Table 4.
Barriers to obtain ART and strategies to solve ATI among PLHIV at risk of ATI during the COVID‐19 outbreak in China
| Characteristics |
Total (N = 1782) N (%) |
Threatened but resolved risk of ATI (N = 730) n (%) |
Risk of imminent ATI (N = 917) n (%) |
Experienced ATI (N = 135) n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. days of ART reserve when PLHIV realized risk of ATI: Median (IQR) | 10 (6 to 15) | 10 (6 to 20) | 10 (7 to 15)a | 5 (0 to 14)b |
| Strategies used to solve ATI | ||||
| Disclosed HIV status and applied for permission to travel to an HIV clinic | 87 (4.88) | 42 (5.75) | 42 (4.58) | 3 (2.22) |
| Pretended to have a disease other than HIV requiring urgent care | 862 (48.37) | 436 (59.73) | 374 (40.79) | 52 (38.52) |
| Decided not to obtain ART to avoid disclosure of HIV status | 637 (35.75) | 80 (10.96) | 502 (54.74) | 55 (40.74) |
| Otherc | 361 (20.26) | 199 (27.26) | 136 (14.83) | 26 (19.26) |
| Barriers to obtaining ART from HIV clinics during COVID‐19 | ||||
| Cumbersome administrative procedures | 911 (51.12) | 379 (51.92) | 463 (50.49) | 69 (51.11) |
| Lockdown and travel restrictions | 1172 (65.77) | 449 (61.51) | 627 (68.38) | 96 (71.11) |
| Fear of disclosing HIV status | 1379 (77.38) | 584 (80.00) | 696 (75.90) | 99 (73.33) |
| Otherd | 192 (10.77) | 90 (12.33) | 86 (9.38) | 16 (11.85) |
| Preferred way of obtaining additional ART during COVID‐19 | ||||
| Mailed by one’s primary HIV clinic | 1418 (79.57) | 580 (79.45) | 731 (79.72) | 107 (79.26) |
| Dispensed by a nearby HIV clinic other than one’s primary HIV clinic | 251 (14.09) | 100 (13.70) | 128 (13.96) | 23 (17.04) |
| Purchased online and delivered by mail | 113 (6.34) | 50 (6.85) | 58 (6.32) | 5 (3.70) |
ART, antiretroviral therapy; ATI, antiretroviral therapy interruption; IQR, interquartile range; PLHIV, people living with HIV.
a
1 missing
b
1 missing
c
other includes violating travel restrictions to reach an HIV clinic and purchasing ART out of pocket
d
other includes insufficient ART supply at local clinics, suspension of postal and courier services and no response from local clinics.