Informal health centers are booming in Cameroon and are utilized by a large part of the population. Most of these IHCs have antenatal care services (ANC) and screen pregnant women for HIV.  This dataset was collected in informal health centers in two cities in Cameroon: Douala and Yaounde.

This dataset aimed at firstly, investigate the initiation of Antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnant women screened positive for HIV in antenatal care services of IHCs, three months after HIV screening as well as their retention at 3 months post-initiation. Secondly, study the association between this intiation and retention with type of PMTCT site or model of care ( IHCs that offered integrated ANC and ART, VS those that required referral to HIV care centers). Third, identifying associated factors to ART non-initiation in this population.

From January 2018 to July 2020, we carried out a cohort study of pregnant women attending their first ANC and screened HIV positive at IHCs in Cameroon. Consenting participants  were interviewed at three points: the day of the delivery of the antenatal HIV test result, 3 months later and three months after ART initiation, using anonymous standardized questionnaires. The data collected were entered into Kobo collect and analyzed in SPSS V23.0 software.

Descriptive statistics were performed. Frequencies and percentage for categorical variables; median and interquartile ranges for continuous variables. Proportions were used to calculate ART coverage and retention. Chi-square was used to compare the proportions of initiation of ART and retention between group of women screened in IHCs without ART and those screened in IHCs with ART integrated in antenatal care service. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated to ART non-initiation at 95% confidence interval. Baseline variables were initially analyzed univariately and those which were significant at the level of 5% were retained for multivariable logistic regression. Baseline variables used for this purpose were type of PMTCT site, age group, study level, income generating activity, income generating activity of partner, relationship duration, Primiparity, Pregnancy willingness, perceived self-efficacy of being able to initiate ART.

A total of 182 pregnant women living with HIV were enrolled in the study. At the first ANC, 91% (166/182) were naïve of ART. Among them, only 45% (74/166) initiated ART and 65% (48/74) of them were retained in ART 3 months later. PWLHIV screened in IHCs with no ART (aOR = 14.07, 95%CI: 4.68-42.32, p<0.001) and those who doubted their perceived capacity to initiate ART (aOR= 15.43, 95% CI: 4.45 to 53.44, p< 0.001) were more likely to not initiate ART

Given the low enrollment in ART among pregnant women living with HIV, screened in informal health centers, and the early low retention among those who initiated ART, greater attention in PMTCT policies in Cameroon should be given to pregnant women screened positive for HIV during ANC in informal health centers, in order to guarantee them a continuum of PMTCT care.

We conducted a retrospective and a prospective cohort study in two towns in Cameroon. Retrospective data were collected from the period of January 2018 to April 2019, and the prospective cohort was conducted from July 2019 to July 2020. The population consisted of pregnant women attending their first ANC and screened HIV positive at IHCs. A total of 182 Consenting participants were interviewed at three points: at the delivery of the antenatal HIV test result, 3 months later, and three months after ART initiation, using anonymous standardized questionnaires. All  collected data were entered in Kobo Collect and analyzed using SPSS Version 23.0 Software

As variables, we have Type of IHC with two modalities (“ANC integrating ART”, “Refer for ART”);  Age group with three modalities (“15-24”, “25-34”, “35-49”); Study level with three modalities (“Primary”, “Secondary” and “University”); Income generating activity and income generating activity of partner with two modalities both (“yes” and “No”); the variable  “Activity sector” have four modalities ( “public sector”, “formal private sector”, “informal private sector” and  “N/A”. N/A stands for those who did not have any income generating activity); Relationship duration with four modalities (“˂ 12 months”, “1-2 years”, “2-4 years” and “≥4 years”. When performing logistic regression, we regrouped them into two modalities “less than 2 years” that comprised initial modalities “˂ 12 months” and “1-2 years”, and “≥ 2 years” that comprised the two other modalities “2-4 years” and “≥4 years”); Parity with two modalities (“primiparous” and “multiparous”); Planning pregnancy with two modalities (“yes” and “no”); Pregnancy willingness with two modalities (“yes” and “no”); Weeks of amenorrhea with three modalities (“˂ 16”, “16-28” and “˃ 28”); Perceived capacity to initiate ART (here we have three modalities: “yes”, “no” and “don’t know”. For analysed, we regrouped them in two modalities. The modality “yes” stayed “yes,” but modalities “no” and “don’t know” were put together as “no/don’t know”); ART Initiation within 3 months with three modalities ( “no” for those who did not initiate, “yes” for those who initiated and “Already on treatment” for those who were in ART at their inclusion in the study) ; Time between result and ART initiation (the “N/A” in this variable stands for those who did not initiated ART and those who were already on ART at the enrolment in the study ); Retention 3 months post ART initiation with three modalities (“yes”, “no” and “N/A”. “N/A” stands for women who were already on treatment at enrolment in the study). Except for the variable “Time between result and ART initiation” which is a Discrete numeric variable, all other variables of this dataset are nominal categorical variables.

Descriptive statistics were performed. Frequencies and percentage for categorical variables; median and interquartile ranges for continuous variables. Proportions were used to calculate ART coverage and retention. Chi-square was used to compare the proportions of initiation of ART and retention between group of women screened in IHCs without ART and those screened in IHCs with ART integrated in antenatal care service. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated to ART non-initiation at 95% confidence interval. Baseline variables were initially analyzed univariately and those which were significant at the level of 5% were retained for multivariable logistic regression.

SPSS STATISTICS V23.0