ABSTRACT
The expansion of HIV/AIDS epidemic has now become a critical global issue. According to 2015 UNAIDS report, there are 36.9 million people living with HIV worldwide and around 1.2 million people died from AIDS-related illness in 2014. HIV/AIDS is the first leading cause of death and the estimated number of annual HIV-related deaths was over 10,000 in 2014. It is designated as first priority disease in Myanmar National Health Plan (2011-2015). The median survival time among HIV/AIDS patients varies on many factors including access to anti-retroviral therapy (ART), clinical factors and socio-demographic characteristics of patients. Although there were many studies which investigated the impact of clinical factors on survival of HIV/AIDS patients, the effect of socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, marital status, education, income, employment status and resident on survival and mortality among HIV/AIDS patients in Myanmar is poorly understood. Therefore, this study will assess survival and identify the sociodemographic determinants of mortality in adult HIV-infected patients on ART at HIV-Specialist Hospital in Myanmar. A registry based retrospective cohort study will be applied by reviewing baseline and follow-up records of patients who started ART between June 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015 at the HIV-Specialist Hospital in Yangon, Myanmar. Time to death will be the main outcome measure in the study. Life Table Analysis and Kaplan- Meier models will be used to estimate mortality and Cox proportional hazards models will also be applied to identify the determinants of mortality. Findings about the determinants of mortality will give clues for policy makers for public health intervention for better outcomes in the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. This study will provide inputs to HIV/AIDS program implementers for the improvement of survival and quality of living of HIV/AIDS patients in Myanmar.
Moderator: Dr.Lylla Winzer
March 2, 2016 Time: 12:30 – 13:30 hrs. Room Srabua 109
