On 18-19 May 2022, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), in collaboration with the Programme National de Lutte Contre le Sida (PNLS; National AIDS Control Program) under the coordination of the General Directorate of Health, hosted its first national HIV prevention, care, and treatment quality improvement (QI) conference in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The conference brought together over 100 representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Agency for International Development, the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and PEPFAR implementing partners from around the country to agree on a national approach to QI; update the national strategic plan for improving Quality, Health, and Safety; and learn about the unique QI approach being implemented by I-TECH through the Quality Improvement Solutions for Sustained Epidemic Control (QISSEC) program.
“This is an historic workshop. [There have been] many conversations and meetings with the PNLS/Ministry of Health and USG agencies [over the years] to gather all the stakeholders to harmonize QI interventions,” says Dr. Jean T. N’Guessan, QISSEC QI Consultant. “This national QI workshop was a success because the leadership was carried by the PNLS, the national Program to fight AIDS, and supported by I-TECH.”
The goal of the conference was to elevate QI practices on a national level and work with stakeholders to adopt and integrate the QISSEC QI approach into their own HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs to improve HIV services while identifying and addressing gaps in care (e.g., viral load monitoring, antiretroviral therapy uptake).
“In Côte d’Ivoire, all hospitals—both public and private—are required to implement continuous quality improvement for all care and services, which can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach to QI,” explains Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho, I-TECH QISSEC Project Director. “This workshop made it possible for us to identify gaps in national standards for the prevention, care, support, and treatment of HIV infection, while also providing an effective QI framework that helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders implementing QI initiatives across the country.”
QI interventions are often applied unilaterally across all sites regardless of analysis of the sites’ specific needs, but I-TECH’s approach tailors each QI intervention and related activities to the needs of the site according to self-identified gaps by the sites. This approach allows sites to be involved in each step of the process, reinforces skills and knowledge, and ultimately creates a sustainable approach to QI. By using the QISSEC approach, HIV programs around Côte d’Ivoire will be able to align their QI work and substantially improve HIV services, while also fulfilling PEPFAR priorities and targets.
“Since I-TECH’s approach works in collaboration with all levels (national, district, and site) of the health system pyramid, we are able to coach sites to develop a QI plan based on the identified gaps, implement it, as well as monitor and evaluate it,” says Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho. “Through data analysis of MER indicators and SIMS data, the approach takes into account the organizational improvement of the quality and the services offered to the patients.”
The QISSEC project, a five-year cooperative agreement with HRSA under PEPFAR, works with local partners to implement customized site-level QI interventions using patient-centered approaches in clinics to ensure a facility-owned and locally led response to the persistent challenges seen in HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs (e.g., HIV testing, retention, suppression, PrEP, TB prevention) and support Côte d’Ivoire in reaching the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. The project has initially been focused on 60 priority sites throughout the country but plans to expand to Abidjan’s 75 high-impact sites next year, bringing the total number of sites to 101.
“The QISSEC project aims to strengthen ownership of continuous QI at all levels of the health system pyramid,” says Dr. Nathalie Krou Danho. “To do this, I-TECH collaborates with all national stakeholders, including PEPFAR implementing partners and civil society organizations who can help motivate beneficiaries to take part in QI efforts and extend its QI approach to the community.”
I-TECH’S WORK IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER 1 U1NOA45176-01-00 THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS, OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.