Category Archives: Social support
A community empowerment approach to the HIV response among sex workers: Effectiveness, challenges, and considerations for implementation and scale-up
A community empowerment-based response to HIV is a process by which sex workers take collective ownership of programmes to achieve the most effective HIV outcomes and address social and structural...
Contemporary issues on the epidemiology and antiretroviral adherence of HIV-infected adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: A narrative review
INTRODUCTION: Adolescents are a unique and sometimes neglected group in the planning of healthcare services. This is the case in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where more than eight out...
What are the benefits and barriers of communicating parental HIV status to seronegative children and the implications for Jamaica? A narrative review of the literature in low/middle income countries
OBJECTIVE: To examine the benefits/barriers for HIV positive parents of communicating their status to seronegative children in low/middle income countries in order to inform policy and practice in Jamaica. METHODS:...
Is the sexual behaviour of young people in sub-Saharan Africa influenced by their peers? A systematic review
Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies. Evidence for the effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions in reducing incidence of...
Interventions to improve or facilitate linkage to or retention in pre-ART (HIV) care and initiation of ART in low- and middle-income settings – A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Several approaches have been taken to reduce pre-antiretroviral therapy (ART) losses between HIV testing and ART initiation in low- and middle-income countries, but a systematic assessment of the evidence...
A systematic review of individual and contextual factors affecting ART initiation, adherence, and retention for HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women
BACKGROUND: Despite progress reducing maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain high, accounting, for example, for up to 24 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is...
Disclosure of HIV status to HIV-positive children 12 and under: A systematic cross-national review of implications for health and well-being
WHO estimates that 3.4 million children were living with HIV at the end of 2011, 91% of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Until recently, a largely descriptive literature documented wide variability...
Factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
Adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately burdened by the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Maintaining medication adherence is vital to ensuring that adolescents living with HIV/AIDS receive the...
Disclosure of HIV serostatus among pregnant and postpartum women in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
Disclosure of one’s HIV status can help to improve uptake and retention in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services; yet, it remains a challenge for many women. This systematic...
The syndemic illness of HIV and trauma: Implications for a trauma-informed model of care
BACKGROUND: People living with HIV infection are disproportionately burdened by trauma and the resultant negative health consequences, making the combination of HIV infection and trauma a syndemic illness. Despite the...
