Category Archives: Health services
Is patient navigation a solution to the problem of “leaving no one behind”? A scoping review of evidence from low-income countries
Patient navigation interventions, which are designed to enable patients excluded from health systems to overcome the barriers they face in accessing care, have multiplied in high-income countries since the 1990s....
Exploring the social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV (PLHIV): A scoping review
Understanding the clinical impact of COVID-19 has been central to emerging research in the HIV field, but in focusing on the biomedical, researchers must not overlook the socially embedded nature...
Acceptability and uptake of HIV self-testing in emergency care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Emergency departments (ED) interface with large numbers of patients that are often missed by conventional HIV testing approaches. ED-based HIV self-testing (HIVST) is an innovative engagement approach which has potential...
Barriers and facilitators for early and exclusive breastfeeding in health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionate burden of under-five child deaths in the world and appropriate breastfeeding practices can support efforts to reduce child mortality rates. Health facilities are important...
Structural determinants of HIV/STI prevalence, HIV/STI/sexual and reproductive health access, and condom use among immigrant sex workers globally
OBJECTIVE: Given stark health inequities among precarious and criminalized workers, we aimed to apply a structural determinants framework to systematically review evidence on HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence, access to...
How women’s experiences and perceptions of care influence uptake of postnatal care across sub-Saharan Africa: A qualitative systematic review
BACKGROUND: The burden of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality is a global health concern with the highest burden documented after childbirth in women and babies living in sub-Saharan Africa....
Health system adaptations and considerations to facilitate optimal oral pre-exposure prophylaxis scale-up in sub-Saharan Africa
Following WHO’s 2015 recommendation, countries in sub-Saharan Africa have progressively scaled up oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as part of combination HIV prevention. PrEP has potential to significantly reduce new HIV...
A scoping review examining social and legal gender affirmation and health among transgender populations
Purpose: Transgender (trans) populations experience health inequities. Gender affirmation refers to psychological, social, legal, and medical validation of one’s gender and is a key social determinant of trans health. The...
Barriers to the management of children under five exposed to HIV in the rural areas of South Africa
BACKGROUND: South Africa has made enormous progress in reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), however, MTCT and AIDS related death persist among children particularly in the rural...
