PMID- 29158723 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE LR - 20220310 IS - 1348-8945 (Print) IS - 1349-4147 (Electronic) IS - 1348-8945 (Linking) VI - 45 DP - 2017 TI - The usefulness of traditional birth attendants to women living with HIV in resource-poor settings: the case of Mfuwe, Zambia. PG - 37 LID - 10.1186/s41182-017-0076-3 [doi] LID - 37 AB - BACKGROUND: Although there is increased attention on the role of trained traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in maternal care, most of the research has mainly focused on providing evidence of the relevance of trained TBAs to women in general without a specific focus on women who are HIV positive, despite them being most vulnerable. Therefore, the aim of this study is to fill this gap by assessing the relevance of trained TBAs to women living with HIV in resource-poor settings by using Zambia as a case study. METHODS: Our data collection consisted of two focus group discussions, one involving HIV-positive women utilizing trained TBAs and the other with women not utilizing TBAs. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with trained TBAs and health workers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: In general, women living with HIV positively characterized the services of TBAs. In the face of an inefficient health system, trained TBAs were seen to be useful in providing efficient, cheap and quality care, counseling, and referral and logistical support, including treatment adherence support. CONCLUSION: In Zambia, trained TBAs and professional care are not mutually exclusive but complementary. There is no doubt that HIV-positive women need professionals to handle complications and offer antiretroviral treatment to ensure prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). However, additional "soft" services offered by trained TBAs are equally important in the promotion of maternal health care among HIV-positive women. Thus, it seems there is more to gain by systematically allowing trained TBAs to work alongside professionals in a well-coordinated and complementary manner. FAU - Muzyamba, Choolwe AU - Muzyamba C AD - Maastricht Graduate School of Governance/UNU-Merit, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. ISNI: 0000 0001 0481 6099. GRID: grid.5012.6 AD - A9 Marshlands Village, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia. FAU - Groot, Wim AU - Groot W AD - Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI, Maastricht University Medical Center, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. ISNI: 0000 0001 0481 6099. GRID: grid.5012.6 AD - Top Institute for Evidence-Based Education Research (TIER), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. ISNI: 0000 0001 0481 6099. GRID: grid.5012.6 FAU - Tomini, Sonila M AU - Tomini SM AD - Maastricht Graduate School of Governance/UNU-Merit, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. ISNI: 0000 0001 0481 6099. GRID: grid.5012.6 AD - Department of Economics, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium. ISNI: 0000 0001 0805 7253. GRID: grid.4861.b FAU - Pavlova, Milena AU - Pavlova M AD - Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI, Maastricht University Medical Center, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. ISNI: 0000 0001 0481 6099. GRID: grid.5012.6 LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20171113 PL - Japan TA - Trop Med Health JT - Tropical medicine and health JID - 101215093 PMC - PMC5683231 OTO - NOTNLM OT - HIV/aids OT - Maternal health OT - Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) COIS- ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE: We obtained ethical clearance from the National Health Research Authority of Zambia and from the Zambian ERES Converge IRB. Other than that, informed consent was sought from the participants before participation and they were informed of their right to discontinue their participation at any point should they wish to. CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION: Consent to publish the results was granted by the National Research Authority of Zambia and respondents. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. EDAT- 2017/11/22 06:00 MHDA- 2017/11/22 06:01 PMCR- 2017/11/13 CRDT- 2017/11/22 06:00 PHST- 2017/09/07 00:00 [received] PHST- 2017/10/25 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2017/11/22 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2017/11/22 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2017/11/22 06:01 [medline] PHST- 2017/11/13 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 76 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s41182-017-0076-3 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Trop Med Health. 2017 Nov 13;45:37. doi: 10.1186/s41182-017-0076-3. eCollection 2017.