Assessment of HIV Rapid Test Kits Inventory Management Practice and Challenges in Public Health Facilities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Many people with undiagnosed HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa and vulnerable laboratory systems undermine testing services.

Methods: A facility-based mixed-approach cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1 to February 1, 2020. A total of 23 health facilities were included in the study which stratified into hospitals and health centers. Six months of bin card records and request and resupply forms (RRFs) were reviewed. Data were collected through physical inventory, observation, and document review. After the data was imported into the MS Excel 2016 spreadsheet, it was analyzed using SPSS | Version 20 | Software. In addition, 12 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and responses were analysed using a thematic approach.

Results: The entire health facility had RRF reports and bin card records while the availability of HIV rapid test kits was 75%. More than half, 38 (55.1%) of the bin card records were updated and the average data accuracy of bin cards was 84.1%. The data quality of the RRF reports was determined accurate 18 (78.3%), complete 15 (65.22%), and on-time 7 (30.3%). Sixteen (69.6%) health facilities experienced at least one stock out with an average daily stock out of 4%. The wastage rate was 0.0083%. Only 9 (39.1%) health facilities have fulfilled acceptable storage conditions.

Conclusion: Most of the health facilities did no longer fulfilled acceptable storage conditions. Similarly, the data quality of most bin card records and RRF reports was poor. This deprived inventory management practice was likely related to supply, staff, and documentation challenges.