Table 1 Characteristics of participating primary HFs
Mean target population | Access and mean distance from provincial capital | Mean number and range of health personnel | Service package | Laboratory capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HFs with a laboratory (A, B, C) | 35.577 range: 7.066 – 52.109 | 232 km, partly by dirt road | 6 range: 4–9 | All HFs: outpatient care, maternity, HIV and tuberculosis treatment, pharmacy; one with inpatient services; | All HFs: • Haemoglobin • manual leucocytes count in peripheral blood smear • Rapid Plasma Reagin • Ziehl-Nielson • thick blood smear • microscopy for urine and faeces parasitology • rapid tests for HIV, malaria • T-cells Cluster of Differentiation 4 (Alere Pima™, resident in one HF and regular outreach visits in the two others) • Polymerase Chain Reaction of HIV DNA sample collection for referral One HF with blood transfusion service |
HFs without a laboratory (D, E, F) | 34.222 range: 8.348 – 51.380 | 155 km, partly by dirt road | 5 range: 4–6 | All HFs: outpatient care, maternity, tuberculosis treatment; two with HIV treatment; one with pharmacy | All HFs: • rapid tests for HIV, malaria • T-cells Cluster of Differentiation 4 (Alere Pima™, regular outreach visits) • Polymerase Chain Reaction of HIV DNA sample collection for referral One HF with haemoglobin test |