Adamawa Regional Technical Group for the Fight Against HIV/AIDS and Regional Delegation of Public Health, National AIDS Control Program of the Ministry of Public Health, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon.
Department for the Control of Disease, Epidemics and Pandemics of the Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 31;22(1):2459. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14871-6.
To accelerate the fight against HIV/AIDS and eliminate the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the virus, Cameroon has implemented and intensified several strategies despite which numerous children continue to be born infected with HIV. This study aimed to evaluate these strategies put in place for the prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) in Cameroon.
A qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional analysis was conducted in seven PMTCT care units situated in the Adamawa region of the country. The qualitative analysis included 16 individual interviews of key informants and observations of attitudes and practices being implemented in each unit. On the other hand, the quantitative analysis targeted 106 known HIV-positive breastfeeding women being followed-up at the unit.
Task-shifting and sharing was effective, but majority of staffs had not received any specific training on PMTCT. Moreover, the integration of PMTCT within the maternal, neonatal and child health services remained ineffective, especially in health facilities of heavy workload. The coordination of PMTCT services was led by a well-designated focal person; however, his/her roles and responsibilities had not clearly been defined. Of the 106 women enrolled, 59.4% had a level of knowledge on PMTCT less than 80%. Similarly, their attitudes and practices towards PMTCT were inadequate or inaccurate in more than 60% of cases.
PMTCT strategies are globally well known and accepted by healthcare professionals. However, weaknesses have been figured out regarding service integration, task shifting and sharing, and coordination. In addition, beneficiaries' attitudes and practices are insufficient, and their level of knowledge does not guarantee to lessen the risk of MTCT of HIV.
为了加快防治艾滋病和消除艾滋病毒母婴传播（MTCT）的步伐，喀麦隆实施并加强了几项战略，尽管如此，仍有许多儿童继续感染艾滋病毒。本研究旨在评估喀麦隆为预防母婴传播而采取的这些战略。
在该国阿达马瓦地区的七个 PMTCT 护理单位进行了定性和定量的横断面分析。定性分析包括对 16 名关键知情者进行了 16 次个人访谈，并观察了每个单位实施的态度和做法。另一方面，定量分析的目标是在该单位接受随访的 106 名已知 HIV 阳性的哺乳期妇女。
任务转移和分担是有效的，但大多数工作人员没有接受过任何关于 PMTCT 的专门培训。此外，PMTCT 融入孕产妇、新生儿和儿童保健服务仍然无效，特别是在工作量大的卫生机构。PMTCT 服务的协调由指定的协调人负责；然而，他/她的角色和职责尚未明确界定。在登记的 106 名妇女中，59.4%对 PMTCT 的了解程度低于 80%。同样，她们对 PMTCT 的态度和做法在 60%以上的情况下是不充分或不准确的。
PMTCT 战略在全球范围内得到了医护人员的广泛认可和接受。然而，在服务整合、任务转移和分担以及协调方面存在弱点。此外，受益人的态度和做法不足，他们的知识水平并不能保证降低艾滋病毒母婴传播的风险。
