Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40514054›Full record

ArticleBMJ open quality2025

Return to care of children and adolescents living with HIV who missed their clinic visits or were lost to follow-up: a continuous quality improvement study in Uganda.

Ssentongo Mugerwa Saadick, Jonathan Izudi, Boniface Oryokot, Ronald Opito, Baker Bakashaba, Abel Munina, Kokas Opolot, Daniel Ogwal, Julius Ssendiwala, Kenneth Mugisha

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open quality, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

10 authors.

Ssentongo Mugerwa SaadickDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Uganda ssentongomugerwasaadick@gmail.com.ORCID 0009-0006-6270-4953
Jonathan IzudiDepartment of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.ORCID 0000-0001-9065-0389
Boniface OryokotDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Uganda.
Ronald OpitoDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Soroti, Uganda.
Baker BakashabaDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Uganda.
Abel MuninaDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Uganda.
Kokas OpolotDepartment of Health, Serere District Local Government, Serere, Uganda.
Daniel OgwalDepartment of Health, Serere District Local Government, Serere, Uganda.
Julius SsendiwalaMakerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Kampala, Uganda.
Kenneth MugishaDirectorate of Program Management and Capacity Development, AIDS Information Center, Kampala, Uganda, Kampala, Uganda.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets have been met among adults, those for children and adolescents remain suboptimal. This study aimed to improve the return-to-care rates among children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV) who missed clinic appointments at a county-level rural health facility in eastern Uganda.

methodsBetween January 2023 and January 2024, we conducted a continuous quality improvement (CQI) study. A CQI committee was established through entry meetings and training, and quality of care gaps were identified through data reviews. We prioritised one gap for CQI through ranking, performed a root-cause analysis using a fishbone diagram, and developed and ranked improvement changes using the impact-effort matrix. The improvement changes were implemented using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. The changes included (1) line listing CALHIV with missed appointments and following up via phone calls; (2) weekly data reviews to harmonise missed appointments and (3) assigning community health workers (CHWs) to trace and return CALHIV to care. We tracked and plotted the proportion of CALHIV returning to care over time to assess improvements.

resultsBefore the implementation of CQI initiatives (August 2022-January 2023), the average return-to-care rate was 35% (baseline). Following the initiation of CQI in February 2023, the average return-to-care rate increased to 59% from February to May 2023 with the introduction of line listing (phase 1), to 69% from June to September 2023 with the implementation of weekly data reviews (phase 2), and to 88% from October 2023 to January 2024 with the involvement of CHWs (phase 3), ultimately reaching a peak of 100% in January 2024.

conclusionThe CQI approach improved the return to care of CALHIV who missed clinic appointments, allowing access to optimal care and better health outcomes. These findings should serve as preliminary data for larger randomised studies.

Indexed as

HIV InfectionsLost to Follow-UpAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolContinuity of Patient CareFemaleHumansMaleQuality ImprovementUgandaAdolescentContinuous quality improvementPaediatricsPatient-centred care

Identifiers

PMID40514054
PMCPMC12164632

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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.