TABLE 1.
Participant Baseline Characteristics
| Characteristic | Clinician (N = 885) | Nurse (N = 875) | Total (N = 1760) |
| Age (mean, SD) | 34.9 (9.14) | 35.3 (9.88) | 35.1 (9.51) |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 487 (55.0%) | 479 (54.7%) | 966 (54.9%) |
| Male | 398 (45.0%) | 396 (45.3%) | 794 (45.1%) |
| Education | |||
| None | 67 (7.6%) | 67 (7.7%) | 134 (7.6%) |
| Primary | 491 (55.5%) | 485 (55.4%) | 976 (55.5%) |
| Secondary or higher | 327 (36.9%) | 323 (36.9%) | 650 (36.9%) |
| Marital status | |||
| Single | 126 (14.2%) | 124 (14.2%) | 250 (14.2%) |
| Married/Cohabiting | 498 (56.3%) | 505 (57.7%) | 1003 (57.0%) |
| Divorced/Separated/Widowed | 261 (29.5%) | 246 (28.1%) | 507 (28.8%) |
| HIV disclosure at baseline (yes) | 848 (95.8%) | 846 (96.7%) | 1694 (96.3%) |
| WHO staging | |||
| Stage I or II | 845 (95.5%) | 841 (96.1%) | 1686 (95.8%) |
| Stage III or IV | 40 (4.5%) | 34 (3.9%) | 74 (4.2%) |
| CD4 (cells/µL) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 322.0 (160.4) | 304.0 (145.9) | 314.1 (153.53) |
| Categories | |||
| <100 | 99 (11.2%) | 100 (11.4%) | 199 (11.3%) |
| 101–249 | 177 (20.0%) | 187 (21.4%) | 364 (20.7%) |
| 250–349 | 173 (19.5%) | 194 (22.2%) | 367 (20.9%) |
| 350–499 | 403 (45.5%) | 372 (42.5%) | 775 (44.0%) |
| >500 | 31 (3.5%) | 19 (2.2%) | 50 (2.8%) |
| Missing* | 2 (0.2%) | 3 (0.3%) | 5 (0.3%) |
| Karnofsky score | |||
| Mean (SD) | 96.6 (5.62) | 95.1 (6.67) | 95.9 (6.21) |
| Categories | |||
| Below 90 | 33 (3.7%) | 65 (7.4%) | 98 (5.6%) |
| 90 and above | 841 (95.0%) | 807 (92.2%) | 1648 (93.6%) |
| Missing | 11 (1.2%) | 3 (0.3%) | 14 (0.8%) |
| Baseline VL copies/mL | |||
| Median | 35,504 | 42,058 | 38,924 |
| Interquartile range | 6180–110476 | 8930–142156 | 7428–131640 |
| Mean (SD) | 137548.1 (376961.9) | 165110.3 (424783.9) | 151085.6 (401267.9) |
| Categories | |||
| Undetected (<20) | 23 (2.6%) | 23 (2.6%) | 46 (2.6%) |
| 21 to <1000 | 77 (8.7%) | 60 (6.9%) | 137 (7.8%) |
| 1000 to 99,999 | 471 (53.2%) | 423 (48.3%) | 894 (50.8%) |
| >100,000 | 206 (23.3%) | 244 (27.9%) | 450 (25.6%) |
| Missing | 108 (12.2%) | 125 (14.3%) | 233 (13.2%) |
| Baseline VL log (base e) copies/mL | |||
| Median (IQR) | 10.5 (8.7–11.6) | 10.7 (9.1–11.9) | 10.6 (8.9–11.8) |
| Mean (SD) | 9.9 (2.59) | 10.2 (2.50) | 10.1 (2.55) |
*
Five participants who were either breastfeeding, pregnant, or a seropositive partner in a serodiscordant couple did not have a baseline CD4 and were determined to be eligible for the study.
ARV, antiretroviral; ; IQR, interquartile range, VL, viral load.