Out-of-pocket costs of HAART limit HIV treatment responses in Botswana's private sector.
A large number of HIV-infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa pay out-of-pocket for HAART. This analysis from Botswana indicates that higher median out-of-pocket regimen costs to patients for the initial 30 days of HAART are associated with failure to achieve a viral load< 400 copies/ml [US$32; interquartile range (IQR), 20-84 compared with US$22; (IQR, 17-36), P = 0.001]. HAART costs should be minimized as scale-up efforts in sub-Saharan Africa progress.
Bisson
Gregory P
GP
Division of Infectious Disease, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Frank
Ian
I
Gross
Robert
R
Lo Re
Vincent
V
Strom
Jordan B
JB
Wang
Xingmei
X
Mogorosi
Mpho
M
Gaolathe
Tendani
T
Ndwapi
Ndwapi
N
Friedman
Harvey
H
Strom
Brian L
BL
Dickinson
Diana
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D001902:Botswana; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017149:Private Sector; D013997:Time Factors
D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents