Assessing The Quality Of ART Services For People Living With HIV At The Greater Accra Regional Hospital In Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Poor adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) services compromises the effectiveness of available treatments. In Ghana. The ART coverage stands at 33.88%. Greater Accra Region is among the major regional contributors of the low ART coverage in Ghana. The staggering fold in coverage difference in ART coverage in Ghana compared to other countries is an issue of concern to the health management team. The perceptions of clients and service providers on ART services quality are important in ART service utilization. Similarly. Expectations from the client perspectives play a major role in improving ART services and subsequent coverage. Objectives: This study seeks to assess the quality of ART services for People Living with HIV at me Grater Accra Regional hospital. Methods: The study was a mixed design using quantitative and qualitative methods. The sources population was HIV positive clients less than or equal to 18 years, nurses and pharmacists working at the ART clinic. Convenient and purposive sampling techniques were used to select clients and nurses pharmacists for survey IDIs and KII respectively. An observational checklist in a form of facility assessment tool was used to determine quality of ART services in relation to readiness for initiating ART. Simple descriptive statistics was used to represent factors influencing ART quality. Service providers and clients' expectations on improving quality of ART services were analyzed using thematic: Content Analysis (TCA). Results: Among the participants, adherence to ART was 65.9%. Majority (88.9%) of the clients perceived service offered at ART to be of good quality. Waiting time to see doctor, travel time to ART facility and adherence to ART medication were major predications of quality ART service. Health workers believe provision of logistics and trained staff could improve ART service quality at the ART unit. Conclusion: Health providers at the ART unit lack adequate understanding of quality ART services. However, patients, despite the inadequate comprehensive understanding of quality ART service among service providers, perceive ART services at the unit to be of good quality. Waiting time to see doctor, travel time to ART facility and adherence to ART medication were factors influencing quality ART service.