Table 1.
Characteristics of 517 patients in HIV care services in rural Zambézia Province, Mozambique, comparing persons who did and did not seek initial care from a Traditional Healer
| No healer | 1 healer | 2 or more healers | Combined | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n=196) | (n=115) | (n=206) | (n=517) | ||
| Female, n(%) | 91 (46%) | 76 (66%) | 118 (57%) | 285 (55%) | 0.003 |
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 28 (23–37) | 29 (21–38) | 29 (23–37) | 29 (23–37) | 0.67 |
| Name of Community , n(%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Inhassunge | 117 (60%) | 39 (34%) | 48 (23%) | 204 (39%) | |
| Namacurra | 79 (40%) | 76 (66%) | 158 (77%) | 313 (61%) | |
| Civil Status, n(%) | 0.11 | ||||
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | |
| Single | 37 (19%) | 19 (17%) | 21 (10%) | 77 (15%) | |
| Married | 117 (60%) | 64 (56%) | 123 (60%) | 304 (59%) | |
| Divorced | 19 (10%) | 19 (17%) | 36 (18%) | 74 (14%) | |
| Widowed | 23 (12%) | 13 (11%) | 25 (12%) | 61 (12%) | |
| Education (years), median (IQR) | 4 (1–6) | 3 (0–6) | 3 (0–6) | 4 (0–6) | 0.08 |
| Language spoken at home | |||||
| Portuguese | 35 (18%) | 21 (18%) | 41 (20%) | 97 (19%) | 0.86 |
| Chuabo | 186 (95%) | 109 (95%) | 196 (95%) | 491 (95%) | 0.99 |
| Other | 4 (2%) | 6 (5%) | 10 (5%) | 20 (4%) | 0.24 |
| Travel time to clinic (minutes), median (IQR) | 60 (40–90) | 60 (30–90) | 60 (30–90) | 60 (30–90) | 0.30 |
| Transportation source to clinic, n(%) | 0.04 | ||||
| Missing | 9 (5%) | 10 (9%) | 14 (7%) | 33 (6%) | |
| Walk | 135 (72%) | 69 (66%) | 115 (60%) | 319 (66%) | |
| Bike | 29 (16%) | 14 (13%) | 30 (16%) | 73 (15%) | |
| Car/motorcycle | 23 (12%) | 22 (21%) | 47 (24%) | 92 (19%) | |
| Duration of symptoms before testing (days), median (IQR) | 60 (21–150) | 90 (60–180) | 270 (150–365) | 120 (60–365) | <0.001 |
| HIV Knowledge (% correct), median (IQR) | 74 (63–82) | 70 (63–82) | 74 (67–82) | 74 (63–82) | 0.07 |
| Visited Religious Leader, n(%) | 17 (9%) | 13 (12%) | 34 (17%) | 64 (13%) | 0.05 |
| CD4+ cell count/µL, median (IQR) | 239 (83–385) | 352 (156–557) | 193 (68–382) | 242 (89–406) | 0.01 |
| Missing, n(%) | 126 (64%) | 73 (63%) | 117 (57%) | 316 (61%) | |
| WHO stage, n(%) | 0.24 | ||||
| Missing | 102 (52%) | 68 (59%) | 107 (52%) | 277 (54%) | |
| I | 50 (53%) | 24 (51%) | 36 (36%) | 110 (46%) | |
| II | 8 (9%) | 4 (9%) | 11 (11%) | 23 (10%) | |
| III | 33 (35%) | 19 (40%) | 47 (47%) | 99 (41%) | |
| IV | 3 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (5%) | 8 (3%) | |
| Height (cm), median (IQR) | 160 (155–167) | 160 (153–164) | 159 (154–166) | 160 (154–166) | 0.84 |
| Missing, n(%) | 93 (47%) | 66 (57%) | 106 (51%) | 265 (51%) | |
| Weight (kg), median (IQR) | 48.0 (44.8–53.5) | 48.0 (41.9–54.0) | 46.8 (40–54.3) | 47.5 (41.5–54) | 0.23 |
| Missing, n(%) | 86 (44%) | 51 (44%) | 86 (42%) | 223 (43%) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (IQR) | 19.5 (17.8–21.5) | 18.4 (17.0–21.4) | 18.2 (16.5–21.2) | 19.0 (17.0–21.4) | 0.26 |
| Missing, n(%) | 122 (62%) | 77 (67%) | 127 (62%) | 326 (63%) |
Percentages are computed using the number of patients with a non-missing value. Continuous variables are reported as median with interquartile range (i.e., the 25th and 75th percentiles).