrespective if CD4 count was offered from the trial-start in 2014.

HIV and TB co-infection in the ART era: CD4 count distributions and TB case fatality in Cape Town.

Background: In Cape Town, the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased over the last decade with an estimated coverage of 63% of HIV- positive patients in 2013. The influence of ART on the characteristics of the population of HIV-positive patients presenting to the primary care TB programme is unknown. In this study, we examined trends in CD4 count distribution, ART usage and treatment outcomes among HIV-positive TB patients in Cape Town from 2009 to 2013.

Relationship between desired weight constructs and eating disorder severity following treatment for anorexia nervosa.

Background: Desired weight is an indicator of illness severity in youth with anorexia nervosa (AN), but its impact on eating disorder symptoms over time and in adults is unknown. This study examined longitudinal associations between two desired weight constructs (desired weight percentage, weight difference percentage) and eating disorder severity and body mass index (BMI) in patients aged 16-62 years old with AN presenting for inpatient or day hospital treatment.

Method: Participants (N = 160) completed the Eating Disorder Examination and measures of height and weight at treatment admission, discharge, and 3, 6, and 12 months post-discharge.

Attrition when providing antiretroviral treatment at CD4 counts >500cells/μL at three government clinics included in the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in South Africa.

Introduction: WHO recommends antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all HIV-positive individuals. This study evaluated the association between baseline CD4 count and attrition in a cohort of HIV positive adults initiating ART at three department of health (DOH) clinics routinely providing ART at baseline CD4 counts >500cells/μL for the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial.

Methods: All clients attending the DOH clinics were managed according to standard care guidelines with the exception that those starting ART outside of pertinent local guidelines signed research informed consent.

Factor Structure of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire in a Clinical Sample of Adult Women With Anorexia Nervosa.

An exploratory factor analysis on the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is presented for a clinical sample of women with anorexia nervosa. THE EDE-Q was completed by 169 participants after admission to an inpatient unit for eating disorders. Results of the current study did not support the four-factor model presented by the EDE-Q.

Incidence of Tuberculosis Among HIV-Positive Individuals Initiating Antiretroviral Treatment at Higher CD4 Counts in the HPTN 071 (PopART) Trial in South Africa.

Introduction: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) guidelines recommend life-long ART for all HIV-positive individuals. This study evaluated tuberculosis (TB) incidence on ART in a cohort of HIV-positive individuals starting ART regardless of CD4 count in a programmatic setting at 3 clinics included in the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial in South Africa.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of HIV-positive individuals aged ≥18 years starting ART, between January 2014 and November 2015, was conducted.

The Roy Adaptation Model: A Theoretical Framework for Nurses Providing Care to Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa.

Using a nursing theoretical framework to understand, elucidate, and propose nursing research is fundamental to knowledge development. This article presents the Roy Adaptation Model as a theoretical framework to better understand individuals with anorexia nervosa during acute treatment, and the role of nursing assessments and interventions in the promotion of weight restoration. Nursing assessments and interventions situated within the Roy Adaptation Model take into consideration how weight restoration does not occur in isolation but rather reflects an adaptive process within external and internal environments, and has the potential for more holistic care.

Trajectories of Change in Body Weight During Inpatient Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa.

Background: Identifying distinct trajectories of change in body weight during inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN) may provide knowledge about the process of weight restoration and may help detect optimal body weight response patterns among individuals who are at risk for not achieving weight restoration or leaving treatment prematurely.

Objective: This study explored the extent to which distinct trajectories of change in body weight existed among individuals during inpatient treatment for AN.

Design: Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify distinct trajectories of change in body weight among 500 individuals receiving inpatient treatment for AN.

Procedures and Protocols for Weight Assessment During Acute Illness in Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa: A National Survey.

Background: Weight assessment is a key component of nursing care for individuals with the acute illness of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, there is little data to guide protocols and procedures regarding weight assessment.

Objective: To describe institutional practices regarding weight assessment of individuals during acute illness of AN.

Intermittent explosive disorder and eating disorders: Analysis of national comorbidity and research samples.

Objective: Clinical studies suggest comorbidity between eating disorders and aggressive behaviors. This study examined the pattern of comorbidity between intermittent explosive disorder (IED) and eating disorders (ED).

Methods: Data were analyzed from both the adult and adolescent samples of the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (n = 19,430) and a clinical research sample (n = 1,642).

Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q): Norms for a Clinical Sample of Males.

Normative data on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) for a clinical sample of males in the United States are presented. Thirty-eight males completed the EDE-Q at time of admission to an inpatient unit for eating disorders. The majority of males were diagnosed with unspecified eating disorder (73.

Expansion of the Adherence Club model for stable antiretroviral therapy patients in the Cape Metro, South Africa 2011-2015.

Objective: The ambitious '90-90-90' treatment targets require innovative models of care to support quality antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery. While evidence for differentiated models of ART delivery is growing, there are few data on the feasibility of scale-up. We describe the implementation of the Adherence Club (AC) model across the Cape Metro health district in Cape Town, South Africa, between January 2011 and March 2015.

Availability and acceptability of HIV counselling and testing services. A qualitative study comparing clients' experiences of accessing HIV testing at public sector primary health care facilities or non-governmental mobile services in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: The South African government is striving for universal access to HIV counselling and testing (HCT), a fundamental component of HIV care and prevention. In the Cape Town district, Western Cape Province of South Africa, HCT is provided free of charge at publically funded primary health care (PHC) facilities and through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This study investigated the availability and accessibility of HCT services; comparing health seeking behaviour and client experiences of HCT across public PHC facilities (fixed sites) and NGO mobile services.