Category Archives: Health services
Integrating smoking cessation into HIV care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness and the evidence gap in cost-effectiveness
The prevalence of smoking among people living with HIV (PLWH) is higher than in the general population, and PLWH who smoke are at increased risk of both smoking- and HIV-related...
Integrated care models for HIV, diabetes and hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of effectiveness, implementation and real-world applicability
Background Sub-Saharan Africa faces a syndemic of HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly diabetes and hypertension. Integrated care models have been promoted to improve service efficiency and patient outcomes; however,...
Area-based measures of socioeconomic status in studies assessing health outcomes among people living with HIV in Canada and the USA: A scoping review
OBJECTIVE: Area-based measures of socioeconomic status (SES) are increasingly used to study health disparities among people living with HIV (PLWH), with wide variation in how they are defined and applied...
Socio-cultural and systematic factors influencing fertility desire among women living with HIV: A systematic literature review
Women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa remain disproportionately affected by HIV. HIV care strategies can significantly reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Women living with HIV (WLHIV) often...
Family-centred care for children and adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review
Introduction Children and adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continue to face significant barriers to diagnosis, treatment adherence, retention in care and psychosocial support, despite progress in prevention...
Barriers and facilitators to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review
Women account for 59% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection cases in sub-Saharan Africa. This impacts the increase in mother-to-child HIV transmission rates and presents challenges to preventive care for...
The reasons of late diagnosis in patients with HIV/AIDS: A meta-synthesis
PURPOSE: To comprehensively integrate qualitative findings on the reasons for late diagnosis in HIV/AIDS patients and to encourage timely clinic consultations for advisory purposes. METHODS: A qualitative systematic review utilizing...
From community engagement to lived experience leadership: A systematic review of HIV services among men who have sex with men
Community responses are essential to achieving the global goal of Ending AIDS by 2030, yet men who have sex with men (MSM) remain underrepresented and often tokenized within HIV initiatives....
Usable access to HIV testing and care among people with migrant backgrounds in Japan: A systematic review
OBJECTIVES: Japan’s growing migrant population has increased the need for HIV services usable across linguistic, administrative and social circumstances. We reviewed evidence on access to HIV testing and care among...
What tools do we have to end the US HIV epidemic? A review of structural, biomedical and implementation interventions and their potential population impact
INTRODUCTION: The United States Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative was always challenged by structural and implementation barriers to HIV care. On top of that, since 2025, there are additional...
Assessing the impact, barriers and facilitators of peer-driven interventions on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction: Peer interventions may improve retention across the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) cascade in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains a major barrier....
Breastfeeding practices and perspectives in the setting of maternal HIV in high-income countries since the shift in the United States national guidelines: A scoping review
Introduction: United States national guidelines around infant feeding in the setting of maternal HIV were updated significantly in 2023. The updated guidelines encourage evidence-based counseling and emphasize shared decision-making around infant...
