Table 1:
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of participants at baseline
| Friendship Bench | Standard of Care | Total | p-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N=244 | N=272 | N=516 | |||||
|
| |||||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 45.6 | (11.3) | 45.5 | (10.5) | 45.6 | (10.9) | 0.93 |
| Sex | 0.34 | ||||||
| Female | 211 | (86.5) | 227 | (83.5) | 438 | (84.9) | |
| Male | 33 | (13.5) | 45 | (16.5) | 78 | (15.1) | |
| Marital status | 0.13 | ||||||
| Married/Living together | 119 | (48.8) | 146 | (53.7) | 265 | (51.4) | |
| Widowed/Divorced/Separated | 111 | (45.5) | 120 | (44.1) | 231 | (44.8) | |
| Single | 13 | (5.3) | 6 | (2.2) | 19 | (3.7) | |
| Missing | 1 | (0.4) | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.2) | |
| Education | 0.13 | ||||||
| Primary | 114 | (46.7) | 115 | (42.3) | 229 | (44.4) | |
| Secondary or higher | 110 | (45.1) | 146 | (53.7) | 256 | (49.6) | |
| Missing | 20 | (8.2) | 11 | (4.0) | 31 | (6.0) | |
| SSQ-14 score, mean (SD) | 10.1 | (1.1) | 9.9 | (1.1) | 10.0 | (1.1) | 0.09 |
| PHQ-9 score | <0.001 | ||||||
| Missing | 1 | (0.4) | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.2) | |
| Years on ART, median (IQR) | 7.9 (5.0–9.7) | 6.6 (4.4–8.6) | 7.0 (4.8–9.1) | 0.001 | |||
| Median (IRQ) | |||||||
| Missing | 9 | (3.7) | 8 | (2.9) | 17 | (3.3) | |
| WHO clinical stage | <0.001 | ||||||
| Stage 1 | 86 | (35.2) | 56 | (20.6) | 142 | (27.5) | |
| Stage 2 | 55 | (22.5) | 97 | (35.7) | 152 | (29.5) | |
| Stage 3 | 103 | (42.2) | 119 | (43.8) | 222 | (43.0) | |
| ART regimen | 0.09 | ||||||
| NNRTI-based | 237 | (97.1) | 270 | (99.3) | 507 | (98.3) | |
| Dolutegravir-based | 7 | (2.9) | 2 | (0.7) | 9 | (1.7) | |
| CD4 count in cells/μL, median (IQR) | 527 (368–697) | 572 (410–731) | 552 (401–721) | 0.04 | |||
| Missing | 69 | (28.3) | 73 | (26.8) | 151 | (28.2) | |
| Viral load | 0.08 | ||||||
| ≥1000 copies/mL | 9 | (3.7) | 20 | (7.4) | 29 | (5.6) | |
| <1000 copies/mL | 182 | (74.6) | 200 | (73.5) | 382 | (74.0) | |
| Missing | 53 | (21.7) | 52 | (19.1) | 105 | (20.3) | |
| Self-reported adherence, % | |||||||
| Mean (SD) | 98 (6) | 98 (4) | 98 (5) | 0.08 | |||
| Missing | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.4) | 1 | (0.2) | |
| Comprehensive ART knowledge | 0.21 | ||||||
| No | 41 | (16.8) | 35 | (12.9) | 76 | (14.7) | |
| Yes | 203 | (83.2) | 237 | (87.1) | 440 | (85.3) | |
| HFIS score (median, IQR) | 3 | (0–8) | 3 | (0–7) | 3 | (0–7) | 0.41 |
| MOS-SS score (median, IQR) | 26 (18–35) | 32 (24–36) | 30 (20–36) | <0.001 | |||
| AUDIT-C screening outcome | 0.06 | ||||||
| Negative | 232 | (95.1) | 251 | (92.3) | 483 | (93.6) | |
| Positive | 8 | (3.3) | 19 | (7.0) | 27 | (5.2) | |
| Missing | 4 | (1.6) | 2 | (0.7) | 6 | (1.2) | |
| AUDIT-C score, mean (SD) | 0.3 | (0.9) | 0.5 | (1.4) | 0.4 | (1.2) | 0.04 |
| Cost of transportation to facility (return) | <0.001 | ||||||
| 0 USD | 126 | (51.6) | 111 | (40.8) | 237 | (45.9) | |
| <2 USD | 34 | (13.9) | 14 | (5.1) | 48 | (9.3) | |
| 2–5 USD | 52 | (21.3) | 67 | (24.6) | 119 | (23.1) | |
| >5 USD | 32 | (13.1) | 80 | (29.4) | 112 | (21.7) | |
SD=standard deviation, IQR=interquartile range, WHO=World Health Organization, ART=antiretroviral therapy, NNRTI=Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors; HFIS=Household Food Insecurity Access Scale; MOS-SS= Medical Outcomes Study Social Support, AUDIT-C= Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise Test. P-values for categorical variables are from chi-square tests (missing categories were excluded). P values for continuous variables are from t-tests or Wilcoxon signed ranks test.