With Appropriate Training, Nurses Can Safely Provide Ongoing ART Care

Task-shifting has been proposed by the WHO as a way to mitigate the burden that HIV treatment places on healthcare systems, but is it good for patients? Two previous trials in Africa demonstrated comparable outcomes between patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) who received ongoing care from nurses and those who received such care from doctors. Recently, researchers conducted a third trial on the topic, involving 31 clinics in South Africa.

Nurses in 16 of the clinics were randomized to receive a training intervention (called STRETCH) that was designed to enable them to initiate ART in treatment-naive patients and provide ongoing care for patients already receiving ART, with referral to doctors as necessary. Meanwhile, nurses in the contr…