AUTHOR=Iseselo Masunga K. , Ambikile Joel S. , Lukumay Gift G. , Mosha Idda H. 

TITLE=Challenges in the delivery of health services for people living with HIV in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a qualitative descriptive study among healthcare providers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Health Services

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/health-services/articles/10.3389/frhs.2024.1336809

DOI=10.3389/frhs.2024.1336809

ISSN=2813-0146

ABSTRACT=Background: Healthcare providers play a great role in the provision of health services in the Care and Treatment Clinic (CTCs) including the provision of health education and counselling to clients to cope with their HIV/AIDS diseases. Little is known about the challenges healthcare providers face when providing such services to people living with HIV (PLWH) in low-resource settings. This study aimed to explore and understand the challenges healthcare providers face in delivering care to PLWH in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.We conducted a qualitative descriptive study to explore and understand the challenges healthcare providers face when providing health services to PLWH. The study was carried out in the CTC Clinics at Ubungo District in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Ten (10) healthcare providers were recruited using a purposive sampling technique until information saturation was attained. Faceto-face interviews were conducted to obtain the data. We transcribed the interviews verbatim and analyzed them using reflexive thematic analysis to obtain the themes and subthemes.Findings: Difficulty in managing clients' anti-retroviral (ARV) drug reactions, clients' financial problems, follow-up and index tracking problems emerged as client-related challenges. Inadequate and limited space for CTC services, lack of integrated HIV services and shortage of staff were  facility-related challenges that needed collaborative efforts to overcome it. Lack of up-to-date knowledge and limited access to health information were challenges related to healthcare providers. These challenges limit the provision of quality HIV care to the clients.This study highlights important challenges that hinder the quality of HIV services at CTCs. The implementation of appropriate infrastructure to promote the privacy and confidentiality of clients is necessary as it alleviates the burden on healthcare providers' jobs. The findings also suggest that healthcare providers improvise solutions to meet the needs of the clients in the study setting. Permanent resolution is required to overcome the challenges in CTCs. Further research including both providers and clients should be conducted to explore the challenges in CTCs in other similar settings.