Table 1 Analysis outcomes and exposure

Outcome

Number of new ART initiators

Aggregate number of patients who initiated ART at a given facility in a given month (facility-month).

Confirmed tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis at the time of ART initiation

Confirmed diagnosis of pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB.

WHO HIV stage at the time of ART initiation

Defined by the WHO clinical stages of HIV, ranging from stage 1 (asymptomatic) to stage 4 (severe symptoms) [14]. Parameterized as a binary indicator– stage 4 or not.

CD4 count (cells/mm³)

Restricted to lab results obtained within 365 days before or 90 days after date of ART initiation. Parameterized as a binary indicator– CD4 count under 200 cells/mm³ or not.

ART initiation timeliness

Patients without a recorded HIV test date were excluded from analyses involving ART initiation timeliness. Parameterized as a binary indicator– ART initiation within seven days of a confirmatory positive HIV test or not, based on Ministry of Health (MOH) HIV testing guidance.

Exposure

Referral to treatment through index testing services (vs. referral through any means other than index testing; i.e., named partner vs. other ART initiators)

Patients who were referred to treatment through index testing services as a named partner by an index case prior to initiating ART were categorized as named partners. All other ART initiators were categorized as other ART initiators (including those named by index cases but after they had already initiated ART).