Improvements in Early Infant Diagnosis, Timely Return of Test Results, and Antiretroviral Initiation From Baseline to Endline After Implementing a Quality Improvement Collaborative Approach, Zambia
| Indicators | Baseline Jan. 2016–Dec. 2016 | Implementation Mar. 2017–May 2018 | Endline Mar. 2018–May 2018 | Change Base to End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EID testing | HEIs who received EID DBS at <8 weeks of age, % | 77 | 84 | 89 | 12 |
| HEIs who received EID DBS at >8 weeks of age, % | |||||
| Return of test results | HEIs tested who were identified as infected, % | 3 | 3 | 2 | −1 |
| HEIs identified as infected who received their results, % | 44 | 86 | 79 | 35 | |
| Mean time between positive EID DBS result and initiating ART, days | 48 | 14 | 9 | −39 | |
| ART initiation | HIV-infected infants initiated on ART, % | 44 | 83 | 80 | 36 |
| HIV-infected infants initiated on ART the same day positive test were received, % | 12 | 18 | 11 | −1 | |
| HIV-positive infants initiated on ART within 2 weeks of receiving positive test results, % | 23 | 61 | 71 | 48 |
Abbreviations: ART, antiretroviral therapy; DBS, dried blood sample; EID, early infant diagnosis; HEI, HIV-exposed infant; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.