Assessing linkage to and retention in care among HIV patients in Uganda and identifying opportunities for health systems strengthening: a descriptive study

Table 1 Patient and facility characteristics in relation to linkage to care^a

Characteristic	N	N (%) linked to care within 1 month	Univariate OR (95% CI)	p-value	Multivariate OR (95% CI)	p-value
Sex
Female	557	50.4%	0.77 (0.58-1.03)	0.08	0.80 (0.60-1.06)	0.12
Male	371	56.9%	Ref		Ref
Age group
< 10 years	73	57.5%	1.21 (0.81-1.82)	0.35	1.10 (0.73-1.67)	0.65
10-18 years	78	39.7%	0.59 (0.36-0.96)	0.03	0.58 (0.35-0.96)	0.03
19-48 years	688	53.5%	Ref		Ref
49+ years	74	64.9%	1.65 (0.95-2.86)	0.07	1.61 (0.94-2.75)	0.08
Missing	15	66.7%	–		–
Clinical stage^b
I	290	–	–		–
II	90	–	–		–
III or IV	25	–	–		–
Missing	523	–	–		–
Facility location
Rural/remote (n = 14)	616	49.7%	0.67 (0.46-0.98)	0.04	0.64 (0.43-0.95)	0.03
Semi−/peri-urban (n = 6)	312	59.6%	Ref		Ref
Facility size of expert client staff pool
1 or fewer (n = 3)	98	52.0%	0.88 (0.34-2.27)	0.79	–
2-4 (n = 9)	445	51.2%	0.85 (0.57-1.25)	0.41	–
5+ (n = 8)	385	55.3%	Ref		–
Facility level
III (n = 9)	377	52.3%	0.95 (0.59-1.52)	0.83	–
IV (n = 11)	551	53.5%	Ref		–
Days ART offered per week
1 (n = 9)	384	47.9%	0.83 (0.53-1.30)	0.41	–
2-3 (n = 8)	394	58.1%	1.25 (0.84-1.85)	0.28	–
4-5 (n = 3)	150	52.7%	Ref		–

^aLinkage to care measured within 1 month among 928 patients newly diagnosed with HIV at 20 facilities in Uganda. Logistic regression models used cluster-robust standard errors to account for clustering by health facility. Variables that were statistically significant or borderline significant in univariate models were included in the multivariable models
^bClinical stage data was only available for patients who linked to care; therefore, it was not possible to include this information in the models

ISSN: 1471-2334