Objective.
To evaluate the impact of the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) Program in the reduction of AIDS stage cases in Peru between 1983-2018.
Methods.
Natural experiment with interrupted time series design considering a period of 36 years. Cases of AIDS were analyzed according to the year of diagnosis and the policy of universal access to antiretroviral therapy of 2004. Aggregated data from the National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases from 1983 to 2018 were used. Linear logarithmic regression was used and the effect of the HAART Program was evaluated with an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to make forecasting of the expected number of annual cases of AIDS, and through interrupted time series.
Results.
Between 2004-2018 there was an annual decrease of 2.60% (95% CI:-3.9-1.2) of cases. The best identified ARIMA model had the components: (8,3,1). The forecasting yielded a total of 32 709 new cases of AIDS for this period, indicating the estimated prevention of 10 280 cases. The time-series analysis showed an annual decrease of 134.21 (95% CI:-160- -108.60) cases.
Conclusions.
The findings showed a substantial increase in AIDS cases during the period 1983-2004, with a significant drop in cases after the implementation of the HAART Program. The Program is an effective intervention for the prevention of the number of AIDS cases, allowing universal access to antiretroviral therapy and providing other services such as monitoring tests, psychological counseling and the promotion of adherence to treatment in people living with HIV and AIDS.