ART
Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is a comprehensive HIV treatment service provided to people living with HIV (PLHIV) to suppress the HIV virus, strengthen the immune system, prevent HIV-related illnesses, and support patients to live longer and healthier lives.
At Kiziguro District Hospital, the ART service provides continuous, patient-centered HIV care, including HIV treatment, monitoring, counseling, adherence support, and prevention services.
The ART service package generally includes:
- HIV testing and linkage to care :HIV testing, confirmation according to national guidelines, and timely linkage of people diagnosed with HIV to treatment and care.
- ART initiation and management : Assessment and initiation of antiretroviral medicines and regular review of treatment.
- Medication refills :Provision of ART medicines and appropriate follow-up appointments to support uninterrupted treatment.
- Adherence counseling and psychosocial support : Counseling to help clients take medicines correctly and consistently and address barriers to treatment.
- Viral load monitoring : Routine monitoring of viral load to assess treatment effectiveness and identify possible treatment failure.
- Clinical monitoring : Regular assessment of the patient's health, including identification and management of HIV-related conditions and treatment side effects.
- Prevention and positive prevention services : Counseling on safer sexual practices, prevention of HIV transmission, and partner/family services.
- TB and other opportunistic infection screening : Screening, prevention, referral, and management of common HIV-associated infections.
- Maternal and child HIV services : HIV care for pregnant and breastfeeding women, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and appropriate follow-up of exposed infants.
- Differentiated service delivery : Where eligible, clients may receive convenient and patient-centered approaches for ART refills and follow-up.
- Referral and linkage services :Referral to other specialized services when a patient's clinical, psychosocial, or social needs require additional care.
- Health education and counseling :Education on HIV treatment, nutrition, healthy lifestyles, prevention, and the importance of regular follow-up
