Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the quality improvement (QI) group and standard of care (SOC) group clusters
| QI group | SOC group | |
|---|---|---|
| Patients in care, mean per month (SD) | ||
| Patient headcounta | 3448.8 (1833.1) | 2836.4 (993.8) |
| HIV patients in care | 1047.6 (1250.45) | 653·0 (443.3) |
| HIV‐TB patients in care | 133.8 (128.5) | 84.7 (60.3) |
| Clinic categorization n/N (%)b | ||
| High‐burden clinics | 14/20 (70%) | 11/20 (55%) |
| Low‐burden clinics | 6/20 (30%) | 9/20 (45%) |
| Staff complement (n) | ||
| NIMART trained nursesc | 79 | 79 |
| TB trained nursesd | 29 | 39 |
| Enrolled nurses | 27 | 17 |
| Data capturers | 30 | 29 |
| Lay counsellors | 43 | 38 |
| Community caregivers | 274 | 286 |
| Nurse:patient ratio | ||
| Monthly nurse:patient ratio | 1:308 | 1:266 |
Abbreviations: NIMART, Nurse Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy; QI, quality improvement; SD, Standard Deviation; SOC, standard of care; TB, tuberculosis.
Refers to all patients accessing the clinic for any care service.
Mean monthly patient headcount >2500 = High burden, < 2500 =Low burden.
Refers to nurses who are initiating and managing patients on ART after undergoing the necessary training provided by an appropriate service provider. NIMART training was not provided in the study.
Refers to nurses who are initiating and managing TB patients after undergoing the necessary training provided by an appropriate service provider. Training for TB treatment initiation and management of TB patients was not provided in the study.