ArticleBMC health services research2013
Using concept mapping to explore why patients become lost to follow up from an antiretroviral therapy program in the Zomba District of Malawi.
Article in BMC health services research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Why do female sex workers disengage from targeted reproductive and sexual health services? Experiences from the Sisters with a Voice programme in Zimbabwe.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Loss to Hospital Follow-Up in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria Survivors: A Case-Control Study.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Predictors of antiretroviral therapy interruptions and factors influencing return to care at the Nkolndongo Health District, Cameroon.African health sciences · 2021Article
- Outcomes and factors affecting mortality and successful tracing among patients lost to follow-up from antiretroviral therapy in Pawi Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Tropical medicine and health · 2019Article
- Using concept mapping to identify policy options and interventions towards people-centred health care services: a multi stakeholders perspective.International journal for equity in health · 2018Article
- A retrospective notes-based review of patients lost to follow-up from anti-retroviral therapy at Mulanje Mission Hospital, Malawi.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2018Article
- Loss to Follow-up Trends in HIV-Positive Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment in Asia From 2003 to 2013.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2017Article
- Identifying common barriers and facilitators to linkage and retention in chronic disease care in western Kenya.BMC public health · 2016Article
- Health-related quality of life of antiretroviral treatment defaulters in Botswana.Southern African journal of HIV medicine · 2016Article
- Integrating views on support for mid-level health worker performance: a concept mapping study with regional health system actors in rural Guatemala.International journal for equity in health · 2015Article
- Implementation and operational research: evaluating outcomes of patients lost to follow-up in a large comprehensive care treatment program in western Kenya.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2015Article
- Socially-integrated transdisciplinary HIV prevention.AIDS and behavior · 2014Article
- Understanding reasons for treatment interruption amongst patients on antiretroviral therapy--a qualitative study at the Lighthouse Clinic, Lilongwe, Malawi.Global health action · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRetention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes remains a challenge in many settings including Malawi, in part due to high numbers of losses to follow-up. Concept Mapping (CM), a mix-method participatory approach, was used to explore why patients on ART are lost to follow-up (LTFU) by identifying: 1) factors that influence patient losses to follow-up and 2) barriers to effective and efficient tracing in Zomba, Malawi.
methodsCM sessions (brainstorming, sorting and rating, interpretation) were conducted in urban and rural settings in Zomba, Malawi. Participants included ART patients, ART providers, Health Surveillance Assistants, and health managers from the Zomba District Health Office. In brainstorming, participants generated statements in response to "A specific reason why an individual on ART becomes lost to follow-up is…" Participants then sorted and rated the consolidated list of brainstormed items. Analysis included inductive qualitative methods for grouping of data and quantitative cluster identification to produce visual maps which were then interpreted by participants.
resultsIn total, 90 individuals brainstormed 371 statements, 64 consolidated statements were sorted (participant n = 46), and rated on importance and feasibility (participant n = 69). A nine-cluster concept map was generated and included both patient- and healthcare-related clusters such as: Stigma and Fears, Beliefs, Acceptance and Knowledge of ART, Access to ART, Poor Documentation, Social and Financial Support Issues, Health Worker Attitudes, Resources Needed for Effective Tracing, and Health Worker Issues Related to Tracing. Strategies to respond to the clusters were generated in Interpretation.
conclusionsMultiple patient- and healthcare focused factors influence why patients become LTFU. Findings have implications particularly for programs with limited resources struggling with the retention of ART patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.