Jul 14, 2010

The Lancet on Nurse-Managed HIV Care

Now there’s more evidence that task shifting can be a safe and effective way to care for underserved populations, vis-à-vis health workforce shortages and a high burden of disease in many parts of the developing world.

According to a recently-published study in The Lancet, nurses are as capable of administering antiretroviral therapy to HIV-positive patients and managing their care as doctors are. In a “randomised non-inferiority trial,” a team of researchers monitored patient outcomes in South African primary-care clinics, and found virtually no difference between nurse- vs. doctor-monitored failure/error rates.

The study was covered by several news outlets, including IRIN, and is significant to future policies and development efforts that focus on task shifting—on the premise that well-trained nurses and other medical cadres can help expand access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment and other critical services where there are too few physicians to adequately meet patient or community health needs.

Nurse versus doctor management of HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy
The Lancet, Volume 376, Issue 9734, Pages 33 - 40, 3 July 2010
Summary | Full Text (Free registration is required to view the Lancet article.)

Posted by Lindsey Graham at 08:35 AM