Barriers to Access to Antiretroviral Treatment in Mozambique, as Perceived by Patients and Health Workers in Urban and Rural Settings

Abstract

This study identifies, ranks, and compares factors perceived as barriers to accessing antiretroviral treatment (ART) in urban and rural settings in Mozambique. Data were collected between March and July 2008. It consisted of 13 focus group discussions and a structured questionnaire administered to 252 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and 28 health workers in the districts of Beira and Buzi. Data analysis was performed using content analysis, factor analysis, and percentages of the maximum attainable scores. The data analysis revealed six clusters of factors, which were ranked according to the percentages of the maximum attainable scores between brackets: (1) patient resource availability, in which distance from home to the health facility, transportation and food availability were rated below 40%; (2) community information (47%), and (3) service availability (53%), in which the waiting time to receive the results of CD4 analysis and the sufficiency of doctors/nurses at the health facility were both rated at 45%; (4) patient information and attitudes toward treatment (74%); family support (77%) and health personnel confidentiality (79%). Policy makers, in efforts to further improve the access to ART may decide to target their attention in designing interventions to improve specific aspects of patient resource availability, community information, and service availability in both urban and rural settings.