Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28562661›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Effects of patient load and travel distance on HIV transmission in rural China: Implications for treatment as prevention.

M Kumi Smith, William C Miller, Huixin Liu, Chuanyi Ning, Wensheng He, Myron S Cohen, Ning Wang

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 50% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

M Kumi SmithDepartment of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5861-8100
William C MillerOhio State University College of Public Health, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
Huixin LiuDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Chuanyi NingUniversity of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Wensheng HeZhumadian City Centers for Disease Control, Zhumadian, Henan, People's Republic of China.
Myron S CohenUniversity of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
Ning WangNational Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USNational Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention,China CDC · CNPeking University · CNThe Ohio State University · USZhumadian Central Hospital · CN

Funding

Training in Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIVT32AI007001 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI SENA-SOBERANO, ARLENE C. · 1985 to 2025
$10.9M
Johns Hopkins HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Sciences Training ProgramT32AI102623 · NIAID · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Shruti H Mehta · 2013 to 2026
$5.3M
NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007001NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI102623
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSustained viral suppression through ART reduces sexual HIV transmission risk, but may require routine access to reliable and effective medical care which may be difficult to obtain in resource constrained areas. We investigated the roles of patient load and travel distance to HIV care clinic on transmission risk in HIV serodiscordant couples in Henan Province, China.

methodsCox proportional hazard models were used to compare HIV transmission events across couples living near, medium, or farther distances from their assigned HIV care clinics, as well as those attending clinics where clinicians bore high versus low patient loads.

resultsMost (84·4%) of the 3695 serodiscordant couples lived within 10 kilometers of their assigned HIV clinic, and most (73·5%) attended clinics with patient-to-provider ratios of at least 100:1. In adjusted Cox models, attending clinics where clinicians bore average patient loads of 100 or more elevated HIV transmission risk (aHR, 1·50, 95% CI, 1·00-4·84), an effect amplified in village tier clinics (aHR = 1·55; 95% CI, 1·23-6·78). Travel distance was associated with HIV transmission only after stratification; traveling medium distances to village clinics (5-10km) increased transmission risk (aHR = 1·83, 95% CI, 1·04-3·21) whereas traveling longer distances to township or county level clinics lowered transmission risk (aHR = 0·10, 95% CI, 0·01-0·75).

conclusionHigher patient loads at HIV clinics was associated with risk of HIV transmission in our population, particularly at village level clinics. Farther travel distance had divergent effects based on clinic tier, suggesting unique mechanisms operating across levels of resource availability. The resource intensity of long-term HIV treatment may place significant strains on small rural clinics, for which investments in additional support staff or time-saving tools such as point-of-care laboratory testing may bring about impactful change in treatment outcomes.

Indexed as

Rural PopulationTravelAdultChinaFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHIV InfectionsHumansMaleMiddle AgedSexual Partners

Identifiers

PMID28562661
PMCPMC5451043
OpenAlexW2617375360

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.