BCP and HBAC Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

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Investigator: George Rutherford, MD
Sponsor: Health Strategies International

Location(s): Uganda

Description

The Basic Care Package (BCP) is a minimum set of evidence-based interventions for HIV-infected persons. The The Home-based AIDS care (HBAC) program  delivers and monitors antiretroviral (ARV) and tuberculosis (TB) medications at home. 
In Uganda, the high cost and complexity of administering antiretroviral therapy is an obstacle to full implementation country-wide. The Home-based AIDS care program (HBAC) project was designed to deliver and monitor ARV and tuberculosis (TB) medications at the homes of 1,000 people with HIV living in a rural area of Uganda. In addition, the cost and complexity of frequent laboratory monitoring of viral load and CD4 cell counts is a major impediment to widespread use of ARV therapies in Uganda and other resource-limited settings. Nested within the Home-Based AIDS Care (HBAC) project, is a randomized study of strategies for monitoring ARV therapy that involves 3 arms: 1) Quarterly CD4 cell counts, viral loads and home visits by trained lay persons; 2) Quarterly CD4 cell counts and home visits; and 3) Home visits alone.