Impact of Anti-HIV Treatment on Labor Productivity and Costs in South Africa

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of anti-HIV treatment on the work attendance of employed people in South Africa. The study will enroll participants from a large manufacturing and distribution firm in South Africa.

Detailed Description
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Little is known about the economic benefits of providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa and other resource-limited areas. In South Africa, an increasing number of private sector firms are providing access to ART for their employees. One of the barriers to such action, however, is the lack of available information on the success of ART in restoring workers to full productivity, retaining skilled employees in the workforce, and reducing the costs of medical care and death and disability benefits. HIV infected employees on ART may be absent from work less often than untreated HIV infected employees, but more often than HIV uninfected employees. This study will collect data from an independent HIV/AIDS disease treatment program and a large private sector employer in Johannesburg, South Africa to estimate the benefits and costs for businesses to provide ART to eligible employees. The study will combine individual-level medical outcome and treatment cost data from the treatment program with data on employee work attendance and retention in the workforce from the participating employer. The work attendance of HIV infected employees enrolled in the HIV/AIDS treatment program (index participants) who are either taking ART or receiving pre-ART care will be compared with each other and with that of HIV uninfected employees. There are no study visits associated with this study; all data will be collected from medical records maintained by the HIV/AIDS treatment program and the participants' employer. The financial costs and benefits of the treatment program for the participating company will also be estimated.

Official Title
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The Effectiveness of Antiretroviral Therapy in Reducing the Costs of HIV/AIDS

Conditions
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HIV Infections

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria for All Participants: Employed by participating company for at least 1 year prior to study entry Inclusion Criteria for Index Participants: Enrolled in the HIV/AIDS treatment program offered by the participating company Exclusion Criteria for Index Participants: Enrolled in the HIV/AIDS treatment program prior to 01/01/04 or after 06/30/05

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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HIV, AIDS, Labor productivity, Antiretroviral therapy, South Africa