Incidence and predictors of loss to follow-up after ART initiation at public health facilities in Sierra Leone (2020–2024): a retrospective cohort study
Lovel Fornah, Augustus Osborne, Mulugeta Shegaze Shimbre, Wei Ma · 2026
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Description
Lovel Fornah and colleagues count in 2026 how many people in Sierra Leone drop out of HIV care after starting treatment. Staying on antiretroviral therapy keeps the virus down and people alive, yet many vanish from clinic rolls. The team tracked adults at five provincial referral hospitals from 2020 to 2024.
Records covered 1,544 patients, about two thirds of them women, followed for a median of just over four years. About 36 percent were lost to follow-up, defined as 90 days without a visit or refill. Missing tuberculosis screening, advanced disease stage, and keeping HIV status secret all tied to higher dropout. Rural residence, by contrast, tied to lower dropout rates.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Lovel Fornah, Augustus Osborne, Mulugeta Shegaze Shimbre, Wei Ma |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60135 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |